By Greg Conderacci
Yeah, bright headlights can be heavy. And they seem so unnecessary. After all those oncoming cars are on the other side of the road, right? Well, yes, they are. Until they decide to pass on a two-lane road. Then, they’re not only coming right at you, but they are closing in at your combined speed. So, not only is reaction time shorter, it means that, if you’re doing 15 mph and they’re doing 55 mph, the collision impact will be 70 mph.
The extra split second of recognition that comes from a flashing front light can save your life. And, by the way, you do run a blinking rear light at all times, don’t you?
Do you have a dorky tip to share? Don’t be shy. We’ll withhold your name upon request. Remember a dorky tip has one or more of these characteristics:
- Pro riders do not do it (nor does just about anybody else)
- It’s cheap or maybe even free
- It usually adds weight.
Greg Conderacci is a marketing consultant and a former Wall Street Journal reporter, non-profit entrepreneur, and investment bank chief marketing officer. In Getting UP!, he brings you the same skills he teaches at a top graduate school and Fortune 500 companies. Lots of people promise better performance … Greg proves it. Using his energy techniques, in 2015 he rode a bicycle across America in just 18 days — averaging 150 miles a day.
I ride with a blinking headlight and recharge it after every ride. Before I retired, I often rode early in the pre-dawn darkness in winter. I ised a handlebar mounted light and a helmet mounted light. When I saw a car backing out of a driveway, I would look at them long enough to illuminate the interior of their car warning them that someone else was around. I invariably saw immediate brake lights. On a ride thru a park, a gray fox came out from a dark grassy field and ran directly in front of me fully illuminated. He did this for perhaps 30 seconds and then turned away. Now that I am retired I ride during daylight but still with flashing lights and bright jerseys and jackets. When I was going thru USAF flight school, a sign on the wall said “See and Be Seen”.
Been using a Knog rechargeable front flasher for 8 years. It’s really small and adds almost nothing in terms of weight, but quite bright with different light flashing modes. Many times it has kept motorists from turning left in front of me, pulling out of side streets/driveways, etc. I’m of the belief that it is enough of an attention-getter that it minimizes the number of times that a motorist will look at you but not “see” you because they are not looking for cyclists; they’re looking for cars.
Use steady. Easier for driver to locate you and
also blinking lights are an annoyance to everyone around them during the daytime.
At night, a driver cannot see where you are as they are being “flashbulbed” by your too bright flasher..
And hasn’t already been proved and tested that blinky lights attract drunk drivers Like Moths to Flames?
Just use steady like in Europe. They know what they are doing. I think I heard flashers are against the law there.
But blinking headlights aren’t needed on multi-use paths and are annoying to other users of the path. Please at least turn them off then or switch them to steady beam. Especially the really bright ones.
Even if I am just driving, flashing lights affect my entire body and give me an instant headache that can cause a seizure. This is true with several people. I cannot look anywhere near a flashing light and just freeze up. This is much more dangerous when I’m riding or driving than for the person using the flashing lights. Steady lights are no problem for the many folks with visual problems.
Be aware of where your light is aimed and how bright it is.
You may think a very bright light aimed high at eye level of an approaching rider or person is a good idea but to the person you are approaching you are now a white blind spot. I notice this now with the use of the super bright white lights, you can’t tell how big you are behind that white spot? How wide are you relative to the space we both need to pass on a path? How fast are you going as you can’t see any reference points around you to give me help in judging your movements? I have no idea what kind of rider I am approaching so help me make good judgements.
Get in front of your bike and check where your light is aimed when you install it.
Yep agree completely. Bright lights aimed incorrectly can be confusing for approaching drivers. Blinking lights can be worse. I personally have mine aimed to hit the road about 10-15 metres in front. I have been riding with blinking front and rear light for at least 14 years. and have them on during my day rides.
I agree with the comments about running a steady beam rather than a blinker. Look at motorcycles; their daytime running lights don’t blink, they’re steady. I had asked my brother-in-law, who is a motorcycle instructor, about this years ago, he said that studies have shown a steady light is actually more visible. I have a Bontrager Ion 200RT, which has multiple steady and flashing modes to choose from. Plus, it’s very bright and super small.
I saw a motorcycle this year with blinking daytime running lights. I didn’t know if this is legal or not.
If they’re “modulated” they’re legal under federal law but most police don’t know that or at least they didn’t. I gave up being pulled over by the uninformed LEOs and got assertive and he took me to Court. I won but it was so much hassle I went to two LED point lights in addition to the headlight. No more hassle.
I have to agree with others about the steady light rather than a flashing light. The flashing lights are hard to judge for drivers. And with the bright led lights, a lot of those flashing lights can be more dangerous than safe. Obviously there are situations where one or the other can be the safer option. My opinion would be that steady will bring a higher overall level of safety than a flashing light. Both are better than no lights, day or night!
I have been running a flashing headlight (and tail light) for the past few years and am a big fan. Riders with flashing lights are much more visible than those with high-viz clothing. I have noticed motorists giving me more clearance when they are turning left, backing out, or pulling out from a cross-road. The sole purpose is to get someone’s attention as there are so many self-inflicted distractions. While there are issues around flashing lights, the benefits far outweigh the risks. I only ride in daylight so the issues of drivers getting confused in the dark are not a concern.
Tip: Hub generators make batteries and recharding a thing of the past. It’s so nice to head out for a ride knowing you will always have lights!
I sometimes use a strobing front light, strobe seems to be better than just a flash, but sometimes I don’t, depends on the clarity of the day. I have more control over what is coming in front of vs behind me, so I can see someone trying to turn in front of me, it’s not any different then driving a car, you have to watch for other cars turning in front of you when driving, thus it’s the same with a bicycle. BE ALERT! don’t count on the front light to save you just like you don’t count on your car’s daylight running lights. With a bike you’re going slower than a car most of the time giving you time and space to stop fast.
I do ride with a flashing red tail light during the day every time I ride unless I’m on a bike path.
Totally agree with recommendation. I run front blinking light (and rear) on paved roads, gravel roads and bike paths. Key is to allow those coming towards you to see you better — be they drivers, other riders, or walkers (on gravel road and bike paths). No different than why most cars theses days are programmed to have daylight running lights.
I ride with a front flashing Amber light from Dinotte along with a red flashing rear light. I believe that the amber colored front light gets more and earlier attention from vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, etc since it’s so much different than the usual white lights that are out there. Though I’ve heard that various jurisdictions might regulate against amber lights, in 5+ years of riding through 25+ States, I have not been stopped for riding with it. Highly recommended.
I run front and rear blinkers and swear by them. I recommend the Blackburn Click for the front, even though it must be recharged after nearly every ride. Under $15 if you can find it on sale.
I’ve been running DiNotte’s flashing yellow front and flashing red rear for 8 years. I won’t ride without them. Too many distracted drivers. I’d like to think that when they look up from their phone, the flashing light turns their attention back to driving. I do try to turn them off when I’m on a bike path as they are bright. I also have never had any one in authority tell me I couldn’t ride with amber.
The run time for a flashing light is much longer than a steady beam I ride 4-6 hours at a time so i use flashing
Always have a white, slow flashing light on my bike. Early or late day rides can put you in the shadows and become invisible. The flashing gets Drivers attention much sooner than a steady light. On one ride, a big storm approached, causing near darkness in the middle of the day, As I was on a secondary road, no defined lanes nor shoulder, it was interesting to see how far in the distance vehicles shifted to the other side of the road, approx. 200 m, very reassuring. Buy rechargeable and be seen.
Light & Motion uses a “pulse/strobe” feature on their headlights, one of which I use.
From their site: “City riders will appreciate the exclusive SafePulse beam, scientifically designed to provide the highest level of rider awareness without the risks associated with flashing lights”.
The light pulsates for about 7 seconds then does a quick strobe; repeat.
I like to ride with lights fore-and-aft in “pulse” mode. The lights repeatedly gradually increase in brightness from low to high and back again, displaying a light that’s always on, with a variation in intensity that’s noticeable without being annoying. I’ve seen motorcycles with their headlights in this kind of mode, which (for me) makes them more noticeable and helps me distinguish between them and cars with a headlight not working.
Blinkings lights don’t need in this kind of path.
I run headlight and taillight 24/7 when on a bike SON and B&M, but I run STEADY beams. Flashing can be confusing.. I accept that it MAY get you noticed quicker in traffic, on streets (though I think there are studies to the contrary) but PLEASE when you are on trail STOP the blinking. there are few things as irritating as cruising along on a nice trail then getting strobed by an oncoming bike. Worse than listening to something in your car and somebody pulls next to you at a (long) red light with their bass booming. Plus we are on bikes, at bike speeds, if your steady light is not seen, there is a bigger problem that flashing will not solve!
Also, on group rides, shut off the flashing in front AND back. That is REALLY distracting and blinding. Especially the steady, pulse, flash, blink, steady. changing patterns. It serves no purpose in a group. there are 3, 4, 10? tailights shining steady that will appear to blink as a motorist approaches and changes viewpoints of the group.
this summer i was riding on the shoulder of a busy road. i was on 2 blinking rear lights and also a solid full on light all red. plus a blinking white light headlight. while wearing a bright yellow jersey. in my mirror i could see a car coming up from behind. i was about to come to a party store driveway when i heard the car coming from behind me slowing down , sure enough the car turned in front of me. i had to make a fast turn and i almost was hit just before the rear wheels of the car. i could’ve easily reached out and touched the car. i tightened my turn to further separate myself. once in the parking lot a very old lady got out of the car. i had ridden to a different part of the lot. i yelled to her, didn’t you see me , you almost ran over me. her comment was i didn’t see you. i got closer and said i had three red lights on the rear of my bike. it didn’t matter, she apologized and went into the store. i’ve been hit 3 times by cars in my life time with major leg and body damages.
What I find interesting in regards to lighting, is during the day motorists will pass within a foot of me even though the state I live in has a 3 foot law, and I have one front flashing light and two rear flashing lights going on during the day; but at night I add a bright headlight to the small flashing headlight, and I add a flashing tail light on my helmet, not to mention various reflective stuff I use, motorists at night will wait for traffic to clear and then move way over into the next lane to pass me! Weird! Like another poster said, I haven’t seen any benefit whatsoever having one of my front lights strobing during the day, they turn in front of me regardless, I run the light regardless in hopes that maybe, just maybe, one motorist in 100,000 will see it and realize not to turn in front of me, but so far, I haven’t found that one motorist, they all want to beat me to an intersection and don’t care if I have to slam on my brakes to keep from hitting them, or care if I have the right of way…unless it’s at night then they seem to care.
After seeing several of them on my commute, I added a blinking red light to the back of my helmet. I think the light being higher up gives it more visibility.
When cycling, there are 2 things you treat like your AE card, never leave home without your helmet and a FLASHING front light. I am outside Boston MA and we ride on mostly rural roads. There are so many bicycles on our roads that even drivers who hate cyclists are aware of them. Even so, when drivers approach from the side, either off a side street or out of a driveway,they will look in our direction but they are looking for cars, not bicycles. Quite often I see drivers stop short of the intersection once they see the flashing light, rather than creep into the intersection, or very often, they actually stop and back up. I also see drivers being more courteous and even stopping to block traffic to let us cross an intersection. When I see a flashing light coming toward me I will scan beyond the oncoming cyclist to look for cars that will move into my lane to pass the cyclist. The light has to be flashing to be effective. A solid light can be mistaken for a motorcycle or a car with a burned out headlight. For daytime cycling, the flashing headlight is far more critical for safety than a rear flashing red light.
I was run down by cars while cycling five times, all in Vancouver. After each one I adopted more prevention methods, mainly enhancing visibility. They included flashy lights in front and back, spoke lights and reflectors, even flashies on the fork, pointing left and right perpendicular to the bike, mainly for merging. I have passive Scotchlite stickers on the bike and my helmet, and lately I have putting reflective ankle bands on various parts of my handlebar, seat post and frame. You can get two for a dollar at dollars stores, so stock up. I also give them away to passing tourists. Of course you can put them on your angles and wrists too!
As far clothes, of course reflective patches especially on jackets or vests are good. Mountain Warehouse sells several jackets and vests that are ENTIRELY reflective, so you stand out like a ghost! If it is too hot for jackets and vests, I wear the most outrageously vivid t-shorts I can find. A good cheap source is thrift stores where runners donate their event attire. I don’t care if people think I still celebrate my Sun Run in 1998!
But since drivers can look right at you and apparently NOT see you, or not even look in your direction, I suspect that SOUND is the key. It demands attention. I have used Airzound air horns since they were invented. They have some advantages but I think an electronic horn would be better. I have one now with different tones and is now set as a police whistle. The problem with sound is that cars and peds do not associate them with bikes, except bike bells! Using the Airzound I have seen drivers upon hearing it look all around for the source, getting distracted from noticing my bike. I guess sounds are just not directional enough. I always wanted a firetruck horn! At least that makes everyone stop.
I use a blinking front white light on all my road rides. It’s saved me numerous times preventing cars from turning left in front of me.
Checkout my recent review of a Trek light with Kindbeam.
https://www.roadbikerider.com/trek-commuter-pro-rt-cycling-light-review/
I find that too many MUT riders have overly bright lights (steady or blinking) that are far too often pointed right at the eyes of oncoming riders… day or night, this destroys many people’s vision or causes them to explicitly look away… both of which is completely self-defeating for the rider of the bike with the light(s)… they want to be seen, but use lights that cause oncoming traffic to not see the detail needed to avoid hitting them. Fail. Steady or flashing, use a light that is NOT aimed at the eyes of the oncoming users of a MUT and is not so bright as to be blinding to that oncoming traffic.