Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Observations from Indonesia

I just got back from Bali Indonesia where there are a gazillion motorcycles. What struck me as odd was that everyone wore a helmet and had extremely bright and functional rear and front lights. So why do cyclists in the USA put cheap and ineffective lights on their bikes when people orders of magnitude poorer would not do it?

I know you are going to say motorcycles are more dangerous than cycles, but for purposes of this discussion let's say they are equally dangerous.

I just got back from Bali Indonesia where there are a gazillion motorcycles. What struck me as odd was that everyone wore a helmet and had extremely bright and functional rear and front lights. So why do cyclists in the USA put cheap and ineffective lights on their bikes when people orders of magnitude poorer would not do it?

I know you are going to say motorcycles are more dangerous than cycles, but for purposes of this discussion let's say they are equally dangerous.

They wear their coats backwards when they ride too.

They wear their coats backwards when they ride too.

I noticed that, how come ?

Comparing lights on small motorcycle vs. a bike is apples and oranges.

The lights are more for bling than practicality.

I noticed that, how come ?
Prevents air entering the jacket and billowing. Jackets with a zipper are common here so air entry is not a problem. If your jacket has buttons air will enter the jacket between the buttons inflating it making you colder than if you were not using a jacket at all. You'll see some with a jacket with a zipper worn backwards. They do that because it's become a cultural thing.

The lights are more for bling than practicality.
like this
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/1570509245_afeeed193c.jpg?v=0

I just got back from Bali Indonesia where there are a gazillion motorcycles. What struck me as odd was that everyone wore a helmet and had extremely bright and functional rear and front lights. So why do cyclists in the USA put cheap and ineffective lights on their bikes when people orders of magnitude poorer would not do it?

I know you are going to say motorcycles are more dangerous than cycles, but for purposes of this discussion let's say they are equally dangerous.

Did you actually ride on any of those motorcycles? I have, and Denpasar traffic is a hell of a lot different than Des Moines.

I didn't have a helmet, nor did my local friend driving, but the motorcycle came factory equipped with lights, which is why people have them. There might also be a law, as there is here in Latvia, that one must always drive with their lights on.

It helps if you can burn gasoline to generate electricity and haul the weight around instead of having to carry batteries for power and all of your lights with your own labor.