justin_o_guy2
Serious Thumper
Offline
What happened?
Posts: 55279
East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.
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MOdulating headlight? IMO, the jury is still out on them. &, NOT IMO, simple fact, I do not like them. They distract me from driving & DEMand I look at That Light,, Irritating at best,, Im not sure they dont affect others as the do me, Ohh, well,, Lookie what I found..
For the last 30 years or so I have kept my high beam on during daytime riding as a way to increase my visibility to car and truck drivers. But after my wife harrangued me about how annoying she found it to have a motorcycle riding behind her car with its high beam on, I am thinking of switching to using the low beam, but with a headlight modulator. But then my wife said that when she sees a modulating headlight coming toward her it causes her to almost fixate on it, so I wondered if using this device might actually end up making me more, rather than less likely to get hit by a car. Any thoughts on this?
And
Vito, I do understand the desire to be seen when on a motorcycle. I tend to agree with your wife. From a car drivers point of view I do not like the high beam use during the day. Not so much on the highway but in traffic and at lights. It can be very annoying having someone in front approaching or behind me shining their high beams in my mirrors. Not as bad when I am on my motorcycle and another cycle pulls up behind me as I can move the bars to deflect direct reflections. The headlight modulators are effective but I find them even more annoying. I associate the flashing light with emergency vehicles. I have met a group of bikes with several running the modulators and it can be very distracting. I have also seen this discussed on ADVrider. Some have been the victim of "target fixation" and almost run off the road by on coming drivers. I modified my front & rear turn signals. They have dual filament lamps for running lights and turn signals. This helps but I do feel that several drivers simply "Don't See Me". I also wear a high-vis mesh jacket most of the time. When it's cold and have the heavy leather jacket on I will wear a reflective vest in the morning and at night. Interested to read what others will have to say.
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