Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
The people who don't notice are in the minority, of course. But that means little. If 1 in 1000 drivers I encounter on the road ignore the lights, that still means multiple cars per year that ignore the lights.
I really don't think that past the point where I'm at, more light will really do any good. I think that the people who would notice 2000 lumens will notice 500, and the people who don't notice 500 won't notice 2000. There will be a tiny percent more, but not much.
It's worth having bright lights to sweep up the vast majority of drivers so you don't have to brake and swerve to avoid every nutjob, but I don't think it's really worth spending 4x as much on lights to bring the number of people who "don't see" your lights from 50 per year to 49.8 per year.
I agree 100%!
In addition, 1 in a 1000 are dam good odds if you ask me.
We are never going to get the 100% of people seeing us, just as nothing is perfect. However, we can increase OUR ODDS on safety, and IMO, with better lights we are doing just that..
I agree with you on the spending too, cause I ain't the one spending $$$$ on lights. I am cheapo all the way, just ask my Socical Security Check!!
However, I ain't knocking the expensive lights, they are dam good, and I mean dam good. I just happen to like the look of the flashlight torches, and they happen to be way cheaper than the quality bike lights. I like clean and flowing lines on all my vehicles. Whether it be bicycle, car, or truck. With that in mind, battery packs are out the question for me. Just as some would say torches would be out the question for them. There are many diifferent ways to achieve the same goal.
On a humor note, the other day I was exiting the subway, getting ready to do the 8 or 9 miles home. It was dark, and two other bicyclist were exiting with me. When we all got on the road, it was something to be seen. One bike rider was on the pavement, and he was completely stealth, in other words, you could barely see him. The other one had a weak rear light, and no front light, and he also was on the pavement. Here comes the old man, in a full lane on the double two-laner, with lights brighter than the cars.
As I went pass the other two bike riders, one almost fell looking at me, and the other had to stop to see what I was.
I started to stop and tell them that if they are going to ride at night, at least have some kind of lighting front and rear, even on the pavement. But, I didn't, I just SWISHED on by, smiling broadly!!
Tell me life isn't sweet!!