Category: General

Visibility at Night Tests

This is what you look like with high-powered lights.
This is what you look like with high-powered lights.

Have you ever wondered what you look like at night while riding a bike?  A few of us have, and we decided to record ourselves from the perspective of sitting in the driver’s seat of a car.

There has been debate about bike lighting, more specifically how effective it is to have high-powered lights and using lights in “strobe” or “blinky” mode.  Seattle Bike Blog has some interesting comments about bike lighting in an article published back in October, and Crosscut called out “bike bullies” back in November.  Lots of talk, but no one has ever shown what these lights look like to others.

On Friday, January 17th, we went to Jack Block Park where four of us were on bikes with an arsenal of lights and we had a car to use for setting up a video camera.  We used Jack Block Park because there are some dark areas and we knew there wouldn’t be anyone else around.

Our video setup consisted of a GoPro Hero 2 camera with headstrap mounted to the headrest of the driver’s seat inside a car.  We moved the seat forward so we could position the camera as close as possible to where your head would be if you were sitting in the seat.  The GoPro camera recorded video with 960 resolution, 30 fps, and wide angle of 170 degrees.  Humans have an almost 180-degree forward-facing horizontal field of view, so we figured this camera setup would be comparable to what you’d see.

Lights & Gear Info

Below is a list of the lights and other gear we had for these tests that you’ll see in the videos.  We’ll have some notes about each test to help show where in the videos they’re being used.

Front Lights:

Rear Lights:

Reflective Gear, Clothing, Misc:

 

Test 1 – Car Lights Off, Bike Lights Off

This test clearly shows that you should have some kind of light at night.  There’s some ambient light coming from the left side of the video, which is Port property.  You can barely see the light-colored jackets in the video, and it’s only when we ride by the car at very close distances.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEZWpCdnYxUkFua2s/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 2 – Car Lights Off, Bike Lights On (“Normal Mode”)

Here we’ve got our lights on modes that we’d normally ride with at night.  We haven’t seen ourselves or gotten feedback until this point.  We only put the lights on at levels we feel comfortable with (so we can see and be seen).

We’ve all got similar rear red lights, but the bright blinking red helmet light on the third bike is the Serfas Thunderbolt UTL-6.  It’s highly visible and not too annoying.  The other rear blinky lights are detectable, but could probably be even brighter for those cases of drivers who forget to turn on headlights when it’s dark outside.

For front lights, the first bike has Cygolite Million 200 (~200 lumens) and Nite Ize SpokLits.  Second bike is a Brompton (16″ wheels) with Serfas Thunderbolt USL-6.  Third bike has an old Cateye Opticube on the helmet (blinky mode) and SpokeGrenade SG-1000.  Fourth bike has Niterider Lumina 650 (on low, ~200 lumens) and Serfas CP-USB (blinky mode).

The SpokeGrenade SG-1000 is pretty bright, but Al says he generally covers it or directs it down for approaching traffic since he knows it’s bright and uses it to see dangerous obstacles on dark trails (like tree branches and glass on the Duwamish Trail).  None of the other front lights appear to be overpowering.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEUzRHa1J5eDdISzg/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 3 – Car Lights On, Bike Lights Off

It should be pretty clear that reflective gear is very visible with car lights on.  The distance from the car to the fence in the background is about 100 feet.  The most noticeable reflective gear is generally on things that move (wheels, legs, shoes).  One thing with the Schwalbe Marathon tires is that the reflective sidewall needs to be clean to be visible.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEWVBtRlkwa0VsT2c/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 4 – Car Lights On, Bike Lights On (High Modes)

This is where it gets good.  The first bike has two Magicshine 900-lumen lights and one Niterider Lumina 650, all on high.  And they’re pointed straight ahead (not down at the ground).  The Magicshine lights are cheap Chinese lights that are more like 600 lumens, but all of these on high is like having something around 2000 lumens.  Clearly this is annoying and overpowering.  We’d never run lights like this on the streets.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOETDNENzVuUWt5amc/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 5 – Car Lights On, Bike Lights On, Riding 4 Abreast

Riding abreast with lights on sometimes looks like a car.  We wanted to ride side-by-side just to see.  Our lights were on “normal” modes.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEcWZ5TDhiazBtRnc/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 6 – Car Lights On, Bike Lights On (Blinky Modes)

This is where it gets better.  Some front lights on blinky mode can give you a seizure.  We wanted to show this.

The first bike has Niterider Lumina 650 (on strobe mode) and Serfas CP-USB (blinky mode).  The strobe mode on the Niterider light is actually called “walk” mode and only outputs ~40 lumens.  But clearly it’s annoying and distracting (and is never used in this mode).

The second bike has Cygolite Million 200.  Third bike has an old Cateye Opticube on the helmet and SpokeGrenade SG-1000.  Fourth bike has Serfas Thunderbolt USL-6.

Yes, blinky lights are noticeable.  They even draw your eyes to them.  But they can be distracting to others and really don’t help for a rider to see anything in front of them.  And it’s technically illegal to have a front flashing light (although you could have an amber colored front light that flashes).

RCW 46.37.280
Special restrictions on lamps.

(3) Flashing lights are prohibited except as required in RCW 46.37.190, 46.37.200, 46.37.210, 46.37.215, and 46.37.300, warning lamps authorized by the state patrol, and light-emitting diode flashing taillights on bicycles.

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEMzlyRXhhVThfSTQ/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Test 7 – Helmet view of pedestrians with no lights

Many people simply aren’t aware of what they look like at night when they’re walking.  Bike lights on “normal” modes don’t have the same power or beam spread as a car headlight, and the most dangerous situation arises when bikes and pedestrians share the same off-street trail with no ambient lighting, and pedestrians have no lights while wearing non-reflective dark clothing.

This video shows two people, one wearing a light colored reflective jacket and the other wearing all black.  With ambient lighting behind them you can only pick out silhouettes.  The bike light is a Niterider Lumina 650 on low (~200 lumens) and pointed down (“normal” mode for commuting).

[iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0nf6a8VLGOEMFpSOWhzUmN6RzQ/preview” width=”640″ height=”385″]

 

Summary

LED lights can pack a punch.  There’s no legal limit for how bright a bike light can be.  And there’s plenty of high-powered bike lights out there that are very cheap (you can get 1800+ lumen lights for about $20 on eBay).  Even “commuter” bike lights are getting close to 1000 lumens.

Lights around 200 lumens are definitely acceptable for commuting.  Anything over 500 lumens should be used sparingly and definitely not pointed straight ahead but rather down at the ground in front of you.

Blinky lights should be used courteously.  And high-powered lights should not be used in blinky (or strobe) mode.  You should know what your own lights look like before using them.

Spoke lights are great for being visible from the side and at angles.  Monkey Lights are a good choice.

Reflective gear (clothing, stickers, tires, etc) works well when there’s a light source hitting it.  Light-colored clothing is definitely better than dark clothing.

Local bike shops can be a great source of lights and information.  They likely won’t recommend a high-powered light for commuting.

 

Questions and comments are appreciated.  Special thanks to Don Brubeck, Kathy Dunn, Al Jackson, and Jeff Hallman for riding, and Bob Winship for the car to video from.

 

Memorial Walk for James St Clair

James R Sinclair, 69, was killed by a car while crossing 35th Ave SW at SW Graham Street, walking home from the groceery store at 9:30 at night.  Same place Susan Scaringi was killed in 2006 while riding her bike.

We walked together with Mr St Clair’s neice, friends, fellow Tlingit Gene Tagaban, who came up from Tacoma, and concerned neighbors in the High Point area and from Arbor Heights to Alki. An eagle flew over as Mr Sinclair’s fellow Raven clan member sang a Tlingit paddle song and reminded us to bring the light to this place.

At HP Neighborhood House, we talked together about improving safety on 35th (“I-35”) with Council Member Tom Rasmussen, Mayor Murray’s transportation advisor Andrew Glass Hastings, Jim Curtin from SDOT, presidents of Delridge, Morgan Junction and High Point community associations, Cathy Tuttle and Gordon Padelford from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways , Seattle Women in Action, and Greenways group representatives from as far as Lake City. Lots more on West Seattle BlogDSC00064

WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE AT NIGHT?

This evening some of us meet at Jack Block Park to be video-taped by Jeff Hallman through a car windshield, to see how we bike riders appear to car drivers and others at night.  Video coming after Jeff has some time to edit.

It was an opportunity to see first-hand from another point of view just how well, or not, our lights and/or reflective gear work from all angles and in different lighting situations. We had a variety of light setups and reflectivity, and tried with and without car lights shining on us, and with and without our lights on. Some surprises, good and bad, for each of us. We’ll share it soon. IMG_6157No surprise that it’s really hard to see riders who are riding without lights in dark clothing!

Loving Nature, Music, and Biking – Together

Screen shot 2014-01-01 at 10.46.37 AMHere is a story from Full Life Care and their ElderFriends program that might stretch our vision of what it means to make our streets work for people of all ages and abilities…

 

 

 

 

“We’re both free spirits,” says Jodee Thelen, a long-time ElderFriends volunteer. “We communicate with nature and music and we both love riding bikes.”

Jodee’s kindred spirit is Constance Griffin, “Sparrow” to her friends. The last surviving sibling of a large family, she now lives alone. Sparrow had her first ElderFriend in 2006, when she was seeking new friends and an expanded support system. Connecting with ElderFriends’ friendly visitors helps her ward off loneliness. She says, “Life is so much better since I’ve known ElderFriends.” She’s also enjoyed holiday visits as part of ElderFriends’ holiday meal deliveries.

Last Thanksgiving, Jodee Thelen delivered a meal to Sparrow, and they discovered that they shared a spirit of adventure, and love of nature and music. Shortly after the meal, they formalized their ElderFriends relationship and have continued to build their friendship throughout the year. “We hit it off from the start,” says Sparrow. “And our friendship gives me hope because I have something to look forward to. I know she’s there; I have someone who thinks about me.”

Their outings are eclectic, comprising a vast array of activities. In recent months, they attended the ElderFriends BBQ at Magnuson Park, and they also enjoyed the Seattle Symphony Day of Music, where they heard “a fabulous Native American flute player. I just closed my eyes and I was in the forest,” Sparrow recalls.

“We both love the outdoors,” Jodee says, “And Sparrow was even part of a small group that pedaled bikes to Alaska over six weeks. She was in her fifties then; that really inspires me.”

Jodee is currently inspired to help Sparrow acquire a new, lightweight bicycle so that she can get around her neighborhood more easily and independently. Or sometimes, with a friend at her side.

Reprinted from Full Life Times Winter 2013-2014, with permission from Sparrow, Jodie and FullLifeCare.

26th Ave SW Greenway Bike Counter

Bike Counter SignWe count!

News from Dawn Schellenberg at SDOT: “To help measure how well neighborhood greenways are preforming, three permanent bike counters are being installed on greenways this month. Ultimately we hope to have 10. One will be located on 26th Ave SW Between SW Oregon St and SW Alaska St. It will be small metal controller box with a sign that says Neighborhood Greenway Bike Counter (see attached) placed on the sidewalk near the curb. Two small tube sensors will stretch from the box across the street. It is not as fancy as the Spokane counter and will not display counts. However, we will put the data online and update it once a month—probably starting in February.  I’ll have a link from our NGW home page.”

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Coalition

Collage

We had a great turnout for the the Highland Park/Delridge Greenway SDOT outreach meeting last month.  The North Delridge greenways on 21st and 22nd are actually being built and used!  We have greenways all over the map of West Seattle in the Bike Master Plan update.  One reason for this: the concerted action of the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coalition. We are part of it, along with West Seattle Greenways and West Seattle Spokespeople. Our WS groups have zero budget, fueled by volunteer hours. But Seattle Neighborhood Greenways pays two people modest salaries to support groups like ours by doing the legwork that most of us with day jobs cannot do.

We are much more effective by being a part of the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coalition of neighborhood groups that advocates for our needs and connects us to City Hall. Among many other things, working as a coalition we have dramatically increased funding and standards for neighborhood greenways and safe crossings.

In 2014, our coalition will focus on updates of the Pedestrian Master Plan, the Right-of-Way Improvement Manual, School Road Safety Plans, intersection improvements, tactical urbanism, Safe Routes to Parks, mini-grants for local groups, and a greenways “report card”!

Will you make a tax-deductible investment to power your movement to even greater successes in 2014? We have a $25,000 match that will double your gift, but only until January 1st. Please take advantage of this opportunity and donate today! http://seattlegreenways.org/get-involved/donate/

Thank you!

Duwamish Longhouse Gift Fair

It’s a nice ride on the West Duwamish Trail along the Duwamish river to the Duwamish HQ: Native Holiday Gift Fair continues Sat, Nov 30 and Sun, Dec 1, 10-4:30 at the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle, www.facebook.com/duwamishIMG_1120 .

Saturday Nov 23 Garden Party at the Fishing Pier

Post event:  We had a beautiful fall morning and a nice turnout.  Weeded the planters, cleaned debris from the trail, cut back ivy from trees, cut blackberries and did quite a bit of weeding and trash pickup from the landscaped area to the. Thanks to all who participated.

Cedars freed from ivy, at least for awhile
Cedars freed from ivy, at least for awhile
English ivy choking a Cedar
English ivy choking a Cedar
heading out. SDOT will pick up the piles of debris and bags of trash.
heading out. SDOT will pick up the piles of debris and bags of trash.

IMG_0992

Craig Rankin cutting a ring in the ivy around a Cedar. Craig has a habit of doing this in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, with other forest stewards.
Craig Rankin cutting a ring in the ivy around a Cedar. Craig has a habit of doing this in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, with other forest stewards.
making progress
making progress

If you wanted to, but can’t make weekends or anything that takes this long, think about just carrying some work gloves and a weeding tool, and stopping by here for 15 or 20 minutes once in awhile to remove obvious weeds or cut back blackberry canes. Watch for glass and biohazards.  SDOT prefers that we don’t work in  the planted strip along the roadway, to stay safe.

This Saturday morning! Bring gloves, your favorite weeding tool or a rake, and a garbage bag or two, and meet us at the fishing pier. Lunch afterwards at the Chelan Cafe.   See “Events” for more details.

Delridge/Highland Park Greenway Planning

 

Quick report from the Delridge/Highland Park community meeting tonight at the Salvation Army building on 16th near White Center, attended by several from WSBC who live in the area, and one who doesn’t.
IMG_0835
SDOT and SPU were there in in a big way with maps, diagrams, and people including translators, to answer questions and take input from the neighborhoods. At times the ratio of SDOT to neighbors was about 1:1.  You can see the proposals at
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/delridgehighparkgreenway.htm

Input was almost all positive, with one exception who feels that added foot and bike traffic would disturb her quiet cul-de-sac. Craig Rankin, who has been working for Highland Park greenways for years, noted the need for a connection east from the proposed route on 17th to 11th or 12th. Others noted the need for connection west to the 26th Ave Greenway, and safety improvements especially at the crossings of arterials. But what is presently in the plans looks to us like a realistic route, with storm water improvements along part of it, and worth our support. You can send comments or questions to John Vander Sluis at SDOT: john.vandersluis@seattle.gov or 206.684.4617

Gordon Padelford from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Stu Hennessey, one of the leaders of the effort behind West Seattle’s first Greenways, on 21st and 26th Avenues in North Delridge, participated and lent their expertise.

Action Alert – State Transportation Funding

Here’s the takeaway from last night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting, thanks to Tom Rasmussen, our City Council Member from West Seattle, and Chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee:

Contact all of your friends, co-workers and relatives who live in Duvall, Cottage Lake, Redmond, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Medina, Bellevue, Sammamish, Newcastle, Auburn, Covington and East Hill.

Urge them to tell their State Senators Litzow, Hill, Fain and Tom and to pass a Transportation budget bill that includes the funding that the House bill includes for bus, bike and pedestrian transportation. We can’t all just drive cars everywhere all the time. If we did, the highways would come to a standstill. We need buses and safe bike and walking routes to work and school.

Time is of the essence.

The Governor may call a 2-day special session of the legislature next week only if the votes are there to pass a transportation bill. The House passed a bill that includes funding we desperately need just to maintain bus service as it is, and to fund safe routes to school, and specific improvements to East Marginal Way, and other critical bike and pedestrian safety improvements in West Seattle that our local representatives worked hard to include.

The fate of the bill in the Senate is in the hands of four east side suburban Senators:

Steve Litzow R-41st (Mercer Island-Bellevue-Newcastle),

Andy Hill R-45th (Finn Hill, Cottage Lake, parts of Redmond, Kirkland, Duvall, Sammamish)

Joe Fain R-47th (Auburn-Covington-East Hill),

Rodney Tom D-48th (Redmond-Kirkland-Bellevue).

If they hear from enough of their own constituents that we need the transit, bike and pedestrian funding that the House passed, they will have the political cover to buck their leadership.

Our Senator Sharon Nelson and Representatives Joe Fitzgibbon and Eileen Cody,  are already fully supportive.  They and Tom Rasmsusen are our champions on this. It is good to thank them, but we already have their votes.  Please contact your friends in those four districts by phone, email, FB or ham radio! Only their own constituents can really influence them.

Don Brubeck and Kathy Dunn attended, representing West Seattle Bike Connections