General I am fed up with not being seen !

[portland_bill]

Surely the metal casing would have prevented emf? Did you try a diode across the motor(and relay) terminals to chop reverse pulse? And a capacitor or two?

Perhaps I was imagining the whole thing.

 

[chris3234]

Perhaps I was imagining the whole thing.

I've seen some strange things happen with cars



Once changed the 12v socket on a car from the factory one to an aftermarket as couldn't get hold of the original

Didn't connect up socket lighting wire just wrapped in tape out way as replacement didn't light up




This caused heavy interference on the radio in the car whenever the rear window Heater was switched on until the wire was connected to a small led stuck under the dash pannel out the way

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Most people when driving are not concentrating, with most actions being done in their sub-conscious.
Our brains are not designed for motoring, we have developed technologically far faster than our basic instincts have developed. When we look at moving objects, we are poor at judging speed. One continuous look is not that good. We have to look twice, then our brain can compute the distance trravelled against time, and understand how long before the object arrives.

While I agree many people are not concentrating on the job in hand I disagree about the rest of that para. People are very good at judging the speed of a moving object and intercepting it (or avoiding it!). Look at a cricket ball coming off a bat at 100kph, a good fielder a few metres can pluck it out of the air almost casually. How quickly does his brain do the computations necessary to have his hand/s in the right place at the right time - and he certainly doesn't have time to look away and look back!

 

[varesecrazy]

While I agree many people are not concentrating on the job in hand I disagree about the rest of that para. People are very good at judging the speed of a moving object and intercepting it (or avoiding it!). Look at a cricket ball coming off a bat at 100kph, a good fielder a few metres can pluck it out of the air almost casually. How quickly does his brain do the computations necessary to have his hand/s in the right place at the right time - and he certainly doesn't have time to look away and look back!

Catching something travelling through the air..? Ive got to see it 1st

My wife has to be escorted across roads.. it doesnt matter if a vehicle is 50..or 250 meteres away.. she can see it therefore wont cross (has no concept of how quickly it is approaching..)

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Catching something travelling through the air..? Ive got to see it 1st

You and me both - I did not excel at ball sports at school and I haven't improved in the fifty-odd years since!


Nonetheless, you perform those computations every minute you're driving - if your mind's on the job...

 

[Rockburner]

Most people when driving are not concentrating, with most actions being done in their sub-conscious.
Our brains are not designed for motoring, we have developed technologically far faster than our basic instincts have developed.

I'd agree there.

When we look at moving objects, we are poor at judging speed. One continuous look is not that good. We have to look twice, then our brain can compute the distance trravelled against time, and understand how long before the object arrives.

Not quite sure I'd agree with that - there's quite a lot of scientific research been done, and from my reading - it's very dependant on what the research fellow has set out to proove.....

Size is also important.
An emerging driver will see a small car, and sub-consciously equate it with slow. A larger car, even travelling slower, will be waited for. Then as the size increases to a van or truck, slow becomes the expectation again. This is also why people pull out in front of motorcycles, as the brain categorises them with bicycles.

I think it's more that people are looking for 'gaps', and a motorcycle creates a very enticing 'gap' in traffic flows, and, since they tend to ride a little further from the nearside/curb than a car, they are often hidden by the rest of the vehicles in the traffic flow - especially if they're riding out towards the centreline of the road.

In my experience, a motorcycle headlamp makes no difference, but removes the ability to use the headlamp flash as a signal/warning.

But what does a flash mean anyway??
Yes - the Highway code says it means 'Look out, I'm here', but the vast majority of people use it to mean 'Ok, I'm giving way to you, come on through'. (ie - completely the opposite).

I tend to look on it as 'look - my headlights work!', like I do with indicators....

A white fairing on a motorcycle keeps cars away. Their first view alerts them with the question, "is that a policeman?", and then of course, they 'see' it in their conscious thoughts. Had a small motorcycle with a white half-fairing, never asn issue with cars pulling out. Later transferred the fairing to a medium motorcycle, still good. Later bike, full, large black fairing, everyone out in front.

Err - maybe - but not something to rely on. I've spoken with a fair few police drivers (used to work with them), and even with blues and twos, and a siren, people still don't see them coming!
Best to assume they just haven't seen you at all.

Sadly, with a small car, they'll pull out.

Similar to a bike - gap in traffic.

Colour makes a difference too. Strangely, blue cars seem to be invisible, even medium sized ones.

Depends on what the background is - contrast to background/context is everything.

It's one of the reasons bikes sometimes disappear, (see razzle-dazzle camouflage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage ), the shape of a bike is not what the driver is looking for. Similarly - it's been known for people to pull out in front of big red double decker buses - simple because they're not looking for a bus - they're looking for a gap in the stream of cars and the (relatively) huge shape of the bus is outside the constraints.

What can also happen: is a bike with the dipped beams on will 'disappear' in the field of light generated by cars with dipped beams on (especially at dusk).

Anecdotal story: I've not seen an entire car because the car behind it had particularly bright dipped beams! I was approaching a rise in the road, and 2 cars came over it towards me - the car in front was completely hidden by the following car's bright lights shining UNDER the first car as they crested the rise! A second glance revealed the lead car, which came as a bit of a shock.

 

[Rockburner]

- if your mind's on the job...

The key point.

 

[Ralf S.]

Yes.. wire the car's wiring to the relay and run a separate feed from the battery to the horn.

I had a similar horn in my Stilo but it kept packing up.. but maybe Stobel is a better brand/not made in China.. but try to mount it somewhere where it'll stay dry. Put the little hatches back in the wheel arch liner, if your car has them and they are missing.

I used a 15A inline fuse to the horn. You need one since it'll be connected directly to the battery. But 15A (I think it was the OE horn fuse) isn't enough for the air-horn and occasionally kept blowing, so carry some spares or do what I ended up doing, which is fit a 20A. I think the horn/relay are likely rated for 30A but the 20A fuse hangs in there for ages, so I've left it.


Ralf S.

 

[percymon]

There are a few things you can do pretty cheaply..

One - check whether your DRLs are active , they can be turned on/off in the instrument menu I believe
Two - fit the blue DRL bulbs which give a much whiter light and tend to grab attention more than the yellowish standard bulbs
Three - use your headlights in built up areas or when navigating country roads
Four - fit brighter headlight bulbs, there are plenty of +120-+150% items from reputable brands that will give you a brighter and whiter headlight.

Five - wind down the windows and crank up the stereo , if they can’t see you they might hear you !!

 

[Ralf S.]

The actual answer is in the OPs own post...

You are driving it wrong. I tend to drive it slightly aggressively and, on a good day, give way to no one.

Being in the right, but in the cemetery isn't what I'd call a "win".. but it's not for me to judge.


Ralf S.