In proliri's post Reflectors - better than lights! there are several really good points made about reflectors. Then again, there was a lot of push back from people who felt that reflectors don't do enough to make you safe and that lights are all that's necessary.

I'm known for having both in abundance. My take on things? Why not use both.

In February of 2011, in Beaverton Oregon, Bret Lewis was struck and killed while cycling on the Tualatin Valley highway on a stormy night (coverage from BikePortland can be found here). According to his family members, the Beaverton Police Dept. did an exhaustive (15 minute) investigation , and concluded that he was riding westbound in the lane of traffic, immediately to the left (and outside) of the bike lane, and came to a complete stop directly in front of the car that struck and killed him. He was using lights.

I used to live across the rail road tracks from the place of the crash, and I had a different spin on things. I proposed that Bret was riding his bike northbound, not westbound (until the last second), using a demand trail (those trails created when people cut across a property, rather than using sidewalks or other trail's) to get to the highway, then crossing the Highway to get to the street on the other side. (BikePortland's coverage here).

What I think happened went down like this.*

• While crossing, Bret probably saw the car coming towards him, and he knew that he had working lights. He thought he was visible, and proceeds to try to cross while managing his bike in the blustery, wet weather.
• He crosses the first 4 lanes (bike lane, 2xEastbound lanes, Suicide lane, presuming that the motorist would see him, but realizes too late that the driver didn't slow, in fact he was accelerating to ~45mph (perhaps more, perhaps less).
• Bret has too much speed to come to a stop, but too little to finish the cross. He turns from northbound to westbound to try to avoid the crash, but it's too late. Perhaps his chain slips, he loses traction, we'll never know.
• Driver probably didn't see the headlights due to Bret's arms blocking the light, and/or glare. He didn't see the taillight before due to: too narrow of a focus, a long (dark?) coat , glare (I'm speculating here). Hits the brakes, but again, too late.

I was never informed of any changes in BPD's investigation, but I suspect that had Bret been wearing clothing with reflective properties, and combined reflectors with his lights, he might very well be alive and well today.

Lights are mandatory for nighttime riding in Oregon, reflectors aren't. But the two combined can't hurt, and are only complementary.

I'm not a fan of the plastic reflectors that you get when you purchase a new bike, like some people pointed out, they have a very limited angle of return. They aren't very useful, but sure beat using nothing. They also can be covered with a DOT or SOLAS tape product, and then they work a lot better.

Front/back visibility is important, but side visibility is often lacking. Most people riding bikes don't know that there's reflective sidewalls on commuter tires available.

Reflective tapes come in a rainbow of colors, and don't need to destroy your bike's looks. I've created a thread showing how to cover a bike, please check it out.

Before:After: (Day)(Night)Before:After:Somethings I'll add to the list that proliri had in his post.

Reflectors can be hidden in plain sight, thieves may not notice them and are easily tagged by cops or vigilant cyclists can use them to ID your bike after it's stolen.

Crashes can break head/taillights reflective tape will still work (barring you going down in a mud puddle deep enough to hide the bike)

Reflectors are with the bike 24-7, you apply once, and don't need to think about it again.

Rubberside Down!
K'Tesh

PS: If you see a thread about reflectors, please don't hesitate to PM me, I'm always interested in it.

*My theory is based on a similar collision I had with an elderly driver during daylight hours at lower speeds.