Day time riding; high or low beam?

[scott2007nomad]

My first and previous bike had a low beam that was burned out so I only rode with the high beam on. It wasn't that bright anyway.

I'm wondering if it's more effective to ride with the high beam on during the day for visibility without pi**ing people off.

Which level of brightness do you use during the day?

BTW: I currently only have a single headlight.

Thanks,
Scott

[jrd]

I run with the high beam on during the day, and low beam on at night.

John

[MikeInFla]

High & Low for me.

The running lights I put on the crash bars I think make the bike more noticable because I have that triangle light thing going on.

[rlfaubion]

Low, low

[mncruiser]

Most definately the high during the day and I also will use the headlight switch to move between low and high at intersections if something is making me nervous for extra visability!

[macmac]

Day time hi beam. Just get another rider behind you and have him run low and you won't see him....

[ianicky]

Ive been running low during the day never really thought about putting it to high beam, but as you have mentioned it, it seems a good idea to run with high beam during the day :)

[nolan]

High beam during the day, low at night. Only have one headlight on the Kawasaki so want to be seen. If I had the spotlights then I'd have it on low beam. Wife has a Harley Road King with the spotlights. Can see her coming. She does shut the spotlights off at night. But have noticed a lot of Harley riders don't.

[coldfingers]

low beam with the spots on during the day! Spots do make a difference!

[MarkG]

High beam

[socwkbiker]

I have the light bar so I run low during both day and night. If you want better visibility, you can also change the headlight to the brighter light.

[cactusjack]

I usually ride with the high beam and driving lights on during daytime.

[Top Cat]

Before I had the lightbar I ran high beam. who cares if they get pi$$ed at least they see you and you live to ride another day.
Now that I put on the lightbar to be seen, I use low beam.

mncruiser said,I also will use the headlight switch to move between low and high at intersections
Pleas don't do that. Sometimes cage drivers take that as a signal that you want them to go ahead of you and they may pull right out in front of you.

[dantama]

Originally Posted by Top Cat (TC)

mncruiser said,I also will use the headlight switch to move between low and high at intersections
Pleas don't do that. Sometimes cage drivers take that as a signal that you want them to go ahead of you and they may pull right out in front of you.

It depends on what the situation is with regards to what beam I use.

If I'm in a lot of traffic, I use low beam during the day. I've been in my car with a bike behind me with their high beam on and didn't appreciate it. I know that there is a school of thought that if it pisses them off, at least they see you, and therefore you are safer.

I don't think that it is an either or proposition. Just because they are annoyed, doesn't mean that they wouldn't have seen you otherwise. When I'm in my car, I see the bikes with low beams on coming up behind me, and the ones with high beams. I'm just annoyed by the ones with high beams.

Out of the city where their isn't much traffic, I run high beams, making it so cars can identify you further down the road. ( in the city you aren't trying to make it so that cars can see you a 1/2 mile away, out on the open road you are). But if I come up behind a car and will be following it, I dim them. If I pull up at a stop behind somebody, I do the same. In the city, I just run low beam to not annoy oncoming or the people that I'm behind.

I agree with the advice not to flash your lights back and forth. In many areas (could be a regional thing, and not the same everywhere) flashing your light is a way of giving the go ahead to another vehicle. I did it just yesterday in my car to let a vehicle know that they could pull out of a side lot as I was coming up on stopped traffic.

If somebody is used to seeing that as a surrender of the right of way, you could be sending the exact opposite of what you intended by flashing your lights back and forth.

I run high beam in the daytime, unless I'm directly behind someone. I will run it right up until I know they see me, then switch to low, out of courtesy. I want them to see me, but there's no need to blind them, either. :^)