Agree that a light and bright clothing helps to be seen but I think the argument of poor eyesight judgement, focuses on the brighter the lights, the worse it might be. So although in Norway, everyone drives with lights on, have they all converted to brighter LEDs?
As a one time biker, a common experience was car drivers pulling out from junctions in front of me, thinking (incorrectly)that they had plenty of time to do so. I am sure other bikers will have experienced the same.
So perhaps the point is not necessarily don’t use lights but more so, don’t think that the brighter they are, the safer you will be.
No, not everbody but almost. A mix of HID/Xenon and LED (EVs are selling a LOT here, they all have LED) and then a decreasing number of halogen. Provided these powerful lights are well adjusted and have mandatory cleaning and automatic levelling devices, there are no problems. As for poor eyesight, when you grow older you will get gradually less sensitive to light, partly because the lens is growing slightly opaque as years pass by. I would think this demands for stronger light, not the opposite. And distance judgement is mainly dependent on stereoscopic sight which is what we have with two parallell visual axis. I do not think this differs with the iris open or closed. I think the trouble with bikes is that they have only one light. When a car approaches I automatically make a judgement based upon the two headlamps that give me an indication of the size and thus distance to the vehicle. Much more difficult with a one-eyed bike....
I do not think it is that complicated. I want to see, and equally or even more important I want to be seen. Apart from the physical appearance of the car (or bike) there is not much more than a good light I can rely on. So I follow suit. If the majority of vehicles have HID/Xenon/LED, I will improve my headlights not to stand out in a negative way - not feeble, but not agressively bright either.
