As the article points out single headlights are extremely hard to gauge the speed/distance of at night. I believe turning in front of a motorcycle having misjudged its distance/speed is one of the leading causes of deadly accidents, so improvements to lighting that help solve this would be huge.
Yes, left turning cars are my primary fear as a rider. Of course the problem arises during the day too, not just at night.
It'd be nice if the OP's research had compared alternative forms of lighting to 'surprise' the oncoming driver, like flickering lights. This works well to draw attention both day and night (using less flicker). Given the continuing problem of drivers not seeing bikes, it's a shame it hasn't been adopted as the new norm for all bikes (and bicycle lights) -- both front and rear.
It may be a contributing factor to recent cases where Tesla Autopilot rear ended motorcycles at night. Thus video has a visualization: https://youtu.be/yRdzIs4FJJg
One of these crashes was right by my home, where I rode to work nearly every day prepandemic.
Is that an honest question? How misinterpreting something as being further away than it actually is while on a road is 'an actual problem'? Of course it's 'less safe'.
Yes, my question was honest. When I asked it, I did not see "further away" in the text of the post. Possibly it was added or else I misread it.
As a motorcyclist, at night, I wish I had the appearance of a car in other motorists' fields of view!
But if it means misjudging my proximity, sure, I do not want that. Still, I think a single point of light (common motorcycle config) gives even less depth information than a pair or triplet of horizontal lights. I've run two or three lights wide on most of my bikes for decades. ATGATT and fingers crossed...
I have a single headlight on my motorcycle. I'm aware that adding more headlights will make me more visible at night, but adding two additional headlights will cost me $500 in parts alone. That's 1/12 the entire cost of what I paid for my bike.
Yep, no more riding at night for me either. It's too dangerous. As I've aged I've noticed how much harder it is for ME to see driving in a car at night. And now I'm CONSTANTLY blinded by these LED nuclear bomb headlights these huge ass trucks have now. It just sucks.
Mentioned in another comment but I rode at night when I was younger, but where I live there's just way too many drunk/aggressive drivers which is much worse at night, regardless of lighting situation. So I just don't ride at night.
There is no way that it should cost you $500 to add two additional LED headlights off the forks. Any random motorcycle parts store should have stuff that works fine, just wire it into your headlight circuit - there's usually a spare amp or so there.
I've tried they cheap lights and they suck. Poor beam patterns and have a habit of failing at inopportune times. (Ever had to race the sunset with a failed light?)
$500 is about in line for a reputable kit that can hold up to the elements.
