On 10/10/2018 7:48 PM, sms wrote:
On 10/10/2018 2:55 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-10-10 14:29, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Apparently, we were visible enough. Our bikes both had dynamo powered
lights, but neither of us had them on.

Some people are not so lucky in the lane.

How do you explain to someone that just because they engaged in
dangerous behavior and got lucky that it does not prove that what they
did was intelligent or logical?

In their minds, the fact that they were lucky is absolute proof that
what they did was a good idea.

sigh The techniques of riding lane centered for conspicuity have been
taught in cycling courses and written about in books and pamphlets since
at least the 1970s.

And for normal conditions, those sources have NOT required that the
cyclists use daytime running lights. This mania about the necessity of
lights in daytime has popped up only in the past few years. And it's not
coincidental that it popped up when high lumen LEDs allowed lots of new
bike lights to be marketed.

To put it more briefly: Road position works. Glaring daytime bike lights
are largely a marketing scam.

My father smoked two packs a day for about 40 years and did not get lung
cancer so that must prove that smoking was not a problem despite all the
evidence to the contrary.

Like it or not, based on the information given, smoking was NOT a
problem for your father.

For well over 40 years, riding without daytime lights has never been a
problem for me. Today, as on almost every other ride, I can see
motorists behind me approaching and if necessary waiting until it's safe
to pass. They clearly see me. So do the motorists in front of me.

But more significantly, riding without daytime lights hasn't been a
problem for millions of cyclists who rode before your flashy toys were
invented. People have been riding bikes since the 1880s. There's never
been any mass carnage.

Take your fear mongering marketing scams elsewhere. Sell your ugly
lights to pedestrians. They're at more risk than bicyclists, as the
numbers show.

--
- Frank Krygowski