New York State vehicle laws on flashing lights

[codger78]

As well as other states, I suspect, flashing lights (of any color) may only be attached to and used on emergency type vehicles in NY....Reasons given are, for one, a dangerous distraction  experienced by other nearby drivers, and for another the inadvertent fatal attraction it might cause (moth to the flame effect).

On the other hand some believe that bicycles riders are not only allowed, but encouraged to use them, even though in NY a bicycle (in use) is considered to be a legal vehicle.

In as much as the agility fifty is legally limited to a speed of thirty MPH there might be some compromise involved.  We need to be seen also.

Any thoughts, experience or wisdom on this subject ??

[zombie]

Being born, and raised in NYC I believe if you are on a speed restricted machine of any sort you MUST have something that makes you stand out from the MILLION or so vehicles on the road. With all the "home offices" that have somehow moved into the comffy SUV's, and what have you; I would rather catch a ticket than the front bumper of the person that thinks you are in their way. On the other hand I want to add a giant screen plasma tv to my handle bars so I can play video games when the road gets too boring. Yeah I do have issues... Do you think 50" is enough or should I wait for a bigger model?

[codger78]

I guess the follow up question is, if I am not allowed to put the flashing light on the scooter, can I attach it to my jacket or helmet and be within the law.

The need comes mostly at dawn or dusk when noticing the scooter gets tricky for drivers either entering traffic from the right or turning left from opposing traffic lanes.

I think there must be a way being more noticeable without breaking the back of the law and getting a ticket.

Sure there's drivers who couldn't care less, but its the "Gee, I just didn't see him" types that I'm trying to get to.......How about it

[axy]

I guess the follow up question is, if I am not allowed to put the flashing light on the scooter, can I attach it to my jacket or helmet and be within the law.

The need comes mostly at dawn or dusk when noticing the scooter gets tricky for drivers either entering traffic from the right or turning left from opposing traffic lanes.

I think there must be a way being more noticeable without breaking the back of the law and getting a ticket.

Sure there's drivers who couldn't care less, but its the "Gee, I just didn't see him" types that I'm trying to get to.......How about it

Reflective stripes on your shoes and jacket will help, so will the reflective stickers on your rims. Look up my posts, I have posted a few pics of stickers on my A125.

Who would not notice that would not notice a lighthouse on top of scooter either...

[wordslinger]

...not flashing, and as long as they're not blue or red, all's well around here...makes me highly vsible at night...

[codger78]

THIS IS A GREAT SCOOTER FORUM FOR EXCHANGE OF IDEAS !!!!!
And I would like to thank ZOMBIE, AXY, & WORDSLINGER for their imput and help.  Though I'm not sure about the 50" plasma TV, I do agree with reflectivity and do have stripes and reflective jacket as suggested, and I am particularly interested in the green lighting on Wordslinger's scooter.

I think that the green lights make the scooter stand out well, but without causing a dangerous distraction.  I would like to know more about it.  How did you come up with this idea?  Can you provide enough information and detail so that I might do the same........I thank you again for myself and for others that might be interested.

[wordslinger]

..codger, they are green LEDs...i purchased them at a local Advance Auto store, tho there are several websites as well..

..I ran a hot wire off my battery's positive post, thu a 1 amp inline fuse, thru a toggle switch that I mounted opposite side of the keyswitch...from the toggle out to a little terminal strip where all the LEDs + leads are joined...the - leads of the LEDs go back to the terminal strip to be joined, and from there i ran a wire back to the negative post of my battery...

..simple as that!

..I have two 9 inch LED strips beneath the flip-up backrest, one 6 LED "pod" beneath each passenger footrest, one pod under each side of the front cowling below the headlamp, one 9" strip cable-tied to the crossmember of my center stand...

..I have since added some blue LEDs as well, however the blue ones are not allowed to be directly visible..I have pics here somewhere..i believe it's "LEDs 3.0" post...actually, it's better if none of the LEDs are directly visible...creates more of a glowing ambiance effect...lol..

peace

[jprestonian]

It's hard to beat super-reflective materials for efficiency, though.

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[zombie]

That is sssoooo cool. What is it and where can I find it?

[jprestonian]

A place called StreetGlo carries it; what I got was the boat lettering (it's all made from the same material). It was not cheap... but simple, non-custom decals, pinstriping, etc. is very affordable.

Follow the link at that blog post for more details.
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[zombie]

Thats GREAT! I can see a ton of uses. Thank you Jpres.

[jprestonian]

The cool part is the black material -- you can put that on the black plastic trim on your bike, and in the daylight, it's hardly even noticeable. At night, when light hits it, it blazes up quite nicely (as the photo above clearly shows).
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[zombie]

Everybody should check this site out. It's awesome!

[codger78]

Wordslinger........Thanks for the info. Looks like you put some time into an interesting design.....will pay a visit to Advance Auto Store.  This is a good time of year in NY to work out the details....too cold to be on the road now.

jprestonian......."BOHICAL" ....curious to know if that is on a helmet, or top case, or?.........I do have a reflective design on both front and back of my helmet.

........................cheers

[jprestonian]

It's actually "BOHICA!" which is a U.S. military acronym (un-official, and not family-friendly).   ;)

That's on the back of my Fulmer AF-655 helmet.
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