Who to report this to

[tom_e]

Have to agree.  While my gut reaction is that the fellow in black is damn silly, it's not half as silly as trying to pretend that every hazard will be labelled.  We should at least be aiming to drive or ride while being able to stop within the distance we can see to be clear.  And admonish ourselves when we know we haven't. 

Other people will make mistakes, or do silly things.  They still don't "deserve" to get hurt in the literal sense.  It's a point of pride to attempt to ride/drive/walk idiot-proof, even if some of the idiots might be bloody good. 

Of course that applies to the silly feller pushing his bike too.

[hellymedic]

Methinks all these ultrabright lights impair your dark adaptation, making it more difficult to observe poorly lit / unlit obstacles.

[LEE]

How do you adjust your speed for things you can't see or may not be there?

If my headlights shine 100 yards then I feel safe driving at 50mph for example.

If there is a "camouflaged" cyclist 20 yards away, that I can't see, then how fast should I drive ? (bearing in mind the road looks clear for 100 yards).

[Jaded]

I usually drive fast round corners on country lanes if there hasn't been a lot of traffic coming from the other way for a while.

[Jaded]

Methinks all these ultrabright lights impair your dark adaptation, making it more difficult to observe poorly lit / unlit obstacles.

I think this is the key. These safer brighter lights allow you to drive faster.

[rogerzilla]

To whom to report this.

/grammar Nazi

[hellymedic]

Methinks all these ultrabright lights impair your dark adaptation, making it more difficult to observe poorly lit / unlit obstacles.

I think this is the key. These safer brighter lights allow you to drive faster.

These 'safer' bright lights allow you to think you can safely drive faster.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I usually drive fast round corners on country lanes if there hasn't been a lot of traffic coming from the other way for a while.

Ah - you're more normal than you seem!

but not in a good way, just normal...

As for "CTC vs DoT in the 1930s" - when I used to be king of the world, all rear lights and reflectors were banned. Probably people drove more carefully then but I think more people crashed into cars as well. It was good for pedestrians and cats though.

[Jaded]

Cyclists wearing dark clothes, with no reflective jackets, no lights, no reflectors and no common sense are asking to be killed or seriously injured.

Women wearing short skirts, with low cut tops, no boy friend, lots of makeup and no common sense are asking to be raped or sexually assaulted.

Wording in the OP acceptable, but here outrageous.

Such is car culture in 2012.

[John Henry]

^^^^

Completely different contexts, and therefore the comparison is invalid. Frankly I think that parallel is every bit as melodramatic as the wording of the letter you're complaining about.

If you want to complain about this letter, complain to someone. There is the local paper itself, the governing body for driving instructors, whoever.

There's no point asking for opinions about whether it should be reported if you're just going to get shirty when people say no, it's just a figure of speech..

[Jaded]

Thank you for your opinion.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I don't think there's a specific problem of night time visibility, whether it be unlit cyclists or wild animals. The problem is simply that people are reluctant to adjust their driving to what they can see rather than what they assume to be there or not there, it applies just as much in the day as the night and if it applies more to drivers than cyclists that is only because we can't go so fast.

[valkyrie]

Much as I enjoy cycling in the dark I pretty much agree with the driving instructor. Several times in the last few months I've come across cyclists on completely unlit roads with no lights and wearing dark clothing. It's a mystery to me how anyone can ride a bike like this and not just ride off the road/down a hole. I don't think it's reasonable to expect drivers to reduce their speed to a level that would allow them to spot hazards that are both uncommon and extremely difficult to see. It's like asking people to drive at a speed that will allow them to avoid collisions with badgers.

[Jaded]

Actually you've got a point. A driver might get a more severe sentence for killing a badger.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Unless it had TB.