Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
Huntsville Teen Dies After SUV Crashes Into School Bus | Fort Smith/Fayetteville News | 5newsonline KFSM 5NEWS
I'd probably risk it myself and base my continued use on what I see. OTOH if drivers don't see a stopped school bus with flashing lights, do you think they will see you?
My theory is that the race for more and brighter lights for vehicles as well as street lighting overwhelms the drivers. As all of the individual lights compete for attention, it's hard to pick out what the lights represent. Bike lighting is especially tough because of the narrow separation between lights. This makes it hard for drivers to gauge closing speed. Two average lights at at least 15" apart will be much better than a single super light.
Good luck to you.
It's not a good idea to judge how well a piece of preventative safety equipment works based on
isolated accounts of total failure. Most people are never going to hit a school bus but there is always going to be a situation somewhere where someone just does the unthinkable while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. It happens. As a cyclist no matter how safe you think you might be you're still just a person on the side of the road pedaling a bike that is completely "Defenseless" when it comes to the possibility of collision from the inattentive ( or incapacitated ) driver.
I'm sure the driver of the SUV in the accident could see fine. Likely a case of totally distracted driving. Sad story. That said, like everyone else who rides a bike on the road, the distracted ( or incapacitated ) driver is my greatest fear. If you ride on the road you can only hope you're never in the right place ( side of the road ) at the wrong time.