"David Combs" wrote in message
...
Damn near hit someone last night while going to train to
get my wife;

Because prior train's passengers walking home at 5:45pm,
invariably dressed in black-seeming suits and long-coats,
ie 100% invisible, since car lights point straight ahead.

The problem is two-pronged. People who walk or bike on dark roadways (and
even fairly well-lit ones) need to have something reflective. Not sure how
you educate those at risk. My dog's new collar is reflective and I am
thinking of switching from a retractable leash to a nylon one that's also
got reflective treatment. Like you, I have been unpleasantly surprised by
encountering someone dressed like a Ninja suddenly darting into my vehicle's
path as if I could see them as well as they could see me.

Not exactly sure what people would be willing to wear with reflective
stripes attached, but I'll bet the answer would be "anything!" after they've
been hit by a car in the dark. Just last night I saw a bike that had small
snippets of reflective tape wrapped around the tubing at strategic points so
that you could clearly make out the silhouette of a bicycle at quite a
distance. Very nicely done and I intend to steal the idea.

--
Bobby G.


I once drove a car after an accident that had the right-side headlight so
far out of alignment that it lit up the side of the road. If it's a really
serious problem you could try to install a retrofit fog lamp with a mount
than enabled you to "sweep" the side. I've known people who've killed
pedestrians accidentally and believe me, it's worth money not to have to
live with that memory.