Photon Blasters

[FRAC]

Anyone have opinion on or tried to install "SKENE PHOTON BLASTER" Front Visibility safely lights?

These:

Skene Lights Online Store

Online ordering for all Skene Lights visibility lighting products including the P3, Photon Blaster, IQ-275 dimmers, LED modules and more.

www.skenelights.com

Either the always on version or the version that works with your blinkers?

 

[dmonkey]

Modulated lights are legal in 50 states but risk distracting, disorienting, and annoying other drivers. As an alternative there is a common practice of mounting aux lights to form a triangle of light with the headlight. This is called a few things such as the triangle of light or the LONG concept. The triangular arrangement of the lights draws attention and also if spaced out appropriately with static lights that are not changing their luminance by modulating or flickering, creates a reference for other drivers to be able to gauge the speed of the motorcycle. Motorcycles are small and narrow so other drivers have trouble determining their speed, especially with only 1 headlight, which is a contributing factor to why cars pull out in front of motorcycles frequently. Another option to be seen better is to add a bicycle or baja triangle flag to the bike, it will wave around while moving which draws attention especially for truck drivers and others who are in vehicles much taller than the Trail 125. A nice bonus is that the flag makes it easier to find in parking lots.

Personally the only modulated or flickering light I would currently consider is a brake light (e.g. BackOff XP), but even for that in many situations you will have time to manually apply the brakes on and off to signal to a vehicle behind you that you might be abruptly slowing or that traffic is stopped ahead, it's something you would need to have practiced. There just might not always be time to do that in a panic stop.

 

[m in sc]

flickering/strobing led light can put an oncoming driver into a seizure if they are prone to it.... such as somebody like my wife. its a shitty idea and dangerous, especially if they have an episode and come head on into you or somebody else. how is blinding an oncoming driver ever a good idea? dumb. static driving lights are a better idea for visibility.

 

[FRAC]

Hey guys thanks for the responses and that makes sense - I totally missed in the description that these lights flicker. Glad I asked.

 

[FRAC]

However looking at the install manual you can turn off the modulation.


"The Photon Blaster has two different modes of operation. The default mode has conspicuity flicker enabled. In the optional, non-modulated mode, the LEDs maintain a constant brightness. The average brightness of the LED modules is the same in both modes."

 

[MisterB]

I'm often wrong with my assumptions, but if you approach and pass 100,000 drivers over the years it seems to me that:
1. A triangle of light is something that would be noticed, but not seem interesting enough to focus on.
2. A modulating headlight will seem so out of place as to be something to fixate on to understand this thing that's so different. We know it as Target Fixation and it's not as big a deal with cars, until it is.

Real badass motorcycle riders swear by modulators but I would rather be noticed than fixated on. I'd take the odds of #1 for long-term safety. I'm definitely not a badass.
OTOH I think backoff for brake light on this bike is a great idea. I bought a fantastic LEO/First responder vehicle add-on LED unit a couple bikes ago, will post if I can find the brand or model. You could program it to do 5 flashes then steady, or other options.

In my dreams other drivers see us coming a mile away and say "Ooooohhh yeaaaah, that little bike has got it goin ON!", but in reality probably not.
I laugh out loud every time someone pulls out of a side street or intersection directly in front of me on my well-lit Gold Wing. Happens regularly! "Fog" lights down low and amber rings around the Honda badges. Also hi-viz helmet.
I laugh because I can spot what they're gonna do before they do it. No anger towards them any more, they just don't care enough to look and their habitual stop sign running is their default mode.
After 670 miles on the Trail I haven't had a single incident! Not that I won't, but I've never done 600+ miles on the Wing without a close call*. Not apples to apples due to time and riding location.
Any of you other riders notice a difference when riding the Trail vs other bikes?


*excluding long highway trips

 

[MisterB]

Bezos never forgets. This one worked nice in 2013 for the Kawi Concrous or maybe ST1300 in place of the rear reflector. There was a potential issue with not having a rear reflector so I did some kind of workaround by putting a reflector elsewhere.
It was a pretty solid unit made for rougher duty than it saw with me. I'd like to order one each for momma and me but I feel like the 2013 me was in better financial shape than the 2022 me. OTOH, rear-ended Future me would have certainly spent the money! Tough year, tough decisions..

 

[m in sc]

30+ years riding, rarely had an incident, actually none like that. have i had people come over on me, yes, but they were next to me. if they arent looking up they wont see you no matter how bright and flashy you are. however, a triangle of light or 2 lights apart help the human brain determine distance and speed, a single one typically does not. .02

 

[chan2565]

Relevant video on the subject. This guy goes into detail on how and why bikes can be invisible to other motorists. There's a bit about headlights too, and how two lights side-by-side at night look like a car that is far away, rather than a motorcycle that is way closer.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I wish I was still able to access my old repository at work now. We did a ton of information gathering, not limited to motorcyclists, from the past 30+ years from multiple countries.

As @m in sc says, the shape and distance of the lights will help a human brain determine distance and speed (i.e. helmet + headlight lights vs. two headlights very close together that could be perceived as one). Changing or irregular movement lights (such as ankle straps on a bicyclist, or reflectors rotating on bicycle wheels) will help someone see you more than static reflection or lighting equipment.

Ultimately all of this does require the other driver to be paying attention and/or not be a total a**hole to everyone else, and I hate to say it but that sh*t is in short supply. My ex-wife is legally blind at night and is still allowed to drive. She had "I can't see where the road is anymore and blew a tire by driving off the roadway" bad night time vision. I have stories. THAT is the kind of driver that is sharing the road with you, completely legally, and I'm sorry to say that no amount of lighting, reflectiveness, or high viz clothing will ever save you from such a driver. The only way to win is not to play the game.

If we're talking about daytime riding though, I do actually have a suggestion. Be weird. Like... SUPER WEIRD.



I did once do a 100 mi charity ride wearing a chicken suit on a fixed gear bicycle as a gimmick to fundraise for cancer, and there are photos and even video footage somewhere, and I tell ya... pouring rain, terrible lighting conditions, yet EVERYONE saw the chicken that day. I have never had as safe a ride as I did while wearing a giant fluffy chicken suit. Everyone gave me a wide berth. And I can imagine if someone had hit me, they would have been all, "How the f**k did you not see a 6 ft tall chicken?"

IMO helmet covers count as safety equipment.

 

[AZ7000']

Flagstaff bicyclists involved in deadly tow truck collision were riding to promote safety

An hour before a tow truck ran a red light and collided with a group of bicyclists in Flagstaff, the riders had embarked on an organized outing to promote cycling

azdailysun.com

If the driver isn’t paying attention nothing else matters. 70 riders in reflective vests, some with traffic cones on their heads riding to promote bicycle safety. One killed, one lost a leg, and another handful hit. About 2 miles from my house…

 

[m in sc]

^ exactly.