Was I BU to slow down this much?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I ride a small motorcycle.

I'm doing a lot of riding in the dark at the moment due to working late.

Was riding home the other day and a car was behind me with those really bright blue/white headlights. Unfortunately for me my mirrors are at just the right height/angle that often the light from cars behind me catches in my mirrors and is very distracting at best, blinds me at worst. It was also raining so visibility wasn't great anyway, the lights were so bright that they illuminated my mirrors and visor to the extent where I really couldn't see much.

So I slowed right down to 35/30mph, which I know is really slow but I just couldn't see. I really wanted to pull over and let him pass but there was no where safe/convienient to do so.

Dp says I should have indicated and pulled over to the side of the road anyway to let him pass rather than going so slow. Wibu? Should I have pulled over?

Don't presume a car behind you has some aggressive dick driving it (even if they do have those appalling lamps).

I won't pass a vulnerable road user (bike, scooter etc) unless I am completely safe to do so.

If that pisses off people behind me, the tough shit frankly.

I'm not risking somebody else's life so they can get home for Eastenders.

Thank you for that Doin, the driver behind me didn't seem especially frustrated, wasn't tailgating me or anything so maybe he/she was ok with it and understood?

That is most likely.

You have as much right to be on the road as anyone else, and just like them you must drive carefully according to yiur judgement.

Most drivers get that.

Don't let the dangerous wankers set the agenda.

Your DP is dead wrong to advise you to put your life at risk by pulling over where it is unsafe to let a car pass.

That is awful advice.

He must be a woeful driver.

YANBU I see maybe 5-10% of cars with illegally fitted HID lights that are available from online. These are not type approved and are therefore illegal to fit, but there are loads about.

Yesterday I saw an Audi A4, VW Golf, two vans and a Fiat Punto with them fitted. They are illegal and dazzling but there is zero enforcement. Many of these people take them out and fit proper bulbs for MOT then change back.

He is actually a good driver I just think he thought it was more dangerous to be going that slowly, also he doesn't ride a bike so I don't think he 'gets' that aspect of it.

By slowing down weren't you simply prolonging the issue? i.e. the glare?

I would have tweaked my mirrors to avoid direct glare and/or signalled to let the driver pass as soon as possible.

Yes that is exactly what happens list.

It annoys me a bit though that a major A road that is the main throughfare for this part of the country, has no lights on it. If it was maybe people wouldn't want the HID's so badly.

What sort of position on the road do you normally take? Just wondering if you're a bit far to the left if this is a problem. If you moved out a bit would that take you out of the direct glare of the cars headlights?

It's very difficult if not impossible to adjust your mirrors while you are riding furry, especially on the right (throttle) side.

I seriously think 90% of the people in this race to blind us all with brighter lights should go to the fucking opticians.

I drive a lot on NSL unlit roads in an average 16 year old car with normal (legal) lights - the lights are totally adequate.

Usually I'm in the centre, if not a little to the right as I was told it makes me more visible on the road. I did move over to the left though to try and give them more room to pass but it didn't seem to make much difference to the glare.

Fellow motorbike rider here - sorry for the long, upcoming post! 10 years in and I still hate it when car lights from behind light up my mirrors. I call those particular ones 'melty face headlights' because that's how it feels when this happens and your riding ahead! I'd also like to point out that I also drive a car so can look at this scenario from both the perspective of the rider and the driver.

I think your course of action should depend on the situation there and then.

I would agree that pulling over and stopping on a national speed limit road, in the dark, on a vulnerable motorbike is not safe. Even if for just a moment to let someone pass because you don't know who will be hurtling up behind him afterwards when you're then pulling out and away and trying to get up to speed on your small bike.

I appreciate that when visibility is reduced the advised thing to do is slow down, but to half the speed limit could have really endangered you in this situation. Going that slow encourages impatient people to overtake you regardless of your position on the road or the road conditions. You made yourself vulnerable without meaning to. Defence is the best offence on a bike!

When I've been in this situation in the past and sitting a little taller/ lower to avoid the glare hasn't worked and I've realised my speed has then dropped too low to compensate, I've beckoned the driver behind to pass me in the following way:

1.) Riding position starts off in the middle/ slightly to the right of the road as normal. Check that the opposite carriageway is clear and available for an overtake manoeuvre, i.e. no oncoming traffic, and then give the 'I intend to slow or stop' arm signal (I've attached an image if you're not familiar). Obviously you will naturally slow when you do this because you'll have taken your hand off of the throttle so only do this if there is a safe enough distance between you and the car behind.
2.) Pull to the left slightly, but not in any gutters (that's a puncture and debris risk!), then check to see if the car behind is slowing in response to your arm signal.
3.) If they have slowed I then give them the 'pass me/ go round me' arm gesture. Brace for them to overtake you and then once they're clear of you reposition yourself in the centre of the road and get back up to a sensible speed.

You may find they do not want to pass you when you invite them to. If that's the case then reposition yourself in the middle of the road and maintain a safe speed where you can see. At least then you know they're not likely to buzz past you unexpectedly and endanger you!

Ride safe and wear as much hi-viz as you can get your hands on.

That is helpful peace, thank you.

I was trying to gesture to the driver to pass but he/she didn't, I just assumed it either wasn't safe or they didn't see the gesture/didn't know what it meant.

It can be really awkward riding a small bike as, especially with a strong headwind and hills (common in my area) I find it difficult to maintain a good speed even under normal conditions! Add in rain, wind, dark, and blinding lights and the speed drops lower and lower. Not intentionally but I just can't go any faster and do it safely.

I'm sure I will encounter this situation again and again over the coming months!

DoinItFine I wish there were more people on the road like you. Your attitude to safe driving and your consideration for vulnerable road users is brilliant! I'd shake your hand if I were in front of you right now!

I have started wearing night driving clip-ons over my glasses when driving at night. Fro some reason I seem to get more dazzled by white lights than other people, especially when it's raining. The glasses are yellow and seem to lower the contrast. I leave them in the car all the time.

www.amazon.co.uk/Zheino-Polarized-Sunglasses-Anti-glare-Yellow/dp/B010FP6LIO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479901953&sr=8-3&keywords=clip+on+night+driving+glasses

I was trying to gesture to the driver to pass but he/she didn't, I just assumed it either wasn't safe or they didn't see the gesture/didn't know what it meant.

You can use your hazards and then the 'go round me' hand gesture as a last resort. Most people slow when they see hazard lights, so couple that with a 'go round me' and most people get the message to pass (if safe to do so).

I started on a small 125cc bike so I know exactly where you're coming from in terms of the daily battles you face to keep up with the traffic and ride safely. That's even more reason to ride defensively and make sure you're seen over the coming, dark winter months.

I now ride a 1000cc so traffic now struggles to keep up with me lol, but I still ride defensively and smothered in hi-viz!

Just remember, above all else, your safety always comes first.

I think that's very dangerous to be going so slow with poor visibility.

But isn't that what you should do with poor visibility? You can hardly be belting along the road when you can't see well. I was driving last week into a blinding low winter sun which was following a rain shower and my limit point was literally about 15 feet in front of the bonnet. There was nothing visible but glare beyond that. I slowed right down to about 15km/p/h even though the speed limit was 50, going to 60 on the stretch of road I was on. Annoying as it might have been to any drivers that came up behind me, the fact is that my stopping distance should not be beyond what I can see. If someone had stepped in front of me I would not have been able to avoid hitting them if I was going any faster.

Exactly springer, my visibility was reduced at that point that I couldn't see where the road curved around ahead of me, and had real difficulty seeing the lines/cats eyes in the middle of the road. I wasn't going though a town but if someone had stepped in front of me I couldn't have stopped if I was going faster.

Dream, I don't have hazards on my bike, can I use indicators for the same purpose?

SpringerS You are right that reduced visibility calls for a reduced speed. It's the sensible thing to do. When you slow in a car you become a rolling road block due to the size of the car and people can't normally do much about that other than follow slowly behind you, possibly cursing at you in your rear view mirror lol. When you slow down on a motorbike some drivers wrongly see all the space around the bike as viable overtaking space, especially if the rider isn't confident and has positioned themselves on the inside of the road. That then endangers the rider if the car attempts a risky overtake.

That's why it's sometimes safer for the biker to allow a car to pass, even though they've technically done the sensible thing by slowing down.

Dream, I don't have hazards on my bike, can I use indicators for the same purpose?

Technically no and I wouldn't advise it because that'll likely cause confusion to those behind you.

Also, I just want to reiterate that you don't have to let cars pass every time you slow. Just when the situation dictates it due to safety concerns. If the other road users behind you aren't giving you cause for concern then carry on being sensible and ride safely.

A road user preserving their safety in difficult conditions trumps a road user who wants to go faster, every single time.

I don't have hazards on my bike, can I use indicators for the same purpose?

Can't you just flick backwards and forwards between left and right indicators? (I am joking BTW).

Can I ask a question from the other side of the debate?

I drive a car with xenon headlights, and am not a stranger to other cars flashing me because they think they are too bright (this is my indicator that I need to adjust the tracking, which has obviously floated slightly over the previous year or so - solves the problem for another few months).

What measures can I take when I am following a motorbike? I figure my lights are probably a bit low to hit a bike mirror, but I'd like to know how I can not stress/endanger the biker?

In my experience Maid I think it would be best to leave plenty of space behind the biker, I find its only when a driver is within a certain range of me that it becomes a problem.

maid I agree with OP, just try to stay back a bit. On unlit roads i can easily see the extent of the 'circle' of my headlights. I have a mental not of it and i try to always stay far enough back from vehicles in front of me so that the furthest edge of my light falls on the road, and not on them IYSWIM?

(and guess what? I'm a MN favorite - a wanky BMW driver)