Our freedom to fly is a gift. The FAA provides pilots with reasonable rules and regulations, and a lot of discretion to determine the proper course of action. Sometimes the rules are not applicable in all circumstances, or for all pilots and aircraft, so what may seem to be perfectly legal isn’t safe, and vice versa. In other words, pilots also are given the freedom to be stupid.
The visibility and cloud clearance regulation is one of those reasonable sets of rules. They make sense; you should have greater visibility at night and at altitude, though they include just enough variations for circumstances— airspace, altitude, and time of day—to require printed reminders on kneeboards and lens cloths. I do my best to stay the proper distances from clouds, though I can’t think of many circumstances where I was deeply concerned about my specific cloud clearances either for legal or safety reasons. I am primarily concerned with visibility. When it’s marginal, the rules can seem a bit hazy, but the hazards should be clear as a bell.
