Reflections on Safety

This week started with tragic news here in Austin.  Another cyclist hit and killed by a motor vehicle.  What makes this especially troubling is that the cowardly driver involved decided that they didn’t need to stop and render aid.  I wonder if this was simple flight response to the fear of being blamed.  An irrational fear given society’s tendency to blame the victim in these mishaps.  I can hear the voices now:  “what was he doing riding on that road at night?”  ”he didn’t have a rear light?”  ”he wasn’t wearing a helmet?”  

Entirely possible that this driver would not have even received a citation.  “I didn’t see him.”  Which tells me that this driver has other issues.  Perhaps he was impaired, had an expired or suspended license, no insurance, expired state inspection.  Something made him flee in a cowardly attempt to get away with it.

And then there is the standard blotter reporter entry that makes me want to scream.

 Police say Murphy did not have a rear flashing light on the bicycle and was not wearing a helmet.

The helmet comment is irrelevant to the cause of the mishap.  Why do people continue to focus on this issue?  First, a helmet is not required by law. Second,  a helmet is next to useless in high speed car-bicycle collisions.  In many circumstances, it is nothing but an expensive Styrofoam hat.

The light comment strikes me as police officer editorializing and the reporter allowing him to get away with it.  Again, not required by state law.  Flashing or otherwise.  The more important question that the report should have asked was did the bicycle have the required red reflector.

Sec. 551.104.  SAFETY EQUIPMENT.

(b)  A person may not operate a bicycle at nighttime unless the bicycle is equipped with:

(1)  a lamp on the front of the bicycle that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet in front of the bicycle; and

(2)  on the rear of the bicycle:

(A)  a red reflector that is:

(i)  of a type approved by the department; and

(ii)  visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from 50 to 300 feet to the rear of the bicycle; or

(B)  a lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the bicycle.

What A Minute

After calming down and focusing on positive thoughts to this young man’s family in their time of loss, I’ve been pondering the question of light versus reflector.  Why is it legally sufficient to only have a rear reflector?  Are lights, blinky or otherwise, more effective?  Why do bike shops and dealers continue to sell bicycles not equipped with lights?  Why do bicycle manufacturers not install lights on bicycles?

This is when dim memories of something I had read from “Effective Cycling” by John Forester.  Chapter 33 of that book, titled “Riding at Night” spends a lot of time discussing reflectors and comparing them to lights.  It can be summed up in one particular paragraph:

The proper function of nighttime protective equipment are to illuminate your path so you may ride on the roadway and stay away from obstacles, to enable you to see your position on the roadway so you can obey the rules of the road, and to alert other drivers and pedestrians so they may obey the rules of the road with respect to you.

I’ve read this chapter several times.  My major take-aways are that Mr. Forester doesn’t like the CPSC, and that a rear reflector is sufficient in most night-time riding conditions.  There is however this passage which may inform us about Monday’s tragic mishap.

Unlighted objects can be seen only when in the headlamp beams.  If they are reflectorized they can be seen at considerable distances, but if they are not reflectorized they can be seen only at much shorter distances than in daylight.  Both motorists with lawful headlamps and cyclists with weak headlamps can easily overdrive their headlamps and should travel slower than in daylight…

It is entirely possible that the driver in this mishap over took his own headlamps and had insufficient time to react.  The speed limit in that stretch of road is 55 MPH.  That is over 80 feet per second.  Given a minimum reaction time of 3 seconds, the driver would need nearly 250 feet to see, react and execute a turn or braking action.  Again, it is important to know if the bicycle had a rear reflector installed and if it was properly aligned and clean.

Where Are You Going With This?

I ride at night.  I have both red reflectors (note plural) and lights.  I often put the rear lights in blinky mode.  While Mr. Forester poo-poos the idea of blinking lights, I like the idea that drivers, approaching me from behind, see something attention getting at significant distances.  In my vast experience at night (both cycling and flying), static steady small red lights can be misleading.

I continue to ponder why the state law does not require a rear light and reflectors.

I continue to wonder why I see so many stealth cyclists at night.

I continue to question why a human being would leave another dying on the side of the road.

I continue to reflect.

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