On Sun, 19 Mar 2017 11:53:38 -0700, sms
wrote:

I know how some people dislike any statements that are based on actual
facts, but the data are pretty clear.

See: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=LvthAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168

It was interesting that in the Odense study, conducted by Reelight,
Odense Cycle City and the University of Aalborg, accident rates went
down by 32% with the use of daytime lights, but a cyclist's "sense of
security" went up by 85%!

Did they ride more dangerously because of the huge increase in their
"sense of security" and still experience a 32% decline?! Another study
showed that safety equipment increases an individual's dangerous
behavior, so if we could find a way to encourage the use of proven
safety equipment without increasing risky behavior, we'd be able to
change that 32% to a much higher number.

While a 32% decline in accident rates is significant, the 85% increase
in the "sense of security" could lead to more cycling, which will
further reduce the percentage of accidents.

The purpose of this whole study was to convince the government to make
flashing lights legal, since in some backward European countries
flashing lights are not legal. While this change in the law could
increase sales of Reelight, it also benefits every other light
manufacturer that produces flashing lights, and the other manufacturer's
produce much brighter daytime lights.

Hopefully the results of this study will lead to dynamo light
manufacturers adding a flash mode to lights that they export to
countries where flashing lights are legal. It just needs to be one
zero-ohm resistor that is installed or removed on the PCB. These lights
almost certainly already have a micro-controller that can be programmed
to do flash mode.

The bottom line is that we can all agree that daytime flashing lights on
bicycles are a very good idea and that greatly increase safety and that
their use should be encouraged. Frank now owns one of Barry Beam's
Oculus lights, so he can now experience the increased safety and
increased sense of security of a daytime flashing light as well as
increased visibility at night.

Now I have to go cash my check from Reelight.

I find your research somewhat less than complete. Or to put it another
way, you carefully extracted certain figures from the study and
ignored major portions.

Quite contrary to what you imply the simple addition of fixed daytime
lights was only part of a major program to improve safety in the city
of Odense which also included:

"Activities:

Salt on the streets instead of gravel (which gives more punctures)

Lanes for bikes where cars must give way

Lanes for bicylists where they don't have to stop for red light but
can continue

Lending of bicycle trailers for kids

Lending of powered bicycles

Lending of tandem bikes

The police exchanging fines for driving without light, to bicycle
lights

The Cyclist of the year award

Exhibition for Better Bikes and possibility of having the bike checked
(to get ready for the summer biking season)

Campaign: We are biking to work distribution of badges to people
participating in the campaign

Providing drinking water and bicycle pumps several places in Odense

Cycle barometers (speed and amount of cyclists passing each day)"

And Amazingly, it worked.

"According to the police the annual number of
personal injuries amongst cyclists due to accidents involving more
than one party fell by 19 per cent in the Municipality of Odense from
the base years 1996-1997 to the period 1999-2002, when the Cycle City
project was being implemented, and by 20 per cent up to the year 2002.
Thus the project achieved its objective of reducing the number of
cyclists killed or injured in accidents involving more than one party
by 20 per cent by the end of 2002 as against the base years 1996-
1997.

The trend of personal injuries amongst cyclists due to accidents
involving more than one party followed the general trend. As there has
been a significant increase in the volume of bicycle traffic in the
Municipality of Odense in comparison to the trend in general, the
risks of cycling in Odense have thus fallen more in Odense than other
large Danish cities."

The moral of this little story is that there is a danger in quoting
sources. Some rotten, no good, SOB, might read them.

--
Cheers,

John B.