Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

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simonineaston
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Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by simonineaston »

S
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mjr
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by mjr »

Squelch.

The law must change to prohibit vehicles where the operator cannot see out properly, as I think is planned. When that happens, these lights will only have a cool bike symbol as their USP. I'm not sure how well it shows up under current new very-bright white lights either. Finally, for £125, is it approved under any standards that make it legal to use as your sole headlight?
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JayGatsby
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by JayGatsby »

Notwithstanding the merit earned by the inventor of this device, I think it's a useless gimmick. Having seen a few in action, I can confirm that other road users don't see a nice clear bike shaped light display but instead a most fuzzy, jittery blob of a dull green colour dancing about the tarmack. It resembles nothing.
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661-Pete
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by 661-Pete »

Perhaps, even an old cynic like me shouldn't be casting aspersions that the images in the article might have been 'photoshopped'? But even assuming they're genuine, I can't see anything to be gained from this device. If a driver can't see a cyclist even at eye level in their field of view, he/she's not about to cast their eyes down on the tarmac looking for a projected green symbol (or blob).

And this quote from the article alarms me:
Inspiration came when cycling down a busy city centre street Ms Brooke, now 29, realised that the driver of the lorry in front of her couldn't see her, and that if he was to suddenly turn left she would be "squished".
The simple rule is, if you think the lorry driver can't see you, you don't go any place into which the lorry might manoeuvre. Specifically, you don't filter up the nearside. Surely that's a 'given' which has been stated and re-stated, on this and other forums, again and again. If Ms Brooke stays behind the lorry, she is safe from any manoeuvre it might perform, short of a sudden reverse (which is unlikely). But the wording of this paragraph seems to imply that Ms Brooke is in the habit of filtering up the nearside. Well, all I can say is, if she does that, good luck to her. She's going to need it, green laser or no green laser!
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mjr
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by mjr »

661-Pete wrote:And this quote from the article alarms me:
Inspiration came when cycling down a busy city centre street Ms Brooke, now 29, realised that the driver of the lorry in front of her couldn't see her, and that if he was to suddenly turn left she would be "squished".
The simple rule is, if you think the lorry driver can't see you, you don't go any place into which the lorry might manoeuvre. Specifically, you don't filter up the nearside. Surely that's a 'given' which has been stated and re-stated, on this and other forums, again and again. If Ms Brooke stays behind the lorry, she is safe from any manoeuvre it might perform, short of a sudden reverse (which is unlikely). But the wording of this paragraph seems to imply that Ms Brooke is in the habit of filtering up the nearside. Well, all I can say is, if she does that, good luck to her. She's going to need it, green laser or no green laser!

To me, it could also imply that Ms Brooke sometimes has lorries pull up alongside her at junctions where the lorries are unsafe by design (uncorrected blind spots) and operated by drivers who don't take that into account in busy cities. What would you do? Leap off and pull your bike off the carriageway whenever a lorry pulls up nearby? That would make crossing London rather slow and tedious except for a few routes with protected cycleways, plus if you don't notice the lorry... :-(

This is a hard problem: even if you so-called take-the-lane at a junction, a lorry can pull up behind you so close the driver can no longer see you, then if they forget before they pull away... :(

Lorries and road design both need fixing more than cyclists need berating or equipping with green lasers.
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Vantage
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by Vantage »

+1 @ 661-pete
If a driver can't see or doesn't particularly care about a real life 3D cyclist, how is he/she supposed to react to a 'virtual' cyclist?

I also have to wonder if a lasers light is soaked up by a wet road in the same way that an ordinary light is? If so, it would be even more useless.
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simonineaston
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by simonineaston »

The prospect of cyclists being drawn into the infamous left-side blind spot, in the mistaken belief that their 'Blaze' is going to keep them safe is probably not what was intended... it might even make matters worse! :shock:
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Postboxer
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by Postboxer »

It doesn't look to me like it shines far enough in front, particularly given how low some people seem to be in their cars, peering over the steering wheel. I think there should be a rule that you should be able to see the ground x metres in front of your vehicle, some people look like they won't be able to see the ground at all.

Maybe cyclists should have their own colour of lights, however there aren't many colours left, maybe purple, to distinguish cyclists from all of the other lights.
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simonineaston
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by simonineaston »

Well, ten out of ten for the review! Not sure yet about the light...
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Mark1978
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by Mark1978 »

Happens every month or so that someone comes out with some genius device to solve bicycle safety. This doesn't work either.
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661-Pete
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by 661-Pete »

mjr wrote:To me, it could also imply that Ms Brooke sometimes has lorries pull up alongside her at junctions where the lorries are unsafe by design (uncorrected blind spots) and operated by drivers who don't take that into account in busy cities. What would you do? Leap off and pull your bike off the carriageway whenever a lorry pulls up nearby? That would make crossing London rather slow and tedious except for a few routes with protected cycleways, plus if you don't notice the lorry... :-(
That may be so - and touches on the tragic case discussed in another thread - but I interpret Ms Brooke's use of the words "lorry in front of her" as implying that at the start of the encounter she was behind the lorry. Happily, she is still around to describe the incident. The victim at Hackney, sadly, isn't.
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gaz
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by gaz »

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=82183

A month or so back I saw one of these in action, twice. Both times I was cycling towards the rider with their blaze "bike signal".

The first time was in a poorly lit area with a reasonably smooth surface. The green bike symbol was clear and sharp edged. I saw the rider's ordinary lights first.

The second time was in a poorly lit area with a much rougher surface. The green bike symbol lacked clarity. I still saw the rider's ordinary lights first.

I'll carry on running 35-120 lux of Dutch engineered front lighting that complies to German standards, suits me.
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bogmyrtle
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by bogmyrtle »

I just don't get it. It doesn't light up the road to help you actually see and it doesn't do anything to help prevent close passes from behind in fact it could be distracting to drivers approaching from behind. I won't be buying one.
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Postboxer
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Re: Blaze light - genius or damp squib?

Post by Postboxer »

How about the rear lights that project two red lines onto the road to mark out your space, anyone tried those?

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