Why is it that motorcyclists always seem to drive around with main beam on?
Do they enjoy blinding me with their mirror level super bright lights? Are they too stupid to know different? Or is it the motorbike manufacturers that are causing the problem by only giving the cyclists an option of “off” or “blinding”?
There was a good example of just such an idiot on my way home tonight. I could see the motorbike behind me, it was difficult to look at because it was blinding me, but it seemed to be far back enough to be safe, so I pulled out. Turns out the bike wasn’t so far back as I thought. It wasn’t dangerous, but he had to slow down.
The point is that we get all these adverts telling us to look out for motorcyclists because they’re more vulnerable than car drivers, but they aren’t helping themselves. By blinding me he was putting himself in danger at that time, and further down the road. It took several miles for me to get good night vision back, some of that time he was in front of me through the roadworks on the M4 through Cardiff.
If I had hit him at any time it would have been all my fault, even though it was his main beam glaring at me in my rear view mirror that was the root cause.
We have the same problem here, but not just with bikes. One thing they taught me in driving school when I was a kid that always seems to help – when you get a problem with glare, refocus your eyes so that you peripherally concentrate on the shoulder marking line. It should help the glare go away quickly enough that you can see things around you clearer.
I think bikers in the UK are crazy anyway. I’ve seen so many just drive up the median line because they didn’t want to wait at the roundabout or the stoplight.. that shit gets your license pulled where I come from.
Meh, I shoulda just pulled out and smacked the guy
The night vision wasn’t helped by it being that horrible almost-dark twilight time. But since the clocks go forward this weekend I won’t have to deal with that until the autumn when they go back again.