On 4/11/2021 10:36 AM, sms wrote:
On 4/10/2021 7:12 PM, John B. wrote:

snip

I have. Twice. Each time it was cyclist riding the wrong way on the
side of the street. Both times were very early in the morning and if
he had some sort of light I would have seen him further enough away to
have easily avoided him rather then an "OH MY GOD" situation.

How many times have we heard the excuse by a motorist "I just didn't see
him," when it comes to cyclists.

Yeah, in a perfect world, with alert, non-distracted drivers, maybe
cyclists wouldn't need to take steps to increase their conspicuousness.
But we don't live in that world.

Is up to a 33% reduction rate in bicycle/vehicle accidents enough of a
reason to use DRLs? I think so. If someone wants to rant about "safety
inflation" and not use appropriate equipment that's their decision of
course. As to DRLs, 99.99% of bicycle lights sold in the U.S. come with
a DRL, and a substantial percentage of the owners of those lights use
the DRL feature.

And no, there's no double-blind, independently conducted study on the
effectiveness of DRLs. The numbers in the studies that have been
conducted are all over the place. One found a 33% reduction in
bicycle/motor vehicle collisions. One found a 19% reduction. Studies for
the effectiveness of DRLs on motor vehicles show similar variance 10%,
23%, and 28% reductions in collisions.

Of course the manufacturers and distributors of lights will say that
DRLs are a good idea, though since virtually every light sold has that
feature it's not even a marketing advantage anymore.

Of course it could all be a plot by China to sell more bicycle lights to
unsuspecting Americans, at least if the only reason someone is buying a
light is to use it in the daytime.

My question is, at what point do motorists, cops, judges, juries and
even fellow bicyclists begin saying "It was his fault he got hit! He
didn't have lights on in the daytime!"

We've long since passed that point with helmet shaming, at least in the
U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Riding with a cycling cap or no cap at
all was once plenty safe, but now draws finger wagging, taunts and
lectures from intolerant people, even ones who should be allies. It's an
example of "safety inflation."

In fact, there are many who think it's better to never ride a bike, than
to ride one without a helmet. That's flagrantly stupid and contrary to
all research I've been able to find. We don't need to duplicate that
stupidity with DRLs, no matter how much some may love the gimmickry.

--
- Frank Krygowski