CONSPICUITY FOR CYCLIST
SURVIVAL
Jack Holmgren
Member
San Francisco Randonneurs
Randonneurs USA
3-31-12
(All errors and opinions are the author’s)
Don Mitchell at the start of the 2009
Gold Rush Randonnee
Our Fallen Comrades
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Bruce Taylor – 2010
Don Mitchell – 2010
Jim Swarzman – 2011
Others hurt or killed by cars at night, in lowlight, or daylight
• We owe it to them to be as conspicuous as
possible.
The Problem = Drivers
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The man who struck Don Mitchell at 50 MPH
78 years of age
Driving near on-coming traffic – glare
Twilight
Shortly after the switch to Daylight Savings
Was likely 4 feet into the shoulder
Credibly said that he NEVER SAW Don
The man who ran into and killed Don
•NEVER
SAW
Don.
Holmgren’s First Law of Cycling
Survival
•You can never
be too
conspicuous.
Cars and Bikes
• Drivers – Younger AND Older Fail to
compensate
• Limitations at night
• Reduced contrast
• Sensitivity to glare
• All of which decrease their ability to SEE
CYCLISTS.
We know Drivers fail to compensate
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Is this bad?
Yes, it is bad.
But what can we do about it TODAY?
We can compensate for the drivers by being
MUCH MORE conspicuous.
Conspicuity
1. The property of being clearly
discernible.
2. The state or quality of being
clear or bright; brightness;
conspicuousness.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conspicuity
Don Mitchell’s Memorial
Vis Quiz – The best way to boost awareness of a
cyclist in the dark/low light is:
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1.
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6.
7.
Blinking tail light ____
Solid tail light ____
Reflective vest ____
Reflective Sam Browne Belt ____
Rear facing horn ____
Reflective ankle bands ____
Reflective material on cranks ____
Biological Motion (Biomotion)
• Drivers see and
recognize a human form:
• Retroreflective material
• Worn on moving Joints
Survival Conspicuity - Material
• Start with the shiny stuff as it works in the
rain/fog/sleet – buy products made with slick
retroreflective material - see article in
American Randonneur, Reflections on
Retroreflectivity http://www.rusa.org/newsletter/08-02-09.html
• Go for as much as you possibly can get.
• Beware of phrases like “reflective accents.”
Survival Conspicuity - Biomotion is the
Most Important
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Ankle, ankle, ankle
That’s about the only place on a cyclist that
Brings out the biomotion.
Rivendell makes big, fat, slick ankle bands.
They cover the leg and stick out a few inches.
DO NOT SKIMP ON ANKLE BANDS!
You want the “best and the brightest.”
Survival Conspicuity – Reflective
Clothing
• Calculate coverage – how many square
inches/centimeters of reflective material?
• Look only to the reflective coverage, e.g.,
some ankle bands have bright colored fabric
and only .5 or .75 inches of reflective stripe.
• Reflective material that is 90 degrees to the
road or close to that is most reflective.
• Think about the garment’s angle to vehicle
headlights as worn by the cyclist while riding.
Moonbeam DIY modification – 4 inch wide strip of slick material
sewn to the bottom of the back of visibility vest
http://www.reflective-stripes.com/product.sc?productId=7&categoryId=6
Survival Conspicuity – Camelbak Issue
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Put
Your
Camelbak
On
Before
Your
REFLECTIVE VEST OR SAM BROWNE BELT!!!!
Viz Quiz – the best way to boost awareness of a
cyclist in broad daylight is:
• 1. Rear facing horn___
• 2. “Share the Road” decal on top tube___
• 3. Clothing that uses black and colors found in
nature like brown, green, eggplant, blue…___
• 4. Clothing that uses retroreflective material___
• 5. Clothing that uses loud colors like Hi-Viz
Yellow, Safety Orange___
• 6. Mixed in checks or chevrons___
Is this conspicuous?
• Go to the Rapha, Capo, Castelli, Pearl Izumi,
You-Pretty-Much-Name-It cycling clothing
company website and click on all the “cool”
looking black and earth-tones clothing.
• In their defense, they are responding to a
degree to market-share pressure. Be the
pressure and don’t buy these drab and
invisible colors and they will go away.
Identify the conspicuity items in this
photo
Traffic Master Jersey – A good example
http://www.elevengear.us/trafficmaster.html
Survival Conspicuity – Wear clothes that stick out
during the vast majority of your riding (Daylight)
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Contrasting colors are best
Hi-Viz Yellow
Safety Orange
The two winners (In a 1994 study, “...fluorescent yellow was found
to be best detected and fluorescent orange was found to be best recognized
against any of the three backgrounds investigated.” (Zwahlen & Vel, abstract) )
• But these are of little help at night/low-light.
• Don’t get lulled into thinking you’re safer just
by wearing these colors at night.
Survival Conspicuity – Distractions =
Competition for Driver Attention
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GPS
Cell Phone and Audio
Cars and Buses
Signs and Scenery
Pedestrians and animals
Threat level highest in urban environments so
APPLY Survival Conspicuity to your COMMUTE
Survival Conspicuity – Fashion Quiz
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Would you rather:
1. Look good on the bike and be hurt/dead?___
2. Look like a clown on the bike and be alive?___
If you selected #2 then consider wearing your L2s
visibility vest always (that means on your
commute, brevets, permanents, centuries,
double centuries, training rides, etc.).
• Clubs can order custom L2s vests at:
http://www.t2s.fr/Presentation.html
Survival Conspicuity – Tail Lights
• Which is more important?
• Your fellow riders not liking your bright lights?
• Getting killed/hurt by a car because you did
not have the brightest lights?
• Always move up with the technology, e.g.,
Planet Bike Super Flash .5 Watt was the best
but PB Turbo Flash = 1 Watt can and should be
used in daylight too.
Survival Conspicuity – To flash or not
to flash?
• Randonneurs must have A steady light in lowlight and at night.
• Some run that and one or several flashing.
• Flash or steady is personal.
• The point is to have good LIGHTS (plural)
• Multiple lights are part of the Rando ethos of
back-up.
Survival Conspicuity – Multiple Tail
Lights
• “Volagi” mount (brake bridge)
http://volagi.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/how-to-making-a-mount-for-a-planet-bikesuperflash/
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Seat-stay mount
Helmet mount
Many is much better than one
Is this obnoxious?
Yes.
Does it make you more conspicuous?
Yes, and that is more important than anything.
Survival Conspicuity - Aim
• Not about alerting Martians
• Aim for the Earthlings
• No seat-bag, seat-pack, Carradice bag,
pannier, Camelbak, mounting of lights as too
much variation
• Have a friend help by looking at the light from
several distances, e.g., 50, 100, 200, 300, 500
meters to determine optimal positioning.
Survival Conspicuity – Always Ride
with lights on
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Cars turn their lights on during the day.
So can you! Increases conspicuity by day
Many lights designed to be seen by day:
Planet Bike Turbo Flash
Portland Design Works Radbot
Dinotte
Survival Conspicuity – Front Lights
• Have good ones.
• Have a back-up.
• Daytime running lights – an idea whose time
has come.
• Endorsed by Robert Choi, inventor of the LED
tail light!
Survival Conspicuity – Reflective bikes
and bits
• Powder coated reflective paint rims and frames
• Stick-on bits of reflector on cranks, seat stays,
helmets (up high so they’re visible in areas with
many cars), etc.
• Strands of bendable lights to wrap the frame with.
• Reflective strips on tires and spoke lights.
• Lights that project the image of a bike lane.
• All communicate that the driver is approaching a
cyclist.
Survival Conspicuity – Organize!
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Join a/several bike coalitions:
http://www.napabike.org/
http://www.bikesonoma.org/
http://marinbike.org/Index.shtml
http://www.sfbike.org/
http://www.ebbc.org/
http://bikesiliconvalley.org/group/santa-clara
Survival Conspicuity – Organize!
• Amplify your voice with a chorus by joining a
coalition or several coalitions.
• Support programs that lead to greater driver
cognition and awareness of cyclists in daylight,
at night, and in low-light.
• Ride with others in low-light or at night.
• Ride with others in daylight.
Daytime Riding
• Helmet + Ankle Bands + Conspicuity Vest +
Daytime Strength Tail Lights +Daytime
Strength Front Light =
• SAFETY or greater safety
Night Time Riding
• Helmet + Ankle Bands + Conspicuity Vest +
Daytime Strength Tail Lights + Night Time
Strength Front Light (s) =
• SAFETY or greater safety
A-N-C-L
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A = Ankle bands for biomotion
N = Noggin for helmet to protect same
C = Conspicuity Vest for conspicuity
L = Lights for front and back always on even by
day
• Do an ANCL check just before riding off.
Holmgren’s Second Law of Cycling
Survival
•You should always
try to be more
conspicuous!
Thanks
• To the science gals and guys at Queensland U out
there in Brisbane, Australia.
http://www.hlth.qut.edu.au/opt/research/driving/visibility.jsp
• FEMA
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_323.pdf
• They study this stuff and publish so that I can lift
much of it verbatim and put it on the screen.
• Thanks to them and thanks to all the researchers
working on this life and death issue.