"Horace" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<
[email protected]>...
> An area high school girl was killed around sunset Thursday. Her dad is in critical condition.
> Neither had lights, according to the report. Two vehicles were involved.
>
>
http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=region&Story=5914573
Strangely, the article said neither person was wearing a reflective vest, and neither bike had
lights. But they were struck by a car rounding a curve and hitting them from behind. Bicycle
headlights, while very necessary to prevent accidents involving cars from the front or side, would
have been no help in preventing this.
Why do they mention reflective vests? Are these considered a standard safety item in the area? I
never see people wearing them in Raleigh. They add only a little visibility over a good reflector.
Assuming the bikes had their CPSC rear reflectors on, and the reflectors were properly angled, they
should have been reasonably visible from the rear. I suspect the driver was over-driving her
headlights and that is why they weren't seen. But not enough details given to really conclude this.
To tie this into another rear lighting discussion going on in rec.bicycles.misc, Forester objected
to the CPSC rear reflectors because they are non-optimal and based on a faulty 360 degree reflector
assumption. They waste a lot of surface area on side reflection. Forester, and I certainly agree,
thinks that a reflector devoted to rear reflection is much better, having about 3x the brightness of
the CPSC reflector. And he thinks amber is better as that returns more light than a red reflector.
However, I've done tests with the standard CPSC rear reflector. As long as the weather is OK ( no
rain or fog), they should make one visible. Easily visible in the headlights from a block away. The
3 inch amber reflector Forester recommends is a LOT brighter, brighter than any of the LED
taillights people normally use, and should make you visible even in adverse conditions (I've tested
all of these in heavy fog). Mounting the reflector low - say on your fender if you have one, makes
the reflection MUCH brighter, as it catches the brighter part of the car beam. I doubt you can do
any better than this.
So a reflector is sufficient for most conditions, especially a 3 inch amber. More might be nice, but
certainly isn't always necessary and probably would not have made a difference in the case referred
to in the article.
-Pete