Does the "moth effect" contribute to nighttime bicycle accidents?

We all know that bicyclists who ride at night should have lights on their bicycles in order to be safe. Lights are divided into two categories: those that help you to see and those that help you be seen. It goes without saying that 'to see' lights are those that provide a steady beam to light up the road or trail in front of the cyclist. The 'be seen' lights are the cause for concern here.

The 'Moth Effect' suggests that blinking lights are unsafe. Specifically, this interesting phenomena proves that blinking red lights on the back of bicycles might be more dangerous than steady red lights. It has been argued that the red blinkie lights actually attracted drivers.

Watch moths outside in the dark from a lighted room, as they mindlessly flutter toward the light. It almost seems nonsensical. It sounds crazy that a driver would do a similar thing, but it makes sense if you think about it. Try this theory out at night yourself. Go out in the dark by foot and find a small light. Feel how you are drawn to the target—as if in a trance—and how distance becomes irrelevant. In the same fashion, bicycle taillights set to blinking mode cause unalert drivers to fixate on the lights and potentially steer right towards them!

This effect can also be analyzed when drivers in oncoming traffic steer away from the oncoming vehicle at first but that two seconds before the meeting, drivers will deflect the steering wheel in the direction toward the approaching vehicle. Wow, this suggests that drivers potentially steer off the road in the direction of their fixation.

The 'Moth Effect' is enabled by:

• Minimal optic flow information on a dark road at night or in bad weather. The driver is forced to rely on a sense of egocentric direction relative to a landmark (i.e., the fixated object).
• Focused attentional fixation to a roadside target. The more attention focused on one task, the less available to other tasks.

Be safe and ride with a steady light, allowing motorists to judge distance better and be safer.

© 2011 R.E.L. Copywriting