Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
While I agree that reflectors alone are inadequate, I can't believe you would say ,
"Having reflectors is worse than nothing at all". Simply not true. Now about what other people think when it comes to using reflectors and what you said about that; I don't think anyone would think that having reflectors would mean that they were completely safe riding on the road. I think most people would think that having reflectors would mean,
"They have a BETTER chance of being seen". I think most people understand that there are no guarantees in life. Cars with full lighting get hit all the time. I would think most people who are aware of that fact would understand the ramifications of just using reflectors while riding a bike. Then again there are always going to be people who are ignorant of certain facts. As such, there are always exceptions to the rule...unfortunately.
The idea that you are "completely safe to ride with only reflectors" is the heart of the Derby lawsuit. That is exactly the argument made by the plaintiff's lawyer. He argued that Derby should have "forced" the plaintiff to ride with a light and because they hadn't, the bicycle company was responsible for his injuries.
As for reflectors, ask yourself, would you even
think of driving a car at night without lights and only with reflective surfaces on it? You might forget to turn on the lights...I saw a truck explode in front of me when he hit a driver without lights on a rainy night...but you probably won't go far without the lights on. Cars have reflective lens but no one would consider using one at night without active lights.
People, on the other hand, use bicycles at night without lights and don't even think about it. The logic is that the bikes have 'reflectors' so they must be safe to ride. I know it's dumb but it's the way that people think. That's what makes them worse than nothing at all. If you have active lighting, you don't need reflectors and if you have only reflectors, you need active lighting. If bikes had no reflectors, people wouldn't think that they could get away with riding at night without lights.