On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 15:35:51 +0700, John B.
wrote:

A number of surveys have shown that a significant portion of bicycle
crashes are the fault of the cyclist. From memory, the CHP study in
L.A. County showed that more then 50% of the crashes, where fault
could be assessed, were the fault of the cyclist.

I don't have time to chase this down to the source. Maybe later.

"Cyclists faulted most in bike-car crashes"
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-bicyclists-drivers-crashes-statistics-2014nov22-story.html
Only crashes between bicyclists and motorists in which
a cyclist was injured or killed were included in the 2,515
accident reports from 2011-Sept. 2014. Solo bicycle crashes,
collisions between cyclists, crashes between cyclists and
pedestrians or crashes in which fault wasn't determined
were excluded. Those types of collisions accounted for
30 percent of 3,767 bicyclist crashes.

To determine whether colorful clothing, flashing lights, etc., are
effective the crashes caused by the cyclist's own misdeeds would have
to be factored out of the equation.

In a court-o-law, the percentage of responsibility is divided up among
the various parties in order to equitably divide up the judgment. I'm
not sure, but I don't think it's done that way on California police
accident reports. It also seems to vary depending on State:
https://www.esurance.com/info/car/how-fault-is-determined-after-a-car-accident

From my own observations, driving a car, cyclists with bright colored
clothing do seem to be far more noticeable then someone wearing dull
work clothes, so it seems likely that the idea that bright colors
should reduce accidents would be a commonly accepted idea.

Yep. Visibility improves safety is one of the many assumptions made
simply because it is so difficult to conclusively prove the
connection.

As an aside, I once came up behind a cyclist wearing bright orange
knee socks. His orange legs going up and down were clearly visible,
and attracted attention, at a measured 300 Meters.

Good idea. I have two retro reflective 3M cards with clips on the
back that I fabricated. I clip them onto the back pockets of my pants
or jacket when riding. These reflectors have an odd side effect. When
drivers pass me, they often slow down more than I might expect to take
a closer look at my whatever is producing the randomly flashing
reflections.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558