Drivers keep crashing into Amish buggies, so Ohio enacted a law requiring buggies be festooned with electric flashing lights

https://lemmy.world/post/18284938

Drivers keep crashing into Amish buggies, so Ohio enacted a law requiring buggies be festooned with electric flashing lights - Lemmy.World

Wouldn’t reflectors work better and be low-to-no technology to allow Amish to keep to their tradition? I’m thinking similar material to diamond grade street signs.

No. I live in PA, and we have a similar law. I remember before it was passed, and seeing buggies with just the reflectors.

Close up, directly in front of lights, you can see them fine, but your lights aren’t always pointing at them. Maybe it’s a curve or a hill, maybe they are approaching an intersection, but flashing lights can be seen from all angles.

Also, most Amish have no problem using modern technology when required. It’s not like a pathological fear, it’s a religious devotion to self-reliance. They use cell phones and power tools when they need to, and they hire “English” (non-Amish) to drive them in cars. Some are more insular than others, and they rarely get involved in politics, so they mostly just do whatever is required.

Maybe it’s a curve or a hill, maybe they are approaching an intersection, but flashing lights can be seen from all angles.

Note that this law requires Amish use lights even in daytime, which won’t be visible around a bend or hill at such times. What’s next…telling bikes/peds they also have to go around wearing lights?

Bikes should have daytime strobes and headlamps. Cars should always have their headlights on. Visibility reduces accidents.

You can be on a curved road or a hill and have vehicles you can see that are not within your headlight beams. Further, if a vehicle is obstructed by a curve or hill, you may see lights illuminate the dark ahead of you before the vehicle comes into view.

There’s no reason not to have lights on vehicles on the road.

Further, if a vehicle is obstructed by a curve or hill, you may see lights illuminate the dark ahead of you before the vehicle comes into view.

Plus this sometimes works during the day in shadey areas or when it is very overcast.

Or when people are idiots and just don’t turn them on when they’re supposed to.

You’d think with how prevalent automatic headlights are nowadays there’d be a lot less people driving with them off in the rain/dark, yet every single night I see at least one idiot doing it in a car that I know has automatic headlights.

Why do they turn this feature off? It’s mind-blowing.
The idea of having lights on these buggies is literally counter to their whole belief system. You or I might not share the same world view but it is mind-blowing that you wonder why the Amish would not run electric lights on their horse and buggies…