They Killed my ST-1300

Intersections suck... I'll cycle my brakes on/off/on when I know a car is coming up to me at a stop until I notice they are slowing down. I have admorelighting LEDs in the top box that pulse a few times before solid and also hyperlites that also do that.

However, you can probably throw a grenade at a car that's not paying attention and they won't notice it, sometimes nothing you can do.
 
aniwack said:
This is the most popular one that I install. It fits above the license plate where the red reflector is. Takes about 15 min to install.
https://strobesnmore.com/products/s...ical-mt-available?_pos=2&_psq=e3&_ss=e&_v=1.0
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I've had the E3 on my bike for years and I know that people see it and give my some space. I also know that there could always be people who just aren't looking, Adding extra lights is no guarantee and I don't think anyone here believes for a second that it is. But we can't know that it hasn't ever helped.

dduelin said:
I don’t think you can wire a strobe to just one brake switch as there is just one positive wire (green/yellow ????) to both brake lights. Either switch energizes the brake lights.
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This is correct except that using a diode you can choose either the front or rear brake light switch to trigger the strobe. This is a good idea because an unauthorized EMS light on our bikes might not be appreciated by the local constabulary. I've never been called out but I never say never. Ok I just did three times but other than that...
 
I actually fabricated a separate single pole single throw momentary contact switch, normally open, and attached that to my metal handlebar-mounted brake lever.

It looked kind of like a rectangular door doorbell switch you would see on the side of a house, but it was much slimmer.

The flashing strobe brake light in the back was wired to constantly get positive power, and the side of the circuit that was broken by being run through this normally open switch was the ground wire / negative side. When I squeezed my [front] brake lever, I compressed this new switch that I added, closing the ground side of the circuit.

I chose to do it this way so I wouldn't be constantly annoying the motorists behind me if I had to sit at a red light for two minutes while holding one of the brakes to stop from rolling on a hill. If I released the front brake and only used the rear brake with my foot to hold the bike, then I wouldn't have a flashing strobe in the back. I would just have the standard factory brake light.
 
All our talk about bright taillights is probably for nought. When a driver is not paying attention, is distracted, or not expecting to see something* they won't see what is in front of them. Why else do so many cars turn left in front of oncoming bikes with headlights on (even modulated) in broad daylight. How many drivers reach and look to tune the radio (smartphone), crash into the stopped vehicle in front of them and then look up?

I had a near miss described in another thread. I was stopped at a red light with 1 empty car space between me and the car ahead. A guy barreled through the intersection behind me and screeched to a stop behind me despite my Redlyne bar brake light and flickering Knight Rider brakelight. I'd seen him coming and was already moving ahead, angling for the curb to pass the car ahead on its side. Honestly, I would have been his hood ornament had he not stopped. There was not enough room for an escape. There was a big utility truck parked next to me (my left side) with fiashing lights, and an overhead red stop light. Why did this guy blast thru the intersection at full speed? He was not paying attention.

*Remember that study with a guy in a gorilla suit walking across a game of basketball?
 
gunsmoker said:
I actually fabricated a separate single pole single throw momentary contact switch, normally open, and attached that to my metal handlebar-mounted brake lever.

It looked kind of like a rectangular door doorbell switch you would see on the side of a house, but it was much slimmer.

The flashing strobe brake light in the back was wired to constantly get positive power, and the side of the circuit that was broken by being run through this normally open switch was the ground wire / negative side. When I squeezed my [front] brake lever, I compressed this new switch that I added, closing the ground side of the circuit.

I chose to do it this way so I wouldn't be constantly annoying the motorists behind me if I had to sit at a red light for two minutes while holding one of the brakes to stop from rolling on a hill. If I released the front brake and only used the rear brake with my foot to hold the bike, then I wouldn't have a flashing strobe in the back. I would just have the standard factory brake light.
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Another way is to adjust the rear brake light switch a turn out or so. This allows a light constant press on the pedal to hold position on a grade without triggering the brake light.
 
This thread is a good reminder for me to stop at the outer edge of the lane at a stop light.
How are you doing Gunsmoker?
 
WOW, I just came back from being gone for the last few days. Sorry to see this!
With the condition of your bike, you were hit pretty hard!
Give your body some time to figure out the damage to you!
I agree that the bike should be worth more than a couple thousand.
Hope you heal fast!
 
Today at midnight I visited the convenience store where this accident happened directly in front of their gas pumps. Their only security camera facing that direction was at their front door about 200 feet from the crash site. The nice Indian fella who is the night clerk spent 40 minutes reviewing store security videos with me until we found the appropriate camera view and timestamp. The action took place at the very far edge of the camera view and a long distance away, but you can tell what happened. I came up at a slow speed and stopped at the appropriate place before the red light --the same place that all other cars had stopped at before.

For this red light I was alone at the intersection. I was there, still, for about five seconds and then this white pick up truck came along at twice the speed that I had been riding at when I approached the intersection at the same distance from it (coming into the camera review from about 100 feet back . ) I estimate at that point along the road I was coming into camera view at about 20 MPH and the truck came along doing 40 MPH.

Truck's brake lights did not light up until after the impact . He made no attempt to stop. Just hit me like a pro bowler picking up a single-pin spare!

I didn't see any attempt to swerve in the video. The camera didn't have enough resolution or light to see what happened to my body.
 
Ouch.... you have my sympathy for the pain and suffering of the injuries, which you need to have re-assessed to progress a claim against the third party I would think....

Never been hit hard from behind when stationary on a bike but have had a couple of nudges over the years!

Like many I would suspect this is what the UK Police call a "driver unaware" issue, most likely caused by not actually looking at the road, more likely a mobile phone...... although there are incidents like this where the driver was looking ahead but simply did not see you, or anything else that mattered!

I hope that once you have been properly assessed medically, that you can get your insurer and a lawyer engaged to resolve the whole matter.

I also hope that the driver was charged and goes to court and gets a substantial penalty for their actions.
 
Mellow said:
Intersections suck... I'll cycle my brakes on/off/on when I know a car is coming up to me at a stop until I notice they are slowing down. I have admorelighting LEDs in the top box that pulse a few times before solid and also hyperlites that also do that.

However, you can probably throw a grenade at a car that's not paying attention and they won't notice it, sometimes nothing you can do but watch your mirrors, remain in gear, be prepared to get out of the way.
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Uncle Phil said:
It's a little tough to watch your mirrors as you are pulling away from a traffic light watching for hazards in front of you ... ;)
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But when stopped it is easy to include mirrors in our threat scan.

In general we often sit at traffic lights for some period of time. Because we are often not seen by distracted drivers it's my practice to watch my mirrors, remain in gear, and be prepared to get out of the way. Whether or not that applies here was not intended to cast blame. As Mellow said and yourself has said all the lights and bright colors we have won't make a driver not looking see us and for that I take responsibility.
 
Uncle Phil said:
It's a little tough to watch your mirrors as you are pulling away from a traffic light watching for hazards in front of you ... ;)
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Specially true with the ST mirrors that require moving your eyes away from traffic. Handlebar mounted mirrors on my ST made a big difference, much more relaxed in heavy traffic.
 
I could have (and should've) looked at my mirrors two or three seconds before the impact and I probably would've seen the guy coming, noticed that he was coming in way too fast to be stopping for this red light. Had I seen those things I had plenty of opportunity to pull forward and to the right so he'd miss me. That's assuming I was in gear holding the clutch, but I often don't do that at long red lights. I like to give my hand a break, put it in neutral and release the clutch.
 
dduelin said:
But when stopped it is easy to include mirrors in our threat scan.

In general we often sit at traffic lights for some period of time. Because we are often not seen by distracted drivers it's my practice to watch my mirrors, remain in gear, and be prepared to get out of the way. Whether or not that applies here was not intended to cast blame. As Mellow said and yourself has said all the lights and bright colors we have won't make a driver not looking see us and for that I take responsibility.
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I don't dispute your general point but my specific point is that Gunsmoker was pulling away when he got tagged from what I understand.
I have found it very difficult to look ahead and look in the rear view mirrors at the same time. ;)
 
dduelin said:
Because we are often not seen by distracted drivers ... a driver not looking see us ....
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This guy was part of a two vehicle group: his wife was following closely behind him.

I suspect he was either using his phone to talk with her (perhaps even video conference/FaceTime) or he was looking at her driving through his mirrors and not watching the road in front of him.

That's just a guess --I didn't see the guy and his wife until a minute after the crash when I came to on the ground and they were both standing over me.
 
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