Blinded by brights - way to signal?

[tulip]

I hardly think the kind of lasers most of us can get our hands on are going to hurt anyone at 30 feet; however they might think you have a gun (sighting) and shoot you!

Please don't play with those things. They CAN burn the retinas and leave someone with vision impairments. They are no laughing matter. As someone who has lost vision in one of my eyes and is always aware that the other one could go, I really encourage you to THINK a little more about this.

[Pedal Wench]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...mage-your-eyes

[Biciclista]

Please don't play with those things. They CAN burn the retinas and leave someone with vision impairments. They are no laughing matter. As someone who has lost vision in one of my eyes and is always aware that the other one could go, I really encourage you to THINK a little more about this.

it's okay, i'm not going to think any more about it because it's not going to happen. And I'm legally blind in one eye too.

[Eden]

Having a light (not a laser, just a light...) mounted on your helmet that you can flash them with helps too. The idea is not to blind them, that would be dangerous, but to give them a quick flash the same way an oncoming car might. I have a pretty bright little LED flashlight that I rubberband to my helmet when I expect to be riding in the dark. Not only does it help alert cars to my presence - I also use it to flash drivers who might otherwise try to pull out in front of me - it helps light my own way when it is very dark. I like the flashlight because it is not heavy and lasts a long time and it is not blindingly bright. My regular head light is a a bit awkward for helmet mounting.

[Mr. Bloom]

Please don't play with those things.

Amen...I've accidentally had these pointed at me by playing kids...and they definitely cause a distraction and, if I was driving at night, I could see them causing a wreck. These are the same things causing a problem for commercial pilots!

I think my advice would be to do what my driver's manual suggests: Focus your eyes on your yellow line and avoid looking straight into the cars headlights. Many drivers are conditioned to reduce their brights for cars...and only cars...and those drivers won't get any strange flashes coming at them from anything other than another car's headlights.