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Re: Humm....!!!



Gregory D Girard <ggirard@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> Anyone that commutes in the morning spends much of that time shielding
> themselves from solar glare. This irritation is orders of magnitude
> beyond the 1-3 seconds of bright glare from an oncoming motorcycle.

    The difference being that while the sun is an inanimate object,
other road users are nominally sentient and in control of their
vehicles.  Does solar glare really annoy you?  Do you curse the sun and
wish it would stop shining in your eyes?  Would you run it off the road
in a moment of anger?

> The silent glare of a bright motorycle light needs an exact angle to
> be an annoynce - a fleeting instant - and is no irritant at all the
> rest of the time.

    A little more than a "fleeting instant" I'd say.

    The trouble with explaining to people why they logically cannot be
annoyed by a given situation is that it is likely to annoy them even
more.

> From a more cynical perspective, and in no way intended to reflect on
> your personal opinion expressed, one might seriously question the
> judgement of one who would turn OFF their high-beams during the day
> and endanger themselves needlessly knowing that reliable sources have
> clearly indicated that more than 1/3 over everybody that dies on a
> motorcycle does so because a car turning left did not see them coming.

    I don't know what the local customs and conditions are in the US,
but in the UK (and contrary to the official guidelines in the Highway
Code) a flash of high beam is widely understood to mean that you are
ceding your right of way to another vehicle, for example to allow them
to turn right (remember we drive on the left).  Given the bumpy nature
of our roads and the shaped nature of a headlamp beam, a motorcycle with
high beam on can be mistaken for a motorcycle with a flashing high beam.

    I use my high beams for added visibility at all times, but I do so
*selectively*.

                Jim
- -- 
       jim@       ,'_                man, I need to find a job that pays
  gillespie.org  / -.--.    ___      more or a hobby that costs less....
                _\_  ~-.`--'_.-' 
               / /\\    \--'_ \\ 
 '99 Sprint ST \__/ `---'  \__/                           -- Eric Sheley


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