J
Joshua Putnam
Guest
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Does expectation matter more than the brightness that people
> are debating?
Yes. See e.g. the problems of motorcycles with two headlights
relatively close together -- motorists often mistake this for car
headlights that are far away, and cut in front of the motorcyclist.
> That is, even though drivers would see the slow car or
> bicycle at the same distance if both were using minimum code
> bicycle lights, they would avoid the bicycle and smash into
> the car?
If the car had one bike light dead center, then a person using that
light as a cue would definitely run into the car. If the car had its
one light on the far left side of the car, then someone using that light
as a cue would be driving far enough left to miss the car.
Note the brilliant reflective tape outlines on commercial trucks -- a
fairly small reflector would provide visibility, but the tape stripes
define the outline so people recognize the nature of the object, rather
than just its presence.
> What do you think about slow motorcycles? Same signature as
> bicycles, but I suspect that they have much higher lighting
> requirements. Is it just the blinking?
My old Honda, from back in the days of 6 volt motorcycle wiring, had a
tail light barely brighter than a bicycle light. But it was immediately
recognizeable as a motorcycle because of the pulsing of the light. Now
that motorcycles usually have charging systems just as stable as cars,
many riders add back that magneto pulse artificially, to improve
recognition.
--
[email protected] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html>
[email protected] says...
> Does expectation matter more than the brightness that people
> are debating?
Yes. See e.g. the problems of motorcycles with two headlights
relatively close together -- motorists often mistake this for car
headlights that are far away, and cut in front of the motorcyclist.
> That is, even though drivers would see the slow car or
> bicycle at the same distance if both were using minimum code
> bicycle lights, they would avoid the bicycle and smash into
> the car?
If the car had one bike light dead center, then a person using that
light as a cue would definitely run into the car. If the car had its
one light on the far left side of the car, then someone using that light
as a cue would be driving far enough left to miss the car.
Note the brilliant reflective tape outlines on commercial trucks -- a
fairly small reflector would provide visibility, but the tape stripes
define the outline so people recognize the nature of the object, rather
than just its presence.
> What do you think about slow motorcycles? Same signature as
> bicycles, but I suspect that they have much higher lighting
> requirements. Is it just the blinking?
My old Honda, from back in the days of 6 volt motorcycle wiring, had a
tail light barely brighter than a bicycle light. But it was immediately
recognizeable as a motorcycle because of the pulsing of the light. Now
that motorcycles usually have charging systems just as stable as cars,
many riders add back that magneto pulse artificially, to improve
recognition.
--
[email protected] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html>