Using lights in daytime (and rear light mod.)

[Mummy3monkeys]

Interesting discussion

 

[S.Giles]

...and I think most bike lights give off insufficient light to be seen at any distance in the light.

My new £14 'Cree' front light is so ridiculously bright it must be visible from space! I have to point it down towards the front wheel to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers. Luckily it has three different brightness settings (at night I use the dimmest). It's no exaggeration to say that it lights up reflective road signs 100m away if I have it pointed up too much.

Recent posts suggest this may not be a wholly good thing, but it does make me feel more confident that I'm being noticed by drivers pulling onto roundabouts, etc.

Steve

 

[steveindenmark]

I live in Denmark and all motor vehicles have to have their lights on both day and night. When I come to the UK it is the first thing I notice. You can see vehicles much more clearly in Denmark.

Bikes dont have to have lights on during the day but I have a hub dynamo and so my lights are on all of the time and I also wear a night vision jacket.

 

[tyred]

The lights on my winter fixed wheel bike have never been switched off since I installed a hub dynamo last winter although I can't say I've noticed any real difference in driver behaviour around me.

 

[anotherDave]

I have some 'always on' Reelight SL100 dynamo flashers. I use battery lights for night time, but I like the idea of having two independent sets of lights, (although I think it would be better if the dynamos were constant lights, rather than flashers.)

On their website Reelight make the following claim:

"Reelight bicycle lights reduce the number of accidents by 32 per cent. The effect is greatest during the hours of daylight and at dawn and dusk. At the same time, cyclists’ own sense of safety is boosted by up to 85 per cent.

These were the conclusions of a major study which Reelight conducted in collaboration with City of Cyclists, Odense, TrygFonden and traffic researchers at Aalborg University, where 2,000 cyclists in the Municipality of Odense cycled for one year with Reelight lights, while 2,000 others continued to use their ordinary bike lights which were only switched on after dark. The accident frequencies of the two groups were then compared and analysed."

http://reelight.com/#section-the-benefits

 

[clf]

I drive a Volvo so my car lights are on all the time, I adopt the same approach on the bike too, flashers on in the daylight, steady in the dark.

 

[Flying Dodo]

It's a lights arms-race. Maybe if all lights were banned, vehicles would have to move so slowly that accidents would never happen.

Better still, bring back the Red Flag Act for all motorised traffic.

 

[S.Giles]

Better still, bring back the Red Flag Act for all motorised traffic.

I once heard a suggestion that all cars should be fitted with a sharp steel spike sticking out of the steering column and pointing towards the driver (and no seat belts). The idea is that the thought of being impaled on the spike would encourage drivers to be much more careful, and hence reduce accidents and road injuries.

Couple that with my no-lights idea, and road accidents could be virtually eliminated.

(Give these matters a little original thought and the solutions begin to seem so obvious it's hard to understand why they haven't already been implemented).

Steve

 

[tyred]

I once heard a suggestion that all cars should be fitted with a sharp steel spike sticking out of the steering column and pointing towards the driver (and no seat belts). The idea is that the thought of being impaled on the spike would encourage drivers to be much more careful, and hence reduce accidents and road injuries.

Couple that with my no-lights idea, and road accidents could be virtually eliminated.

(Give these matters a little original thought and the solutions begin to seem so obvious it's hard to understand why they haven't already been implemented).

Steve

The simple problem is that the sort of drivers who cause problems are the ones who think they are invincible.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I've seen bike lights from a distance on a sunny day. A fair distance infact, about 200 yards.They must've been at least 200 lumens. Were they easier to see than a high viz top? About the same i'd say, but as others point out they cost more to run than high viz! You also have to consider the length of life a rechargeable light will have if it's constantly in use and having to be charged up nearly every time you go out.

 

[mjr]

Hi-Viz is twofold, the light colour to distinguish you from your surroundings, which may work during the day, and [...]

Until you find yourself dressed in yellow or orange in front of a low winter sun, flowering broom or a summer field of sunflowers or rapeseed. I think it's irresponsible to market such colours as "high visibility" in rural areas because they're often not.

There's also a school of thought that if some motorists see a cyclist "too early" then they will have forgotten about you again by the time they pass - and probably pass too close.

I've nothing against reflective materials, but I'd prioritise putting them on the bike which you always have when riding it, rather than on clothing that you may or may not have with you.

Daylight lights on cars and cycles I don't believe offer any benefit.

Worse, they're anti-social because the obvious losers are walkers and animals who don't generally carry lights. It's a race to the bottom: it gives users an advantage at the expense of others.

 

[S.Giles]

...but as others point out they cost more to run than high viz! You also have to consider the length of life a rechargeable light will have if it's constantly in use and having to be charged up nearly every time you go out.

I've been trying to point out that they don't cost appreciably more to run but not really getting my point across, apparently. Li-ion batteries seem to be pretty robust. As I already mentioned, I'm using batteries reclaimed from old Nokia phones, which are surprisingly effective given their age, and cost effectively nothing.

Lights used in flashing mode don't have to be re-charged every day. My home-made rear light goes for weeks between charges.

Steve

 

[Drago]

Maybe they don't cost appreciably more to run during the day, but many of the commentators above are querying why you're bothering when the scientific evidence for their daytime use is even less than foe the effectiveness of cycle helmets in reducing serious injury.

 

[S.Giles]

Maybe they don't cost appreciably more to run during the day, but many of the commentators above are querying why you're bothering when the scientific evidence for their daytime use is even less than foe the effectiveness of cycle helmets in reducing serious injury.

Hello Drago. I read over the previous posts and couldn't find any scientific evidence cited for the efficacy of daytime lights on bicycles (maybe I missed it - it's late). I'd be really interested to read it though, if you could provide a link.

 

[Turdus philomelos]

In relation to high viz clothing. As lollipop lady I was draped in high viz yellow from head to toe. How could drivers fail to see a 5 foot 7, 16 stone, yellow florescent blob in the middle of the road? You would be surprised just how many drivers did.
Thankfully no children were harmed a part from morally maybe as I may have let out a few wee profanities.