Nick Kew wrote:
> In article <1104373588.090018.69700@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> "Peter Headland" <PHeadland@actuate.com> writes:
>
>
>
>>In any event, I can't imagine that de-facto training drivers to believe
>>that if they can't see any lights there is no vehicle approaching can
>>be healthy for any of us.
>
>
> Hmmm, we already have compulsion at night. We take that for granted,
> but bear in mind that there is no such compulsion for pedestrians,
> horse riders, etc, so there are already unlit road users round the
> next bend.
Except that, mostly, there are not. Over the years horse riders,
cyclists and predestrians have mostly become too frightened to go out on
unlit roads at night. The result is many drivers who find it pretty much
unthinkable that they will encounter anyone except other motorists, so
they drive at high speeds unless they see the lights of another vehicle;
this only reinforces the fears of other, non-motorised road users. I've
tried walking a short distance along an unlit road to a pub in the lake
district. It was very scary. Most cars seemed to be driving as fast as
possible, short of skidding off on the corners.
From one point of view, of course, this is an excellent state of
affairs as it makes it very unlikely that non-motorised raod users will
be involved in accidents on such roads.
And if road users rely on the beam, most bike lights
> won't show up until there's a direct line of sight, either.
Yes. Few bike lights show up much in comparison to vehicle lights.
--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap