Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I really don't get this post, this incident doesn't illustrate the value of anything other than good brakes and braking skills. It certainly does NOT illustrate the value of a blinking DRL, and there's a lot of double-talk in that post to try to get around that. I think what you've actually done is construct an argument whose logic could be used to support the carrying of virtually any portable item while you ride. I could plug in "dayglow lucky rabbit's foot" everywhere you have "blinking DRL" in that post, and it would make just about as much sense.
If anything, it says to me to not just rely on blinking lights as a safeguard but also heavily rely on your situational awareness and remain alert for any possible hazards. I tend to do this already and don't let myself become complacent just because I ride a bike with lights all over it. I'm not saying that using lights during the day won't help, but being aware of your surroundings and primarily other traffic is the
#1 thing which will keep you from becoming a statistic.
For instance, just the other morning I was riding the outside (right) lane of a 4-lane street, a car passed me in the inside lane just before we reached an intersection where someone was waiting to turn left across it. I instantly recognized that the driver turning left may or may not have seen me, and instead focused on the car which had just gone past me, or they may or may not have seen me because the car which passed me was between me and the turning vehicle. So I slowed down a bit in case the turning car was going to turn in front of me. Luckily they waited for me to pass as well and didn't turn in front of me, but I was ready in case they did. Even though I had one steady and one strobing light on the front of my bike, I wasn't going to just assume the driver saw them.