A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
portsmouthctc.org.uk
A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
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Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#2Looks like this is from 2013, but still a good read.
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#3This was eye opening (pun not intended) and make me a bit worried as a recreational cyclist - many of my clothes are dark and it seems worth investing in brighter ones.
As a driver, I found that using BGE setting of the side mirrors (it's wider out, slightly overlapping with rearview mirror), coupled with keeping an eye on the road gives me a much better situational awareness, and prevents the need to turn my head in many cases - "Nope, there's a car in my blind spot, not changing lanes yet". It's a minor convenience but really helps with fatigue of the neck muscles, and keep my eyes forward, so I can react if anything happens in front of me. I've been driving BGE for nearly 10 years now, and I feel a lot safer that way. It takes some getting used to not seeing the side of the car, so if you consider doing it, I'd recommend getting used to it on a chill road, before getting on the highway.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/blindzonegla...
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#4Previous discussion:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12422378
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#5Interesting read, up until this point.
“[As a cyclist], look at the head of the driver that is approaching or has stopped. The head of the driver will naturally stop and centre upon you if you have been seen.“
Please, please do not rely on this. Correlation is not causation, a driver’s head might face your direction for lots of reasons (focusing on something behind/in front of you, spacing out, looking at their phone, etc). Friends and family have been bitten by this ‘trick’ before, thankfully not with deadly consequences. When someone’s head is facing you, it does not mean they see you.
A little surprising to see this advice in an article that’s mostly about the eye being fallible.
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#6> Remember, lights are just as much about being seen as being able to see
I cannot emphasis this enough. It's terrible the amount of drivers who think "I can see fine, I don't need to put on my headlights". Whenever I'm driving on open roads (100 km/h areas) I'll always turn my headlights on. Like aeroplanes, I think that anything on the road should have lights on it for visibility.
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#7Interesting read, up until this point. “[As a cyclist], look at the head of the driver that is approaching or has stopped. The head of the driver will naturally stop and centre upon you if you have been seen.“ Please, please do not rely on this. Correlation is not causation, a driver’s head might face your direction for lots of reasons (focusing on something behind/in front of you, spacing out, looking at their phone…
The author speaks in stepwise, risk management terms rather than "if green then go" rules. This is just another piece of information that can help you reduce risk and make better judgements as a cyclist on the road, but by no means a hard rule (don't think the author meant to imply that it is)
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#8> Remember, lights are just as much about being seen as being able to see I cannot emphasis this enough. It's terrible the amount of drivers who think "I can see fine, I don't need to put on my headlights". Whenever I'm driving on open roads (100 km/h areas) I'll always turn my headlights on. Like aeroplanes, I think that anything on the road should have lights on it for visibility.
It's actually mandatory in most (if not all?) of the EU. You must have your headlights on at all times.
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#9> Remember, lights are just as much about being seen as being able to see I cannot emphasis this enough. It's terrible the amount of drivers who think "I can see fine, I don't need to put on my headlights". Whenever I'm driving on open roads (100 km/h areas) I'll always turn my headlights on. Like aeroplanes, I think that anything on the road should have lights on it for visibility.
There was a lot of debate about this when daylight running lights where made mandatory on all new motorcycles in the EU.
Most of it was on the lines of if every vehicle had lights on you would no longer stand out, you are just another light which is also harder to judge distance in the mirror. Where as if yo have lights on but cars don't you are more likely to stand out for thr fact there's less motorcycles so not as many lights to blend in to the background.
In the AU everyone genrally has full beams on regardless, horrible experince driving at night.
Re: A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
#10> Remember, lights are just as much about being seen as being able to see I cannot emphasis this enough. It's terrible the amount of drivers who think "I can see fine, I don't need to put on my headlights". Whenever I'm driving on open roads (100 km/h areas) I'll always turn my headlights on. Like aeroplanes, I think that anything on the road should have lights on it for visibility.
It's actually mandatory in most (if not all?) of the EU. You must have your headlights on at all times.
Motorcycles maybe, cars have (by now) mandatory daytime running lights, but at least in Germany for older cars it's not mandatory to have lights on during daytime.