Is riding on unlight country roads at night suicide?

[mayfieldga]

"Latest gear" makes no difference - it is your eyes & brain that are decisive. No "better" lights can alter that.

It will make a difference just how bright the lights are - and obviously, pointing away from you appears less bright to you than ones shining in your face, but the above advice was based on having lights bright enough to enable you to see what you are riding on well enough to actually ride it safely.

But TBH, if having to douse your lights and hide off the road is an actual concern with a significant possibility, then I wouldn't be riding alone there anyhow. But fortunately, we really don't have much to worry about that way here in the UK.

Just looking at possible scenarios with not so good ole boys in rural areas with lots of woods and possible ways to avoid problems. Will keep the light thing in mind though.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have a 20km commute to work and I start at 6am. I live in the the deepest Danish countryside. I ride it most days winter and summer. I pass through 2 small villages. Otherwise it is literally pitch black. The most vehicles I see is probably 5.

I always travel with 3 rear lights. The chances of 3 rear lights going out on one ride is very rare. As soon as I notice one has gone out. I charge them all.

I have 2 front lights. One dynamo and one battery. I also have a spare in a bag. I have just bought a Magicshine Monteer 6500S v.2 front light. It was expensive but it works so well and has a long run time.

I have a reflective helmet and customised viz vest. There is reflective stuff all over the bike.

I have done all I can to make myself visible both at night and in daylight. What else can you do. There are no guarantees that the driver is looking out for you. I was taken off in the dark in 2020. Mind you. He was drunk.

I love riding in the dark. It does not frighten me. Even now, after the accident In fact you can usually see cars earlier in the dark than in daylight. If you see headlights coming from behind (I have a mirror) you can always get off the road and let them pass.

 

[ColinJ]

Even now, after the accident In fact you can usually see cars earlier in the dark than in daylight. If you see headlights coming from behind (I have a mirror) you can always get off the road and let them pass.

Not on some of the ultra narrow lanes here, bordered by steep-sided 'Devon Banks'!

My nephew was chatting to some locals and they said to watch out for those roads after the pubs shut...

 

[steveindenmark]

Not on some of the ultra narrow lanes here, bordered by steep-sided 'Devon Banks'!

My nephew was chatting to some locals and they said to watch out for those roads after the pubs shut...

Yes I can appreciate that. We cycled in Cornwall and travelled on roads where you had to back track to a gap or pull your bike up a bank. Those roads are not generally that common outside of Devon and Cornwall. Certainly not where I live.

 

[Petrichorwheels]

Badgers...

This is a major reason I don't ride at night. Around here there are loads of badgers (up to five in my garden) and if I'm going downhill at 30mph and one jumps out it's going to end badly for me

overcautious perhaps?
I was leading a ride during daylight once - a deer jumped across our path just in front. May have been fatal for one of us if we'd been further ahead.
Deer aren't I think nocturnal.
I'd rather run into a badger than have a deer hit me.
Life always has a certain amount of danger - you're a long time dead.
I love nightriding.

 

[Mo1959]

overcautious perhaps?
I was leading a ride during daylight once - a deer jumped across our path just in front. May have been fatal for one of us if we'd been further ahead.
Deer aren't I think nocturnal.
I'd rather run into a badger than have a deer hit me.
Life always has a certain amount of danger - you're a long time dead.
I love nightriding.

The traffic levels during the day have risen so much that I am seriously considering night rides after dark. I think any drivers who are still on the roads later are inclined to pass more cautiously plus you can see them coming from further away.

 

[ColinJ]

The traffic levels during the day have risen so much that I am seriously considering night rides after dark. I think any drivers who are still on the roads later are inclined to pass more cautiously plus you can see them coming from further away.

Is there much drink/drug driving up there these days? If so then night rides might be more risky?

 

[Mo1959]

Is there much drink/drug driving up there these days? If so then night rides might be more risky?

I don’t think so. I suppose you still get the odd idiot that might risk it but it’s certainly not common.

 

[Petrichorwheels]

The traffic levels during the day have risen so much that I am seriously considering night rides after dark. I think any drivers who are still on the roads later are inclined to pass more cautiously plus you can see them coming from further away.

yep you can see them from way way ahead.
It's also arguable that you are more visible with two or three good rear flashers than during the day.
On my night rides I have found that drivers are maybe more careful than during the day - maybe because part of them is thinking "what the ***s that doing out at this time of night? As Andy said, if you have a powerful front light, drivers also tend to slow/take care as they think some sort of vehicle is approaching them. I've notived their hesitancy, ie care, a fair few times.

Is there much drink/drug driving up there these days? If so then night rides might be more risky?

Am not an expert on Scotland (is that where Mo is?) but I think there's been a strong decline in drunk driving over the last few years. I'd be more concerned about drunk drivers on the fringes of urban areas than in deep country. I tend to be wary of Friday/Saturday nights as I tend to think serious drunk driving is mainly a youth thing these days.
You can nightride for miles without seeing another thing. And one advantage over day - you can kinda see behind you from the lights thrown onto the road. Plus hear things more clearly.

 

[tyred]

I don’t think so. I suppose you still get the odd idiot that might risk it but it’s certainly not common.

The biggest danger here is the wannabe rally drivers.

 

[CXRAndy]

Night riding is about having decent lights to illuminate your way. I have on my ebike a SuperNova M99 Pro. It is literally like a car headlight, comes with high beam, dipped and daytime running. All super white LEDs.

 

[Petrichorwheels]

German standard lights is what you need.
StVZO
As in certain things from B&M or, more humbly, sometimes Lidl.
No idea what it means - probably some string of german words long enough to light the stopping distance of a nocturnal supertanker.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Love night riding on unlit lanes, one of the best times to be out, and often quite magical.

 

[Andy in Germany]

German standard lights is what you need.
StVZO
As in certain things from B&M or, more humbly, sometimes Lidl.
No idea what it means - probably some string of german words long enough to light the stopping distance of a nocturnal supertanker.

Almost:

Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung​

Basically the legal federal norm for road vehicles. All bikes theoretically need to fulfil this, Mountain bikes don't but they have a sticker saying this on the frame when new, so it's then your responsibility as the rider.

 

[HLaB]

Lol, I keep on displacing the 'on' and think its bad grammar: 'Riding unlight on country roads at night' is suicide; night time riding with good lights certainly isn't