High visibility law yields no improvement in safety

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 19:00:26 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/31/2018 3:50 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 13:53:31 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

In the cycling community, there are many who believe absence of evidence
is trumped by an anecdote or two - as in "I _know_ that people no longer
pull out in front of me when I wear my lucky fluorescent socks!"

I think you mean phosphorescent, not fluorescent.
https://www.thoughtco.com/fluorescence-versus-phosphorescence-4063769
When in doubt, I suggest photoluminescent, which covers both types.

Well, I'm pretty sure fluorescent is more accurate. The garish clothing
doesn't glow after light is taken away. But I'll have to take a quick
look and see if the electrons change spin or not. First I'll have to
borrow some of the stuff. I don't think I own any.

They make both fluorescent and phosphorescent socks. No clue which
type is more common:
https://www.google.com/search?q=socks+that+glow+in+the+dark&tbm=isch
My current vest is fluorescent. I was thinking of trying a vest with
long persistence phosphorescent stripes.
http://vizreflectivesna.com

I've read a fair amount lately about the fact that placebos really can
work pretty well, especially for believers. AFAIK, this hasn't been
studied in bike "safety" equipment. Maybe there's PhD thesis lurking there!

Placebos work rather well. Prior to roughly WWI, the medical
profession didn't really have drugs that were strong enough to do
anything useful. I read somewhere that somewhat recent studies of the
active ingredients in commonly used remedies and drugs were at best
marginally effective. As patients continued to pay for such
ineffective drugs, I can only assume that they did produce the desired
results, mostly from the placebo effect.

As for safety research, I suspect there already have been papers
written on the top and published in the Journal of Safety Research.
However, I couldn't find anything mentioning placebo. It would
probably be rather difficult to objectively test bicycle helmet
effectiveness using invisible or virtual helmets.

That tale resonated well. I once worked in a facility that did lots of
crimped connectors (although they were almost all highly automatic,
sometimes thousands per minute); and my best friend was, at one time, an
OSHA inspector.

Here's what the machine looked like:
http://cavlon.com/zcstore/images/2674_02.jpg
I couldn't find a photo showing the plastic safety panels and push
buttons. It was eventually replaced by a fully automated crimper,
which was capable of producing 200 pieces of recyclable scrap copper
per minute, or about 50 decent crimps in the same amount of time.

One of my first projects, when working as a plant engineer, was
installation of a tall machine with pinch rollers way up at the top. I
was proud of my job, and quite confident when the plant safety committee
visited. To check out the pinch rollers, they got a very tall guy to
perch on a step of some kind and reach way, way up over the machine to
try to touch a roller. He reported in a strained voice "Yeah, I can
barely touch it..." and they immediately said "We need an E-stop trip
wire up there." sigh So we installed one. I doubt it was ever used.

The standard these days seems to be the company must make even
deliberate self-damage impossible. Maybe it makes economic sense in a
litigious society, but it's still weird.

That might be because we've bred the self-preservation instinct out of
your workers. One reason why we had no accidents with the original
Amp-o-Lectric machine was because every operator was given a loud
lecture by the production manager about not stuffing their hands in
the machinery. There was no equivocation in the lecture. They were
told in no uncertain terms that they would get hurt if they screwed
up. So, they paid attention, learned to protect themselves, and live
to complain about loud lectures. Operators after the safety equipment
was installed did not get the lecture because everything thought that
the safety hazards were eliminated and therefore no lecture was
needed.

Your anecdote about the pinch rollers illustrates the problem. Instead
of lecturing the operators not to climb up on a ladder and stuff their
fingers in the mechanism, the experts prefer to make the machinery
fool proof. We are better and producing fools than making fool proof
machinery. Overall, the system is as effective as warning labels.

I would hate to see what a bicycle blessed by OSHA would look like.
Probably would have training wheels, seat belts, air bags, ejection
seat, padded roll bar, armor plating, bullet proof tires, a parachute
for brake failures, padded handle bars, etc. It might actually be
safe, but would also be unridable.


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

On Sun, 01 Apr 2018 06:33:48 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Perhaps that is the secret. Wear cloths that makes you look like
something else. A Styrofoam wolf's head as a helmet or a jersey with
long ribbons fluttering in the wind.

The new safety slogan will be "the more ridiculous you look, the safer
you are".

Such clothing would be an improvement over Spandex, which looks even
more ridiculous. No need for a Styrofoam wolf head. I'm into the
"natural" look. Once per month, on the night of the full moon, which
happens to be tonite, I look like this:
http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/jeffl/slides/jeffl-wolf.html
Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned:
http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/nooze/werewolf.txt
One hour to go before the sun sets. Should be an interesting evening.


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

On 3/31/2018 9:16 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 19:00:26 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

That tale resonated well. I once worked in a facility that did lots of
crimped connectors (although they were almost all highly automatic,
sometimes thousands per minute); and my best friend was, at one time, an
OSHA inspector.

Here's what the machine looked like:
http://cavlon.com/zcstore/images/2674_02.jpg
I couldn't find a photo showing the plastic safety panels and push
buttons. It was eventually replaced by a fully automated crimper,
which was capable of producing 200 pieces of recyclable scrap copper
per minute, or about 50 decent crimps in the same amount of time.

Wow. The place I worked had excellent results with automatic crimping
presses. And they did 100% inspection using force sensors in the anvil.
They could detect if even one strand of wire was not caught in the crimp.

One of the press brands was named "Hummingbird" because it cycled so
fast - actually, far faster than a hummingbird's wings. And it was later
superseded by an even faster design.

I would hate to see what a bicycle blessed by OSHA would look like.
Probably would have training wheels, seat belts, air bags, ejection
seat, padded roll bar, armor plating, bullet proof tires, a parachute
for brake failures, padded handle bars, etc. It might actually be
safe, but would also be unridable.

Well, there's this:
https://nationalsafety.files.wordpre...o11.jpg?w=1020

But it's sadly out of date. Can you imagine? It still allows caliper
brakes! ;-)


--
- Frank Krygowski

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'm surprised that it's that low, since hardly any bike riders even
know that there is something to learn, and substantial numbers "know"
that riding in the oncoming lane, darting across streets without
warning, etc. make one safe.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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

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.

"Commonly accepted" != true.

I think the best way to reduce accidents would be to require that cell
phones be disabled when traveling faster than 5 mph. Then they are no
longer distractions for drivers. To observation at least half of
drivers are on the edge of their operational competence just driving a
car at 55 mph. Add a cell phone into that mix and 100% of drivers are
on the edge of their operational competence.

Since there are far more car-car collisions than car-bike collisions,
perhaps we should turn our attention regarding colors to a more needed
area of accident reduction... every car should be blaze orange, lime
green, lemon yellow. Hey, the AMC Gremlin was way ahead of its time!

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 21:36:20 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
Wow. The place I worked had excellent results with automatic crimping
presses. And they did 100% inspection using force sensors in the anvil.
They could detect if even one strand of wire was not caught in the crimp.

One of the press brands was named "Hummingbird" because it cycled so
fast - actually, far faster than a hummingbird's wings. And it was later
superseded by an even faster design.

There's a short horror story behind the crimper which someone in
management had bought at an auction. I forgot the maker and model.
Upon arrival, I had it installed and running in about 2 days. It
looked quite clean and well maintained. It was soon discovered that
the manufacturer no longer supplied dies for what appeared to be an
obsolete model. They did supply drawings for various dies, which we
sent out for fabrication. I didn't want to wait, so I used a die
grinder and water spray to modify one of the useless dies into
something that would crimp one of the Amp terminals. Ugly, sloppy,
cheap, but it mostly worked. However, it was not very fast because
the pneumatic timing seemed to be all wrong.

One month later, we were still waiting for the dies to arrive from the
machine shop. After the Amp-o-lectric finally died, it was decided
that I should "clean up" my modified dies and use them for production.
I did my best, but it was still depressingly slow. When I ran it near
rated speed, it would make a mess. I once calculated that the job
could be done by hand faster than using this machine. Lacking any
other options, it was run slowly and 24x7 which amazingly worked quite
well. Eventually, the proper tooling arrived and it was discovered
that the machine ran only slightly faster with proper dies. Management
finally called the factory, found someone with some experience with
the machine, and discovered that all the first generation models ran
very slow. It was deemed too expensive to update the older machines,
which explains what it was doing at an equipment auction.

I would hate to see what a bicycle blessed by OSHA would look like.
Probably would have training wheels, seat belts, air bags, ejection
seat, padded roll bar, armor plating, bullet proof tires, a parachute
for brake failures, padded handle bars, etc. It might actually be
safe, but would also be unridable.

Well, there's this:
https://nationalsafety.files.wordpre...o11.jpg?w=1020

More of the same:
https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2009/07/28/osha-cowboy-osha-bullrider-osha-santa-osha-streaker-and-more%e2%80%a6/

My opinion of OSHA hit an all time low when they declared my office
bookshelves were a safety hazard. My bookshelves were flimsy steel
instrial bookshelf purchased at the local hardware store. Behind it
was a movable partition wall made from 2x4's and plywood. Free
standing bookshelves were required to be fastened to a wall, which
would normally be a good idea since mine was carrying at least twice
the rated load. Just one problem. The movable partition wall was
supported by my bookshelf, not the other way around. I said nothing,
bolted the bookshelves to the partition wall, and quietly chuckled
while I worked.

But it's sadly out of date. Can you imagine? It still allows caliper
brakes! ;-)

Yeah, that's bad. The safety bicycle should use railroad style safety
brakes. Just attach a small air compressor that will charge a small
pressure tank with enough compressed air to keep the brakes open while
riding. Just pedal backward to operate the pump. This is much safer
because the rider becomes too tired pumping up the air pressure to do
anything unsafe while riding.

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

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 22:40:05 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 21:36:20 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
Wow. The place I worked had excellent results with automatic crimping
presses. And they did 100% inspection using force sensors in the anvil.
They could detect if even one strand of wire was not caught in the crimp.

One of the press brands was named "Hummingbird" because it cycled so
fast - actually, far faster than a hummingbird's wings. And it was later
superseded by an even faster design.

There's a short horror story behind the crimper which someone in
management had bought at an auction. I forgot the maker and model.
Upon arrival, I had it installed and running in about 2 days. It
looked quite clean and well maintained. It was soon discovered that
the manufacturer no longer supplied dies for what appeared to be an
obsolete model. They did supply drawings for various dies, which we
sent out for fabrication. I didn't want to wait, so I used a die
grinder and water spray to modify one of the useless dies into
something that would crimp one of the Amp terminals. Ugly, sloppy,
cheap, but it mostly worked. However, it was not very fast because
the pneumatic timing seemed to be all wrong.

One month later, we were still waiting for the dies to arrive from the
machine shop. After the Amp-o-lectric finally died, it was decided
that I should "clean up" my modified dies and use them for production.
I did my best, but it was still depressingly slow. When I ran it near
rated speed, it would make a mess. I once calculated that the job
could be done by hand faster than using this machine. Lacking any
other options, it was run slowly and 24x7 which amazingly worked quite
well. Eventually, the proper tooling arrived and it was discovered
that the machine ran only slightly faster with proper dies. Management
finally called the factory, found someone with some experience with
the machine, and discovered that all the first generation models ran
very slow. It was deemed too expensive to update the older machines,
which explains what it was doing at an equipment auction.

I would hate to see what a bicycle blessed by OSHA would look like.
Probably would have training wheels, seat belts, air bags, ejection
seat, padded roll bar, armor plating, bullet proof tires, a parachute
for brake failures, padded handle bars, etc. It might actually be
safe, but would also be unridable.

Well, there's this:
https://nationalsafety.files.wordpre...o11.jpg?w=1020

More of the same:
https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2009/07/28/osha-cowboy-osha-bullrider-osha-santa-osha-streaker-and-more%e2%80%a6/

My opinion of OSHA hit an all time low when they declared my office
bookshelves were a safety hazard. My bookshelves were flimsy steel
instrial bookshelf purchased at the local hardware store. Behind it
was a movable partition wall made from 2x4's and plywood. Free
standing bookshelves were required to be fastened to a wall, which
would normally be a good idea since mine was carrying at least twice
the rated load. Just one problem. The movable partition wall was
supported by my bookshelf, not the other way around. I said nothing,
bolted the bookshelves to the partition wall, and quietly chuckled
while I worked.

But it's sadly out of date. Can you imagine? It still allows caliper
brakes! ;-)

Yeah, that's bad. The safety bicycle should use railroad style safety
brakes. Just attach a small air compressor that will charge a small
pressure tank with enough compressed air to keep the brakes open while
riding. Just pedal backward to operate the pump. This is much safer
because the rider becomes too tired pumping up the air pressure to do
anything unsafe while riding.

I was once "written up" by an Air Force safety inspector for not
wearing safety glasses in the machine shop.

He said, "I've got to write you up for not wearing safety glasses". I
said, "well, O.K., but write your self up also as you aren't wearing
glasses either." He replied, "I don't need to. I'm the safety
inspector."


--
Cheers,

John B.

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 23:30:20 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

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'm surprised that it's that low, since hardly any bike riders even
know that there is something to learn, and substantial numbers "know"
that riding in the oncoming lane, darting across streets without
warning, etc. make one safe.

A paper, "THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BICYCLES AND TRAFFIC SAFETY FOR ALL
ROAD USERS", A Thesis presented to
the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo

States in part,
"A study in Orlando found that between 2003 and 2004 nearly two thirds
of the 803 cyclist crashes involved riding on the sidewalk, an act
that is not only known to be unsafe but is against the law in most
jurisdictions. These studies and others suggest that the majority of
cycling deaths are avoidable.
It also suggests that while most people know that cycling is a
potentially dangerous activity, this knowledge does not translate into
bikers behaving cautiously or safely."

What was it that Pogo said? "We have met the enemy and he is us".
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 4/1/2018 12:11 AM, Tim McNamara wrote:


Since there are far more car-car collisions than car-bike collisions,
perhaps we should turn our attention regarding colors to a more needed
area of accident reduction... every car should be blaze orange, lime
green, lemon yellow. Hey, the AMC Gremlin was way ahead of its time!

Good idea!


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 4/1/2018 2:40 AM, John B. wrote:
On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 23:30:20 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

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'm surprised that it's that low, since hardly any bike riders even
know that there is something to learn, and substantial numbers "know"
that riding in the oncoming lane, darting across streets without
warning, etc. make one safe.

A paper, "THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BICYCLES AND TRAFFIC SAFETY FOR ALL
ROAD USERS", A Thesis presented to
the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo

States in part,
"A study in Orlando found that between 2003 and 2004 nearly two thirds
of the 803 cyclist crashes involved riding on the sidewalk, an act
that is not only known to be unsafe but is against the law in most
jurisdictions. These studies and others suggest that the majority of
cycling deaths are avoidable.
It also suggests that while most people know that cycling is a
potentially dangerous activity, this knowledge does not translate into
bikers behaving cautiously or safely."

What was it that Pogo said? "We have met the enemy and he is us".


I prefer St. Augustine, "Lord make me chaste. But not yet."

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971