View Single Post
Old 05-28-08, 07:28 PM
  #72  
ccd rider
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Windsor, CO
Posts: 315
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Sir Bikesalot
Well...a better analogy would be to compare a cheap helmet that provides good protection vs a really expensive helmet that povides outstanding protection. How much is that extra protection worth to you? Some would prefer not to engage in cost-benefit analysis with their lives, but to each his/her own.
I don't think that's a better analogy since many of the cheaper helmets are actually better at protecting. Check the research on that. Often the more expensive helmets are designed for comfort and lightness.....at the expense of some degree of protection. Not saying they won't work well.....that's the whole point. Money is not always a determining factor in safety, spending more or less on a product.

My overriding point is I think there is a saturation point for different people. Otherwise where would you stop? Something could always come along that costs more that may add safety at those margins defined for that part of being safe (visibility only being one of those). I also think cost is a factor when you don't have a lot of money to begin with. One of my main motivating factors for riding (among many) is to save money. I'm not going to spend that kind of money for a light when a cheaper light does the job just as well. It's not quantifiable. You have no empirical data to back up your premise of a more expensive light keeping you safer because there are far too many variables in the course of a bike ride (like your personal riding behavior and defensive skills, traffic congestion, speeds of both vehicles.....and just plain random chance!). My guess is that no lighting vs. a Dinotte could very easily be a factor in your safety, but I'm also guessing the gap would be much shorter (or perhaps equal) using a very good light like a Superflash (who knows, that pattern of flash might be more attention getting than your blinder of a Dinotte....right?).

Even if it was quantifiable, I would still do a cost-benefit analysis based on not only that data, but on my own personal experiences. Or even the anecdotal accounts from others who make good points, not necessarily what is clinically researched.
ccd rider is offline