Originally Posted by
Carley P.
How often do you ride at night, and how much of that ride is on a street lined with businesses, streetlights, tail-lights, and other things? It sounds odd, but when I'm in a place that is pitch-dark I'm never scared of someone not seeing me, because I'm the only light on the road. However, when I'm riding on a high-traffic, fast paced road with lights everywhere you look, I want motorists to know I'm not just another light; I'm a living person.
I don't think a motorist would intentionally hit anything with a light. What I'm nervous about is people going around a turn, seeing a red light on the right side of the road that doesn't look to be moving, and thinking it's just another light on the sidewalk. Of course they'll probably notice I'm on the street sooner or later, but it could be too late.
If someone wants to add another light to their bike, it probably means that they're not comfortable at night with the amount of light they're putting out now. If you don't think his idea right now is beneficial, I'd suggest a way that he could be lit-up in a different way so he's more confident when riding. I've ridden with one blinking rear light and it was not enough light for me to feel confident on a bike. Now that I'm satisfied with my lights, I seldom get that temptation to hop in a car to get where I want to go if the sun is down.
I understand what you're saying, and certainly don't think "lighting up" is going to hurt anyone's chances of being seen. I'll even concede that indulging a paranoid fear is fine if it helps assuage that fear.
However, I simply don't see any plausible argument for the position that red blinkies aren't immediately recognizable as bikes. As mechBgon pointed out above, nothing else uses that kind of light. You say drivers may not be able to determine if you're on the road or the sidewalk with just a blinkie, or that you're not a mailbox or sign, but honestly, I just can't believe that. I ride night urban almost exclusively (vs. rural), and have done so virtually non-stop since '88. It has never occurred to me that drivers can't tell I'm on the road--as opposed to the sidewalk--with my blinkie; I've never been given cause to consider it. I've never heard a driver say it, I've never experienced it while driving...and I drive fast, with the license points to prove it.
So what it gets down to, for me, is that if a driver can't tell by your blinkie you are on the road, I see no reason to believe that a reflective vest is necessarily going to make any difference. And if a reflective strip or two look less like mailboxes and roadsigns than a bright blinking light...well, I'm just a monkey's uncle, I guess.
Speaking of monkeys, I did recently start running Monkeylectric Monkey Lights on the rear wheel of my commuter, and do get an extra sense of security from the very bright, attention getting lights. Nonetheless, I wouldn't claim they're essential to safe night riding, and as such, are indeed overkill.