Great Advice, THE SMIDSY

[thestache]

Cruizin, maybe we can pin this, I think you posted this last year. This guy explains why people do not see you in a lot of cases and what you can do to help be seen. I do this all the time, and so far, everyone looks right at me...like I am a dork, but, they saw me, it worked.
 
I actually do this, and flash my passing light at ANYONE in an intersection I feel might pull out
 
 
[video src=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU]

[fzhooligan]

I do that all the time. Even when I'm not trying to get someone's attention lol.
 
it's my "i'm excited" move

[aeisan]

I call that the "make my tires more stickier" move ha. Typically performed right before entering areas of twisties.

[snowdriftless]

Good advise, I need to pay more attention more at intersections. Remember half of the accidents happen within 6 miles of home and in cities. Takeaway: Park your bike in a storage unit at least 7 miles from your house in the country and never ride home. 
 

[tino206]

You also have to be careful to not over do the turning as you may loose your balance and fall..

[aeisan]

I always just assume they will pull out and prepare for the worst. Then I give them the one-finger salute if they do!

[lbv]

I've started riding with my high beam on during the day this spring ... won't blind anyone and makes me for visible ... any comments on that?
 
I always look at the driver for eye contact (dark tinted cars force me to slow down a bit and have my thumb over the horn ready to press).

[she3pdog]

I do that all the time. Especially when I'm on a long straight stretch of road. I do also do it right before intersections.

[vodapas]

@lbv
 
By all means ride with your bright during the day. Make yourself as visible as possible. They say one reason why auxiliary lighting on motorcycles helps isn't even so much the increase in light but making a motorcycle look like something other than a motorcycle. This forces the cager's brain to process "WTF is that?" Which means if they are thinking about you, they are seeing you.
 
Tip - Do not rely on eye contact with the driver. Driver's look right at motorcycles and then pull out in front of them all the time. If the car is pulling in from the side of the road watch the wheels. The first and most quickly noticeable sign a car is starting to move is the movement of the spokes of the wheels. If you count on watching the car or the driver you may become fixated on the target and not notice the car is moving in relation to it's surroundings. If the car is oncoming (ie turning left across an intersection) once again look to the tires/wheels. If you see them start to cut, they're starting to move. Most people do not sit at an intersection with their wheels already cut. They wait till the car starts to move to turn the wheel. As for cars parked parallel to the road, you can look for the front wheels cut out towards the lane of traffic, but better yet just stay the hell away from the side of the road if there are parked cars. There's a reason bicyclists call it the death zone.

[tino206]

I ride with my high beams ALL THE TIME, I don't think I have ever turned them off since day one.

[thestache]

I ride with my high beams ALL THE TIME, I don't think I have ever turned them off since day one.

I ride with my low beam on and use the passing light to flash at people.

[lbv]

Thx for the comments vodapas - good ideas there. I've always thought that the driver will give you an indication of his intent before the wheels will (and I still believe that) but I think I'll try both depending on distance away I am from the car.
 
thestache ... I'm afraid doing that will tell the driver to go ahead (ie. what a flash of the hi-beams means on a car) ... and you know they'll then have an excuse if they cut you off ("but officer, he flashed me to go") ... guess it's about the situation but I'm having difficulty thinking of one when I would flash unless it was to signal "go ahead".

[tino206]

I completely agree..flashing is extremely misleading regardless of the situation

[mjh937]

I ride with my low beams on and if I see a situation developing where I think I need more visibility I hold the flash to pass switch. I do not flash it.
 
The other day there was deer on the road ahead. I had heard that a flashing light is more likely to scare them off. It did seem to work as when I stated flashing my light it ran off. I know this is incident is anecdotal, but it gives me another reason to have my low beams on normally so the flash to pass switch does something.

[megamold]

i ride with my high beams on during the day also, i don't know about the US but over here flashing high beams at an intersection only means "feel free to pull into the intersection".
swerving a little is also something i do to increase being seen but i never look at the driver, just the front wheel. much easier to see when they start creeping out into my lane.
ive tried looking at the driver but way to often they seem to look right trough me. 
 
edit: i would just like to add that my greatest fear are the people who turn their steering wheel BEFORE they can actually cut across the lane. now not only do i need to worry about the driver pulling out in front of me but also need to check if he/she is about to be rear-ended and be prepared for a car being flung in to my lane. 

[thestache]

Flashing beams mean different things in different states, in Tennessee I never see anyone do it, but in Florida it was a "get outta the way slowpoke move" However, one accessory that worked VERY well on my cruiser bikes was a Headlight Modulator, it causes the headlight to flash repeatedly making you more visible. As I am driving I try and look for bikes coming at me, to see when or what makes them more noticeable, and the movement for me works the best. I might be the only person flashing the lights at people, just based on my headlight modulator, that I had in the past. The only bikes with lights I see have had Modulators, or touring bikes with like 5 lights on them. I rarely notice a bike with a bright light unless it is a LED, and then only because I ride, so I am looking for them
But, whatever works for you, do it, it's all about making them see you

[Kipawa]

Always ride with my high beam in the day, anything to be better seen! Up here flashing the lights most times means go ahead so never do that on my bike!!!

[lbv]

I can recall years back how the front light on a bike would sorta bounce around as it was coming down the road ... I swear the rider loosened the light to make it such.
 
Has the same effect as the modulator but to a lesser degree ... not even sure if that's possible on the newer bikes but I'd do it if I could.

[howworkclutch]

Ride like an idiot. Weave. Wheelie. Jam disco in your headphones and bob your head to the tunes. Honk your horn to the beat. Don't be shy.
 
If anyone asks what's wrong with you just thank them for seeing you.
 
I once saw a guy riding with his feet on the handlebars and he was reading a book. My friend freaks out and says omg that guys goin to get killed.
 
I said no he's not. You saw him. So does everyone else. Shock and horror be damned. Nobody sees motorcycles but everyone sees that guy.
 
Be seen: ride like a wacker.

[jake]

I do this also because of this video. Yes I think it helps but I always assume the cager never sees me.

[Beemer]

I do something similar but I don't lean left and right over and over like some paranoid. It just seems a little excessive to get attention. E.G. If a car is at a stop to the right and waiting to pull out I may change my lights from bright to dim and flash the brights and then change them back to brights. I then lean enough so that I'm momentarily pointed right at him with my brights on and then straighten up. I even slow down slowly a little at times but not enough to impede traffic. I almost never let someone ride close behind me so it affects no one and no danger of getting rear ended.

[Beemer]

thestache 
I live in Florida also and flash my brights once in awhile myself so when I say I'm pretty sure it's illegal to flash your brights at people in Florida I'm only saying it so that you're aware of the law in case you weren't. Do what you want, I do illegal stuff all the time and thoroughly enjoy it. Every day my pipe is illegal in Florida. I pass on double yellows at least once a month, I take my hands off the handlebars, I do wheelies, I go too fast, I do California stops and I go around speed bumps. Arrrgh!  P-) Livin' the dream!