High beam on during the day?

[Gummiente]

Per my MSF student workbook:

"You might consider a modulator that pulses your headlight during the daylight hours."

I absolutely cannot stand these things.

My thoughts zigactly. While they do draw immediate attention to the bike they have the side effect of distracting all oncoming traffic while they try to figure out what the heck the flashing is all about... are there cops ahead?... does the bike have an electrical fault?... is there a tanker truck full of gas sprawled all over the road around the next corner? The last thing we need is a bunch of distracted cagers watching ONE bike when they should be watching ALL bikes.

As for riding with the high beam on, there was no reference to that practice in any of the CSC manuals when I was an instructor. Some of the other instructors would recommend it but I found from personal experience that a 65W motorcycle beam did more to annoy cagers than anything. And those that insist on coupling high beams with their lightbars are actually putting themselves in danger - not only are they blinding oncoming cagers, they're making it impossible for to see the bike's signal lights. There are those who would say that they'd rather have a cager annoyed at them then not see them, but I have to disagree with that. Bright clothing, a working and properly adjusted low beam and defensive riding techniques are what will save your hide.

[iwannadie]

i agree the flashing headlight isnt the best idea and im surprised its even legal really. if the person is blinded by your light they wont see your eyes, making eye contact goes along way to them not running you over. also the bright light(or flashing) might make it harder for them to judge your speed and distance which will end up hurting you.

Per my MSF student workbook:

"You might consider a modulator that pulses your headlight during the daylight hours."

I absolutely cannot stand these things.

My thoughts zigactly. While they do draw immediate attention to the bike they have the side effect of distracting all oncoming traffic while they try to figure out what the heck the flashing is all about... are there cops ahead?... does the bike have an electrical fault?... is there a tanker truck full of gas sprawled all over the road around the next corner? The last thing we need is a bunch of distracted cagers watching ONE bike when they should be watching ALL bikes.

As for riding with the high beam on, there was no reference to that practice in any of the CSC manuals when I was an instructor. Some of the other instructors would recommend it but I found from personal experience that a 65W motorcycle beam did more to annoy cagers than anything. And those that insist on coupling high beams with their lightbars are actually putting themselves in danger - not only are they blinding oncoming cagers, they're making it impossible for to see the bike's signal lights. There are those who would say that they'd rather have a cager annoyed at them then not see them, but I have to disagree with that. Bright clothing, a working and properly adjusted low beam and defensive riding techniques are what will save your hide.

[Telesque]

And while we're on the topic of lights..

I'm not sure what it's called.. but it's another thing which I find horribly distracting, and unsafe.

They've put them on some of the newer cars, but I've only seen a couple, and haven't seen any more recently, so I'm hoping it was a short trend and has been happily laid to rest.

What I'm referring to is a headlight which emits a 'spiderweb' like ... er, flare? We've all seen this- usually when it's rainy out.. streetlights, car lights, just about anything emits those long, straight lines up and down, giving it a classic 'pulsar' (i.e. 'twinkly' ) kind of look.

Anyways, some genius went and engineered a set of headlights that emit a spider web or light around the filament regardless of whether it's day, night, rain, or not. From the ones I've come across, there's around a foot and a half glare emitted from the light which cannot be seen through.

I apologize for what is an otherwise pretty crumby description, but I think it's safe to say that if you've seen what I'm referring to, you'll know it.

[iwannadie]

i havent seen this before that i know of. ive seen alot of colord headlights lately. green, purple, blue, yellow. these are headlights not fog lights. although they might look cool i cant see how its safe to drive with them at all.

And while we're on the topic of lights..

I'm not sure what it's called.. but it's another thing which I find horribly distracting, and unsafe.

They've put them on some of the newer cars, but I've only seen a couple, and haven't seen any more recently, so I'm hoping it was a short trend and has been happily laid to rest.

What I'm referring to is a headlight which emits a 'spiderweb' like ... er, flare? We've all seen this- usually when it's rainy out.. streetlights, car lights, just about anything emits those long, straight lines up and down, giving it a classic 'pulsar' (i.e. 'twinkly' ) kind of look.

Anyways, some genius went and engineered a set of headlights that emit a spider web or light around the filament regardless of whether it's day, night, rain, or not. From the ones I've come across, there's around a foot and a half glare emitted from the light which cannot be seen through.

I apologize for what is an otherwise pretty crumby description, but I think it's safe to say that if you've seen what I'm referring to, you'll know it.

[DustyJacket]

I use the low beam unless I need high to see.

If another vehicle is approaching my danger areas, or can possibly turn, or is cross traffic, I flash the high beam. I ride with my trigger finger on the high beam flasher and my thumb on the horn button.