Which bicycle lights are safest and give the best visibility: pulsating, a fixed beam front and back light, or some other method, such as helmet or backpack lights?
Jon and Linda Reed
Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
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As long-distance tandem cycle tourers, the best lights we have found are the disruptive style, where the pattern is irregular and the brightness very high, especially during the day when it is harder to catch the attention of a driver. This style of disruptive light pattern is usually only associated with bicycles, whereas a regular flashing or constant light could be numerous other things.
During daylight, our lights can be seen over a mile away – we have been told this by motorists more than once, but even so, we have still nearly been hit on a number of occasions. That is why mirrors, for us, are also essential, allowing us to “bail out” when we see vehicles aren’t giving us enough clearance. They perhaps haven’t spotted us, despite the lights.
Bryn Glover
Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK
May I respond from a motorist’s point of view? I live in a rural community with narrow, often single-track roads with passing places. It would be physically impossible to give cyclists a 2-metre clearance either way. These roads are unlit and generally unmarked, and so, you may suppose, are more hazardous than wide, well-lit urban roads.
My experience is that an oncoming cyclist may have either steady or flashing lights, but in both cases, the beam will usually be directed at my windscreen, presumably to ensure that I see it. These lights, though relatively small, can be very intense and can cause road blindness and disorientation just as easily as a car at full beam can. Whenever I encounter one, I will invariably stop until the cyclist – and the serious hazard – has passed.
My preferred light of warning would be one that is large rather than intense, still or slowly flashing rather than the usual frenetic strobing, and not directly aimed at my eyes.
Mike Darke
Poole, Dorset, UK
I would caution against relying only on flashing red rear lights. They work well in good visibility (though they can be distracting), but in mist or fog I have found they can be very difficult for the approaching driver to see – especially if they are the bike’s only rear light.
Andy Bebington
London, UK
I am both a cyclist and a driver. Having had several serious motor/bicycle collisions while riding (but none while driving), I think I have some input into the debate.
Firstly, flashing lights are vastly better than static ones. Static lights get lost at night among the myriad other lights I see from my driving seat; flashing ones spell “cyclist”. These are especially valuable as rear lights, where the cyclist and driver are sharing the same side of the road (which are often narrow in the countryside).
Secondly, what are the front lights there for? Are they for conspicuity (again, flashing lights say “cyclist”) or for illuminating the road (to enable the rider to see potholes and similar dangers)? The need for the latter is growing as local road authorities in the UK fail to maintain some roads to a safe standard, and can be needed even in town where street lights don’t always reveal obstacles.
Thirdly, although not on the subject of lights, reflective ankle bands or panels on trouser legs, moving up and down regularly as the person pedals, also spell “cyclist” and draw the rider to the attention of motorists.
In a bike magazine some years ago, an impassioned question was posed by a rider: “Do I have to dress up like a Christmas tree to be safe?” My feeling is, if that is what it takes, then yes, I will do so. “I’m sorry, mate, I didn’t see you!” won’t cut it if it can be shown that the cyclist was doing their best to be visible (for example, me all lit up and dressed in orange versus a van in Croydon in November 1997).
Finally, and nothing to do with lights at night, why do so many cyclists dress in black? Do they not realise that they disappear into the shadows by day unless they also have a flashing light to let me, in my car, know they are there?
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