Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
,,,which of course is utterly ludicrous. No one can force anyone to do anything unless of course they are presently standing over them with threat of violence. Now if this was a situation where the guy was test riding a bike at night and the clerks at the store didn't insist on the guy using a lamp...well, that would be different. According to the website details on the case the guy had the accident after he bought the bike and was out on only his third ride. This tells me he bought the bike and was riding in the manner that he wished to do ( for good or bad ). Utterly ludicrous when someone tries to shrug off their own personal responsibilities and blame someone else BUT it happens everyday. This is why tort law keeps getting refined to keep people from using the court systems for their own, "Get rich scheme". If this case was to be retried today it would never get to first base.
If the case were retired today, I'd expect the same, or similar, verdict. There is a modicum of logic to Johnson's arguments. Automobile drivers are "forced" to use lights because the vehicle is equip with them. The motorist has no choice in the matter. I don't want all bicycles to come equipped with lights since I don't like the choices that would be made by the manufacturer but all bicycles are required to have a full CSPC compliment of reflectors just in case you
happen to ride at night. If anything, Mr. Johnson should have sued the CSPC for their reflector requirement.
You and I and nearly everyone who posts on the more utility oriented forums understands the need for as much light as we can possibly throw out in front of us. We understand the issues and the thoughts behind them. The general population doesn't necessarily think that way. Far too many people think of bicycling as some extension of walking and you don't need light to walk around.
Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
Adding to what someone else said, I too have seen many people using bicycles at night with just OEM reflectors. Not going to say I had any near accidents with these people but if they had no visual "see me" aids at all they certainly would have had more of a chance of being hit than not. Keep in mind reflectors are used for other road side purposes as well. I see reflectors on road side markers / road barriers / lane dividers / construction cones..etc, all the time. If they didn't work I don't think the municipalities would continue to waste the public's money by installing them. Still, using them on a bike is not likely to make someone think they are "super-visible". ( but that is of course my opinion and position ).
People still manage to run off roads even with delineator posts (that's what they are called because they delineate the road from 'not' road) in place. They do it all the time.
People
do manage to get hit and killed while using reflectors alone. If you read bicycle accident statistics, you'll find that the majority of accidents resulting in death happen from 1800 to 0800. There are fewer people riding at night than during the day, which makes the likelihood of being killed higher. I would posit that many, if not most, of those night riding deaths are people who were riding bikes equipped with only the CPSC required reflectors and not active lighting.
Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
Nope, your first statement here is the correct one. Quote, "People, on the other hand, use bicycles at night and don't even think about it", unquote. Since they don't think about it they are not incorporating logic or contemplating the issue. Now if they do contemplate the issue different people will come to different conclusions, of that I have no doubt. Where we seem to differ is in "what conclusions are most often drawn ( by the novice cyclist ) about the use of reflectors". I guess I must have a little more faith in the intellect of the common man because I would find it hard to believe anyone would feel completely safe riding a bike on the road at night with just standard OEM reflectors.
Either you misread or misquoted me. The "without lights" is the important part. Think about it. We even have a well known an commonly used name for people who ride without lights at night. I don't even have to mention it and 90% of people reading this post will know what that name is. That says to me that the problem of night riders without lighting is a large and persistent problem.
You have more faith in people's intellect than I do. Any person who has reached adulthood in the US should know that a bicycle that is ridden at night is
required to have at least a front white light. My driver's test back in 1971 had that question on it and I'm reasonable certain that the test my children took in 2001 had the same question. It was important enough to get mention in both the 1971 and 2001 driver's manuals. Even if you haven't taken the driver's test, logic would dictate that you should have lights on a bicycle at night but ninja's still exist and not in small numbers.