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From: animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Re: Automatic High Beam Flashers
Message-ID: <793@ihlpa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Sep-85 17:40:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpa.793
Posted: Mon Sep 16 17:40:47 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Sep-85 06:14:30 EDT
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*do not polish your engine with your tongue.  Excessive aluminum in the
diet has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. *

In a recent article, Rick Schieve desribed an unsettling experience:

> While driving to work (into the sun) Friday morning I was
> surprized to notice glare in my rear view mirror from the
> cycle behind me.  It was very annoying and distracting and
> I was glad to be passed farther down the road.  I followed
> the bike for several miles and determined from the reflection
> off the back of other cars and signs that the bikes low beam
> was on and the bright beam was flashing on and off at about
> a half second rate.  I pulled next to the biker at a light
> and told him his light must have a problem (though I suspected
> otherwise).  He responed that it was suposed to be that way.
> I told him my opinion of the system and that I hoped he got
> a ticket for driving with his brights on.
> I have been told by others that these circuits are available.

What you encountered was a headlight modulator.  They are manufactured
and sold by a number of companies.  What they are supposed to do
is flash the high beam at an attention-getting rate during daylight
and thereby reduce the chance of front-end collisions.

> Are these high beam flashers really legal?  

Thanks to a recent DOT ruling, they are now legal nationwide (assuming
they meet the DOT standard).  There is also a good chance that they will
become standard equipment if statistics show they really do contribute
to safety.

> My bike riding
> experience has always been to keep a low profile an not annoy
> people in bigger vehicles.  There are too many nuts out there
> that get a kick out of watching a biker have to slam on the
> brakes.

The "low profile" theory of bike safety assumes that a significant number
of the car pointers (I hesitate to call them drivers) are actively out
to get you.  This is a convenient operating assumption; however, the
majority are really just oblivious to your presence.  They don't deliberately
set out to push you off the road; they're just half asleep or thinking about
getting to work on time or who really shot J. R.  The "conspicuity" theory,
upon which the headlight modulator is based, says that it's best to make 
sure they see you, even if the method is a trifle annoying.  

> Weaving though traffic and taking advantage of your
> small size when riding gets people mad. 

It sure does.  It's also illegal in Illinois, regardless of whether your
headlight is flashing.

> I saw other drivers
> adjusting mirrors to avoid the flashing high beam and I think
> they were as annoyed as I was and all it takes is one crazy
> driver.

In the next ten million drivers you will encounter in the oncoming lane,
there will be perhaps one homicidal maniac who will consider having a
head-on with you because your light is flashing.  There will also be about
three million who will happily make a left turn right across your path 
because they didn't notice the motorcycle.

> Any comments or similar experiences..... and are these flashers
> legal???
> 
> 				Rick Schieve
> 				...ihnp4!ihu1g!rls

I've seen them in traffic quite a bit, and haven't been particularly annoyed.
Perhaps the one you saw had his headlight mis-aimed (up at traffic instead
of at the road).  This is remarkably common among bikes (which aren't ridden
at night all that much), and can be *very* annoying, whether flashing or
not.

Additional information on headlight modulators:

The idea isn't new at all.  Most experienced bikers will flash the brights
at oncoming traffic that seems to be a little to oblivious.  The Illinois
law that requires daylight use of headlights is based on the same idea of
forcing the motorist to notice the bike.  The same idea has given us 
reflectorized vests, side marker lights, front running lights and the
new eye-level brake light required on cars.

Several states legalized headlight modulators back in the 70's.  The
insurance industry opposed them, claiming that the flashing might trigger
seizures in borderline epileptics, and that people might try to run them
at night.  The Feds kept out of the dispute for a long time, leaving the
whole affair in limbo.  This year, after length hearings and lobbying
from the AMA (the bikers, not the doctors), the DOT ruled that headlight
modulators would be legal, and put forth standards for flash rate (too
fast to induce seizures) and daylight-only operation (a light sensor is
required in the unit).  Given the general gadget-frenzy of the American
bike market, it is likely that the top-of-the-line touring bikes (the ones
with digital instruments, direction finders, trip computers, etc.) will
sprout headlight modulators as factory options for the '87 season.

Whether the things actually help reduce accidents will not be known until
a significant number of bikes equipped with them are out on the roads,
of course.  In the meantime I'm sticking with a loud horn and lots of
caution.

			Dan Starr


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