6:40 p.m. I took my third test photo of the day at 6:40 p.m. There was still light when a thunderstorm came rushing over, and it turned darker, and the rain got heavy.

I sat in the front seat of my Toyota Rav 4 and took a photo with my Iphone on zoom from about 30 feet down the driveway. Seeing the black fabric lit up like that was striking.

During rain and storms, people say they have the most trouble seeing, so it was valuable to look through the windshield.

The 2 p.m. photo (right below) shows how the 3-D tape is virtually invisible during the daylight hours. Night, even dusk, is a different story. This test uses four-inch reflecting tape, the previous test used half inch strips.

My thinking is that this tape can be used without changing the cart’s look at all in the daytime. That may make a decision easier for the Amish leaders. If not, it was well worth the time and effort.

Michael sent me this message at the end of the day:

“There was a fatal accident today or yesterday near Richland, New York. One of the two Amish women in the buggy was killed. But it happened in the afternoon and apparently did not involve excessive speed or substance use. I hope your experiment works because evidently, the Amish and their buggies are at risk virtually all the time.”

I thank Michael for his message; it was helpful, but I contacted the New York State Police this afternoon, and they told me what I suspected. We are all much more at risk driving and riding in automobiles, motorcycles, and trucks- or walking in city streets –  than the Amish are riding in their buggies.

Percentage-wise, there are far fewer accidents involving their carts than our cars. Horse buggies are inherently more safe than automobiles. They are lighter and go much slower, and the Amish don’t speed or drink or break the law.

But the Amish accidents are heartbreaking – they often involve children and horses – and they draw much more alarm and publicity. If you count them up, they are rare.

For all that, it seems likely that these strips could prevent at least some of the nighttime buggy accidents; the illumination is quite strong. I don’t need to win this argument; it would just be nice.

The obnoxious message of the day went to Dennis:

“It’s obvious to me that this is a waste of your time–there’s no way that their whole community and church structure is going to agree to this. Give it up. It’s clear how this is going to end.”

I did reply to him:

“Dennis, I’m not sure why you are writing to me.  Why are you wasting your time wasting mine? Do you really care how I choose to spend my time and is it really your business? I’d say it’s obvious to me that the answer is no. People have accomplished great things ignoring people like you.  Perhaps you can spend your time (and mine) more wisely by writing annoying messages to somebody else.”

God have mercy on me; it feels good to answer messages like that.

I’ll see you at 8:30 with the next photo.