Saw a broken down car way later than I'd have liked :o

[Horse]

@Noggin bet you didn't think it would escalate to a science lesson

[Noggin]

@Noggin bet you didn't think it would escalate to a science lesson

LOL Well, pretty much nothing surprises me on here! And it is in Survival, so, whilst I didn't think that hard, I'm not at all surprised

[Scootabout]

suddenly appears

Hmmm ... beamed down from space?

I think that is the most likely explanation, yes

[Count Steer]

Had a couple of moments involving nearly stationary stuff on unlit roads in 40/50mph sections in the dark yesterday.

An old bloke on a mobility scooter with no rear lights on....on the A23 Had lights on the front so he could see where he was going so I assume it was faulty.

Chap on a bicycle on the A24. Dark clothing and a v feeble rear light.

They got closer pretty rapidly too!!

[Mr. Dazzle]

The trouble with night time, particular with bikes that only have a single light, is that the object you're looking at (i.e. the red light) is much much smaller*. Therefore you have to get really close before it starts doing the "oh shit it's getting close!" looming thing.

*well technically it's the same size, but you can only see a very small part of it

[Horse]

The trouble with night time, particular with bikes that only have a single light, is that the object you're looking at (i.e. the red light) is much much smaller*. Therefore you have to get really close before it starts doing the "oh shit it's getting close!" looming thing.

Which neatly segues (When Threads Collide) back to the auxiliary lights thread.

Being seen (visible) is not the same as being understood (cognitive conspicuity).

For example, I can remember the first time I saw reflective pedals on a bicycle. The little orange dots bouncing up and down were visible - but I had no idea what they were.

[Cousin Jack]

For example, I can remember the first time I saw reflective pedals on a bicycle. The little orange dots bouncing up and down were visible - but I had no idea what they were.

OTOH a mild dose of 'What the Fcuk is THAT' may be no bad thing. At least you are aware that something is ahead.

[Horse]

For example, I can remember the first time I saw reflective pedals on a bicycle. The little orange dots bouncing up and down were visible - but I had no idea what they were.

OTOH a mild dose of 'What the Fcuk is THAT' may be no bad thing. At least you are aware that something is ahead.

Apart from that you're still closing the gap all the time you're wondering. Only really helps if you start to reduce speed and make 'what if?' plans.

It's much better if there's early understanding, which can be provided by things like the 'fend' (angled) parking the Dazzle mentioned.

[The Spin Doctor]

The trouble is that the response of most of us whilst wondering WTF is that is to keep doing what we're doing...

By the time you do work out what it is, we're a lot closer!

We need to learn a 'slow down' while we think about it.

Oddly enough, I've got an article coming out in a day or three based on aircraft practice and three phases of dealing with things that are going wrong:

UNCERTAINTY - what's happening?
ALERT - something's not right!
DISTRESS - help!

[Scootabout]

For example, I can remember the first time I saw reflective pedals on a bicycle. The little orange dots bouncing up and down were visible - but I had no idea what they were.

OTOH a mild dose of 'What the Fcuk is THAT' may be no bad thing. At least you are aware that something is ahead.

It gets particularly difficult when an alien spaceship has landed on an Italian autostrada and taken the form of an illuminated traffic management vehicle. Trust me, I have experienced it

[Horse]

Chap on a bicycle on the A24. Dark clothing and a v feeble rear light.

Due to heavy traffic on the A30 (due to the M3 being shut), last night I took a parallel route which included travelling through a village.

No street lights, parked cars on either side, another vehicle coming towards, about 80-100m away.

I decided to pull in and let them through, rather than try and find a mutual passing point.

As I slowed to a stop, only then did my (very good) headlamps illuminate a pedestrian walking on the left (back to me). Dressed in black. She had her phone screen glowing, but it was shielded from me.

[Horse]

It gets particularly difficult when an alien spaceship has landed on an Italian autostrada and taken the form of an illuminated traffic management vehicle. Trust me, I have experienced it

One of my many pet hates is vehicle-mounted warning lighting reminiscent of 1970s discos.

It's a difficult balance to design a conspicuity scheme which:
- provides long-distance 'attention!', with appropriate luminance for ambient conditions (weather, day/night)
- doesn't cause unnecessary glare (distraction or disability) at closer distances
- aids the viewer in understanding whether it's 'urgent' (you need to plan to avoid this) or 'advice' (I'm alongside the carriageway, pass carefully)
- aids the viewer in understanding whether the vehicle is parked or moving
- doesn't hinder the view and identification of pedestrians near a parked vehicle
- ideally 'places' the vehicle in the environment, helping distance judgements
- ideally showing the width of the vehicle (see previous looming info)

[Horse]

NB possibly as a result of research published in about 2014 ... mutter mutter ... filtering through, you may have noticed that, recently, emergency vehicles now have relatively simple 'side to side' flash patterns.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23746746/

FWIW the majority of warning lighting that you'll see fitted to vehicles is probably illegal.

[iansoady]

We need to learn a 'slow down' while we think about it.

Yes. It seems to me that it is a very rare occasion when slowing down does any harm. But I was so much faster then, I'm slower than that now.....

[Mr. Dazzle]

We need to learn a 'slow down' while we think about it.

This really.

My default response when seeing something I don't recognise is to back off. I'd like to say that's as a result of training or experience, but I don't think it is. I couldn't tell you where it comes from, but I always do it. I'm not gonna fight it as an instinct though!

I suspect some people who say that makes me timid or overly cautious. Dunno.

[Horse]

We need to learn a 'slow down' while we think about it.

This really.

My default response when seeing something I don't recognise is to back off.

I suspect some people who say that makes me timid or overly cautious. Dunno.

He who hesitates is lost.



But look before you leap

[Mr. Dazzle]

The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets fucked!

[ZRX61]

Was headed North on the local freeway one day. There's this one long left hand curve as it approaches a dry riverbed. There's a wall in the center divider. The left shoulder is about 5ft wide. Some frigging idiot CHP had parked his car on the inside of the curve where it wasn't visible until I was maybe 150ft from his back bumper because of the wall, car was about 18in into my lane which isn't much time at 70-80mph. I came damn near to shaving his right side door handles off his car.
Called his station when I got home 40 minutes later & was about to rip into the watch commander. Person who answered the phone said "If you're calling about the idiot who parked his cruiser on the 14, we've already had a bunch of calls & he's been spoken to"