Here's a different solution to being seen

[Arizona Wayne]

Sean F., now you've gone on the deep end, claiming 2 brake lights is no different than adding an extra brake light because you have fears of being rear ended.  1 brake light is all I and many others need.  You do whatever you want.    Legally only 1 brake light is required.

On a slightly different subject, legally in some states all riders have to wear a helmet, but in Arizona it's optional if you're  an adult.  I wear a helmet even tho legally I don't have to.

Legally in most states you have to have your headlight on all the time you are riding on a public road.  Except in California, where you only need a headlight on at night.

Legally, if you ride a sidecar rig you have to have a MC license in all 50 states, except in California.  Not many people know this.

[azguzzirep]

I do not disparage anyone for being more pro-active on the subject of personal safety.  Many riders here wear dayglo orange or green safety vests when they ride. I did when I rode my bicycle in Phoenix.

I just want to warn about a false sense of security such items can sub-consciously give an individual.

Gotta stay aware! Peace, brother!✌

[SeanF]

Agree, awareness is a key part of an overall strategy for getting home alive. 

But IMO going from 1 brake light to 2 does not a paranoid rider make.

[swooshdave]

Situational awareness is the primary mode of defense on a bike. Everything after that is just extra.

[derek533]

I dunno guys.  Count me as part of the anything to make you more visible group.  It can only help. 

Sure, situational awareness is key, but anything we can do to be a little safer and make us more visible to those around us makes it all the more better IMO. 

[Lannis]

I dunno guys.  Count me as part of the anything to make you more visible group.  It can only help. 

Sure, situational awareness is key, but anything we can do to be a little safer and make us more visible to those around us makes it all the more better IMO.

That's true.

On the one hand, I can pull up a news article from someone almost every day where a soccer mom, a drunk, or a texting kid smashed straight into the back of a huge yellow stopped school bus with strobes and flashers going.   "I didn't see it!"

On the other hand, just yesterday I was riding down a four lane highway, and about 1/4 mile ahead something caught my attention.   It was a BMW rider in a fluorescent lime-green jacket and yellow helmet.   I mean, I REALLY noticed him.   Of course, I would tend to notice a motorcycle because I .... notice them.   But even a text-impaired idiot has to look up from the phone sometimes, and if they do, they MIGHT notice the guy in bright colors before hitting him.

So it's probably worth the effort.

Lannis

[TodkaVonic]

I ordered one. Here's my take: I'm not doing the day-glow orange jump suit and white helmet thing, it's just not happening. While I'm a full believer in ATGATT, that gear, the gear that I'm wearing all the time, it also looks terrific. So that puts me into a group of safety enthusiasts who are reliant upon technological advancements to close the gap between vanity and a horrible, violent death. That said, I'm also seeing more and more people driving along with smartphone in hand looking down, now up, now down again, still down, now up, and down, and up again, that it's making me even more paranoid than usual. The more attention-grabbers those distracted cagers get, the better. Additionally, the product seems optimal for use with my 1970 Ambo and it's ridiculously inadequate brakes because I do do a significant amount of downshifting and because it does precipitously decelerate with that action.

[azguzzirep]

I'll add this;

First, I never said such things were dumb or stupid. Nobody said I did, but just to clarify things, others said it, not me.

So, next point. I think safety things are just that. I have NOTHING against them. My ONLY  concern is that a sub-conscious false sense of security can come from using such items and I was only  warning that THAT can be a dangerous thing.

Hey, I even had extra reflectors on my bikes at times. It's all good. Just don't make the mistake. Ride safe!

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Bull on all these lights, just wear a gun.  They will see you from half a mile away in any direction.
 It is not a matter of can the see you.  It's do they want to see you.

[Arizona Wayne]

  Bull on all these lights, just wear a gun.  They will see you from half a mile away in any direction.
 It is not a matter of can the see you.  It's do they want to see you.

My thinking is if they have a gun and they see that red thing on the back of your helmet they might get annoyed by it and decide it'd be a good target FOR their gun. 

[bobbyfromnc]

Warning: thread drift.

Stupidest thing I've seen are the testicles some people put on their trucks.

There's truth in Tom's words.

Rich A

LOL  LOL  LOL