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TechNote #3 - 1/4/2008 - Be Conspicuous!

One of the most effective things you can do to reduce risk while riding is to improve your visibility to other drivers on the road. Back in 1981, the most thorough study of motorcycle accidents to date was published, known as the Hurt Report after its primary author, Dr. Harry Hurt. Dr. Hurt and his team personally investigated 900 motorcycle accidents in the Los Angeles area, and they also studied accident reports on an additional 3,600 accidents.

The Hurt Report discovered many root causes and contributing factors to motorcycle accidents. Among these, they found that approximately 75% involved a collision with another vehicle, most often a passenger auto. In these accidents, 2/3 of the time the motorcyclist had the right of way. The most frequent accident configuration involved a motorcycle driving straight, and an automobile making a left turn into the path of the bike. Quoting from the Summary of Findings for the report, "The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision."

Some things have changed since 1981. Bikes are bigger, which makes them easier to see. Lighting is improved, and daytime headlight operation is now mandatory for motorcyclists. However, drivers have more distractions (cell phones mostly), and now that most cars run daytime running lights, motorcycles don't stand out like they used to. Making yourself as visible as possible to other vehicles on the road is still the #1 thing you can do to decrease your chances of a collision.

By far the most important area to increase visibility is the front of the bike. Cars pulling out or turning in front of bikes is a huge problem, and is the cause of most accidents. Front conspicuity products take two primary forms:

Headlight Modulators
Auxiliary Driving Lights

Headlight Modulators

Motorcycles in the USA are allowed, by federal law, to run modulating headlights. No state or local ordinance may prevent this. Canada has an equivalent law allowing the use of modulators in all provinces. A headlight modulator may be connected to either the low or high beam (we prefer high), and will "pulse" from full power to reduced power. The light does not flash on and off - that would not meet the requirements of the law, and it would also greatly reduce your bulb life (from continuous heating/cooling of the filament). Modulators are required to incorporate a daylight sensor, so that they do not operate at night. Modulators draw virtually no additional power as compared to running your factory high beam.

My first bike was a used 1986 BMW R80, and it happened to already have a headlight modulator on it when I purchased it. I'd never heard of such things, but the fellow who sold the bike to me assured me that it was legal, and that it would GREATLY improve my visibility to other drivers on the road. He wasn't kidding - I would regularly have cars pull to the side, thinking I was a police bike! I would frequently see a car about to turn onto the road I was on approach a stop sign, about to make a rolling "California stop", and suddenly jerk to a stop as they saw my headlight approaching. The modulator worked SO well for me, that I vowed to have one on any motorcycle I owned in the future.

When we started Cycle Gadgets, modulators were one of the first products we wanted to carry. Because of the specific way that modulators must perform by law, there is really no performance difference between any of the various brands. The modulation rate, intensity, and pattern are all regulated strictly. The one big difference, though, is in how the modulators are installed. This is the area where Kisan Technologies PathBlazer modulators stood out from the rest of the pack. Kisan's unique design plugs into the back of the headlight bulb on most bikes (there are a few exceptions where this isn't practical, like the Gold Wing GL1500 - they have a special version for that bike). You simply unplug the cable from the back of the bulb, plug the modulator into the bulb, and plug the bike's power cable into the module. The light sensor then plugs into the modulator - we usually run that to the brake line leading to your hand brake lever, and Zip tie it there so that it faces the sky. That's all there is to it - no cutting, splicing, drilling, etc. needed! To run the modulator, you simply turn on your high beam.

Auxiliary Driving Lamps

Another excellent method for increasing your conspicuity is to add white driving lights to the front of your bike. This can accomplish several important things.

First, and most obvious, is that the more light you have on the front of your bike, the better the chances are that you will be seen.

Second, motorcycles tend to look further away than they really are, and appear to be going slower than their actual speed. This is because of their size (people are used to seeing cars), and largely is due to the single-point headlight not providing any sense of scale or motion. Adding a set of white lights below and to either side of the headlight creates a "Triangle of Light", which makes it easier for others to judge your actual speed and distance.

Third, some auxiliary light can double as driving lights, improving your ability to see at night. While a good driving light requires a certain light output and beam pattern, these are not necessary features in a conspicuity light. Consider the type of riding that you do and the alternator capacity on your bike when deciding between a true "driving" lamp and a setup that is geared more toward conspicuity.

We carry three product lines that give you additional white lights on the front of your bike.

Our PIAA driving lamps are the best choice for someone that wants both increased conspicuity, and nighttime lighting improvements. We offer PIAA lamps by themselves, or with a variety of motorcycle-specific brackets. The biggest advantage of many of the PIAAs is their tight, high-power beam pattern that makes them excellent for putting additional light on the road at night. This very feature, though can be a drawback as far as conspicuity is concerned. If you have PIAA lights aimed for optimum nighttime use, they will be TOO bright to use at night when you have oncoming traffic. It's pretty obvious that if a driving light that isn't turned on, it isn't making you any more visible to other drivers!

A popular solution (and the one I use on my BMW R1100RT) is to put two driving lights on the front of the bike - one, a set of PIAA high-performance lights optimized for night driving; the other, a set of lower-powered (and lower-aimed) lights designed to operate at all times, day and night, for conspicuity. For my conspicuity lights, I've chosen the MotoLights caliper-mount driving lights. They're rugged, look great, and feature a lifetime bulb warranty.

The only problem with two sets of lights is the additional current draw. Some bikes really can't even handle one strong set - the BMW F650GS, for example, will "for-sure" end up with a dead battery if you try to run a set of 55W lamps with in-town driving. Until now, we really didn't have a good solution for these bikes. We'd tried low wattage (15W or so) lamps, and found that they just weren't brilliant enough to draw the eye during the day.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I got an interesting package in the mail - a sample set of "Hyper Whites" LED driving lights, from the makers of the Hyper-Lites brake lights that we have carried for several years. What a neat product! It consists of two modules with 16 super-bright white LED's, which can be adhered to a fairing, fender, or optional stainless steel fork tube bracket. We hooked up the sample set in our shop and were AMAZED at the brilliance of the light - and the total current draw is under 4W for the set! We immediately installed them on Timmy's F650GS and called Hyper Lites to get more. This is a terrific solution for anyone with limited electrical power on their bike.

Summary

Making the front of your bike more visible is crucial in reducing the chances of a collision. Putting lights on your bike is certainly no substitute for rider awareness and defensive driving skills, but being conspicuous could save your life. In a future column, I'll discuss other types of conspicuity, including rear-facing lights, reflective material, and conspicuous clothing. Until next time, please - ride safe!

TechNotes are occasional articles that we write to help people identify products and solutions that will work well for them, or for other technical subjects. If you have a suggestion for a future TechNote topic, please let me know.