Night Riding Vision - Fight The Night

By the time you read this most of the country will have made the switch to Daylight Saving Time. Sure, I'm tickled to have that extra hour of light, but I'll still face the occasional post-sunset commute home. And night riding just ain't the thrill it used to be when I was a young buck. Generally speaking, your ability to see at night deteriorates with age, and a twilight spin in my mid-40s demands way more preparation to keep the excitement meter from going off the dial. You've probably heard the sobering stats: A disproportionately high rate of accidents occur between dusk and dawn.

The most basic issue-get ready now -is lack of visibility. The wonks at the National Safety Council (NSC) confirm that 90 percent of a rider's reaction depends on vision. And the nighttime riding disadvantage is compounded by the vagaries of getting older. At the back of my mind I keep hearing "The eyes are the first things to go."

Add roads with no overhead lighting, the sensitivity to light (headlights) many riders and drivers experience and the compromised distance vision of aging riders, and it's easy to see why it can be a battlefield out there at night. And if you think it's a stretch for drivers to spot motorcyclists in the full light of day, our single headlight is essentially invisible to the cagers after sundown. Apart from watching out for tired, clueless drivers, there's also Bambi to consider; wild animals tend to be more active after dusk.

That's a handful, so we asked Los Angeles optometrist Dr. Diana Risko (also a longtime rider) for some, uh, clarity. "The retinas are mostly designed for light situations," she explains. "Only around 15 percent of their receptors are made for the dark. Darkness makes the eye's pupil expand [dilate], and the headlights of an oncoming car basically set off all the receptors in your eye, giving you only a white flash in your vision." She adds, "Astigmatism [a curve to the cornea] is fairly common and often doesn't require correction. But it can make blurred vision more likely and can contribute to eyestrain."

Before you get all gloomy, know there are ways to prepare for your ride once the sun goes down.

Prep

A simple way to arm yourself against the evening is to prep your ride. That means giving everything a thorough scrub before you hit the street. Headlights, taillights, signal lights, windshields and helmet visors should be cleaned at least twice a week.

If you ride with a full-face helmet, make sure the shield is scratch- and fog-free. A scored visor can create light refraction and make two headlights seem like four; you won't know what's coming from where. Keeping fog at bay is a breeze with our favorite home remedy: Remove your helmet's visor and spit over the inside of it. Wipe your drool off with a clean rag, and bam!-antifog coating. (Shaving cream has a similar effect.) There are a variety of inexpensive solutions available that do the trick, too-we like Cat Crap ($3.99) for the cool name. Bigger spenders can spring for Fog City's Pro Shield antifog inserts. Any of them are more effective than sliding your fingers behind the shield to wipe it on the road.

Blinded By The Light

Remember that glare is in the eye of the beholder. Middle-aged and older riders are more sensitive than younger guns, so if you're running high-output auxiliary lights, give the other guy a break. The brighter beams can easily blind the very people you're trying to get to notice you. A teacher at the AARP Driver Safety Program course (participants age 55-plus) tells us he often hears complaints about motorcycle headlights being too bright. With the average driver's age on the rise, it's food for thought.

HID lights are also showing up on more bikes and cars in the U.S. Mounted on your machine you'll love their broader, brighter light. If you're on the other side of those bluish beams, though, you'll curse the blinding rays. As a common courtesy keep your lights on low when you're behind the other guy. And if a driver zaps you from the opposite direction, training your eye on the right edge of the road can help as a steering guide.

Dial 'er Down

Because night riding reduces both the distance and quality of what you see, you might want to keep a lighter touch on the throttle-especially if you're in the boonies. It'll be tougher to determine surface condition as well as the road's general direction at night, key points on unlit country lanes. Be prepared to stop if you're confused-don't guess. If you can, use the lights of other nearby vehicles as well as your own to keep an eye on the road and give yourself room to react.

In turns, make sure you have plenty of lean angle in reserve. If the turn tightens or the pavement changes, you may need the extra runoff.

Pick A Spot

Don't settle in behind a large truck or any vehicle's blind spot-get your motorcycle where it can be seen. The center of the lane is probably your best bet (you'll blend into street lighting if you ride too far on the road's edge). Give yourself plenty of room when passing other vehicles so you can adjust if they decide to shimmy over.

Rest Up

It's not a good idea to ride when you're tired, anyway. Long hauls in the evening can easily leave you in autopilot mode. You may not react to hazards as quickly as you would during the day. Changing up your speed and taking regular breaks is the best way to fight fatigue on long nighttime journeys. Snack and stretch-the movement and light food will help ward off tiredness.

Over Here

It's also in your best interest to make yourself a little larger than life. We've said it repeatedly in these pages: Wearing bright clothing and reflective material makes you pop at night. The biggest thing a following driver sees is your back, so get some reflectivity back there. Streetglo.net stocks DOT-approved, motorcycle-specific stick-on tape for less than $10 a roll. Oh, and make sure you use your turn signals so the zomb . . . er, people around you know what you're about to do.

Let There Be Light

As you might expect, your bike's lighting is your biggest weapon. Even simple things like ensuring your headlight and taillights have good-quality bulbs and clean lenses will yield big gains. If light quality is subpar, consider adding dual running lights; three properly aimed headlights are much more noticeable than one. Current styling trends have also led many manufacturers to use undersized brake lighting. If your rear light is a dot, think about swapping in a larger model. Halogen lamps-up to 30 percent brighter than stockers-can be had for less than $15.

Ready, Aim

In their dogged quest for style many manufacturers aim the headlight lower than the legal angle. Consult your owner's manual, then peek into the headlight area to find the adjustment hardware and tweak away.

Eye, Aye

Last (but perhaps most importantly), get your eyes checked. One quick visit can diagnose any problems. Dr. Risko says, "People with astigmatism are more likely to be disturbed by glare or light sensitivity. But almost all astigmatism can be corrected. Contacts are better for riding as they don't compromise peripheral vision like glasses do."


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Source: Motorcycle Cruiser (AP, 8/20)

Motorcycle clubs' use of road guards may be endangering lives

Because of its size alone, the Big Texas Toy Run can be "an inconvenience one day a year" for motorists, Nick Taddonio says.

On. Sunday, thousands of motorcyclists will leave Fort Worth and Dallas and head toward QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie as part of the annual charitable event, which benefits needy children in the Metroplex.
To limit the inconvenience, on- and off-duty police officers will help direct traffic as the bikers travel along Interstate 30.

"There are many, many police officers involved," said Taddonio, president of the charity's board. "We say on our flier it's police-escorted and it's not just at the front end of the line.

"But not all motorcycle rides are as big, or as organized, as the toy run.

When motorcycle clubs set out on rides -- occasionally for charity, often just for fun -- they sometimes use their own bikers, or "road guards," to direct and block traffic, a common but illegal practice that is being blamed for the death of a man in October in Granbury.

Rafael Del Val, 38, was in a convoy of some 85 motorcyclists headed to Cranfills Gap when he was fatally injured.

According to a Granbury police report, members of the motorcycle convoy were trying to stop cross-traffic at U.S. 377 and Temple Hall Highway so the group of riders could stay together. Del Val and a second biker collided with an SUV while entering the intersection against a red light.

Although a Granbury police spokesman said the case will go to the Hood County district attorney's office for presentation to a grand jury, the accident report lists Del Val's disregard of the red light as the sole contributor to the crash.

The crash has focused attention on the use of road guards to block cross-traffic, regardless of traffic signals, until all riders can pass.

"This is a very common practice for the hordes of bikes that ride around the small towns of North Central Texas -- it happens a lot," a person wrote in a letter to the Star-Telegram. "Really friendly way to drive. Motorcyclists want cars to be bike friendly, but apparently that is a one-way street."


Interpretation of law

Some motorcyclists argue, however, that the law is ambiguous and that the use of volunteer road guards is a safety measure to keep motorcyclists and other drivers safe.

"It's a gray area," said Jeff Wilson, president of the Cowboys from Hell riding club, to which Del Val belonged. "It's always been one of those things that you just don't know what they're expecting of us. When the laws were written, it was for a single bike or a single car. ... But the laws aren't written for 80-something bikes riding at the same time. There's no clause for that."

According to a Department of Public Safety official's interpretation of the Texas transportation code, only law enforcement officers are allowed to block traffic unless an emergency occurs, such as a wreck.

While Fort Worth and several other cities have ordinances giving funeral escort companies limited authority to stop traffic, such rights do not extend to motorcycle convoys, officials said.

"If someone calls and says we're the DFW rider group and we want to take 200 motorcycles through your city, if you want to go through intersections, you're going to have to hire off-duty officers that assist you because we're the only ones that can stop the traffic," said Sgt. Ann Gates, a supervisor in the Fort Worth Police Department's motorcycle unit. "Otherwise you're going to have to obey all the traffic lights and signs. You're not going to be able to expect to blow through there as a group and expect everyone to just stop."


Defining 'escort'

Though not funeral escorts, the Patriot Guard Riders often participate in processions as part of their mission to attend, by invitation, the funerals of American service members to show respect and help shield mourners from interruptions caused by protesters.

George Winslow Jr., national president of the Patriot Guard Riders, said that if the group's members are part of a funeral procession that is not being escorted by law enforcement officers, "our practice is to follow all applicable traffic laws."

He said providing road guards is outside the group's normal practice "unless requested by law enforcement during a particular mission."

"In many states 'escort' has a specific legal definition, sometimes requiring special licensing and equipment," Winslow said. "Normally we do not provide 'escort' services. However, we often participate in a procession, which is being escorted by law enforcement officers, which I understand leads many of the public to believe that we are the escorts."

But Wilson said hiring officers for informal rides like the one in which Del Val was killed is not feasible.

"It's not a sponsored ride or anything like that," Wilson said. "Nobody raised money. It's not a sanctioned ride. It's like, 'Let's meet up somewhere Sunday and go for a ride.'"

Wilson said he believes that keeping the riders together is necessary for safety reasons and that road guards are a tool to help warn other motorists.

"I would think if you get a large group of 85 bikes coming through, you keep them together, you get them through and they're out," Wilson said. "To me it's a safety issue -- to keep the bikes together so everyone can watch over everybody."


'It's reckless'

Kat Fay, the driver of the Kia Soul involved in the collision, disagrees. She said such groups assume that other motorists understand the purpose of a person acting as a road guard.

"I had no idea what was going on," Fay said. "I had never experienced it before or even heard of it."
Fay said she found it unusual when she pulled up to the red light and spotted a motorcycle stopped in front of the car to her right, but had no idea that the motorcyclists were trying to stop all cross-traffic or that a large group of motorcycles was even headed her way when her light turned green and she proceeded forward.

"The woman on the back of the bike started waving her arms and yelling and pointing to my left," Fay said. "I looked left and there were motorcycles basically hitting my car at that point."

Fay said the Granbury investigator who worked the case mentioned to her that if the group had simply requested the Police Department's help, officers would have escorted the bikers through town.

"They can't take it into their own hands," Fay said. "I think it's reckless. I think that they're putting their lives at risk. They're putting other people's lives at risk."

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source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Boyd, 12/19)