what's the point of bike reflectors?

[mustang1]

Is this a trick question?

"So me and one of my friends who also cycles to college"

Don't think so.

 

[winjim]

I've often wondered if cyclists and pedestrians would be safer at night if cars didn't have rear/brake lights. As it is nobody seems to drive slow enough to be able to stop in the distance they can see to be clear.

A pox on those who sit in queues with their foot on the brake, shining bright red light straight at the occupants of the car behind.

I think brake lights are useful, but in a well lit built up area I don't think other lights are really necessary. It's all just contributing to a big bright confusing dazzling mess where anything unlit like a pedestrian just gets lost in the blur.

I think of bicycle reflectors like jiu-jitsu, using the superior strength of one's opponent against them. Motor vehicles are aggressive, both in the danger they pose and the amount of light they emit. So I like the idea of passively reflecting their own light pollution back at them in order to become visible. It also fits with my nice idealistic vision of cycling as a benign and benevolent mode of transport. A cyclist shouldn't, as a vulnerable party, be forced to carry loads of fancy bright lights, with horrible complicated polluting batteries when the responsibility should be with the drivers of the already polluting and dangerous motor vehicles to make sure they can drive them in a safe manner; a simple set of reflectors can provide enough illumination for them to be able to do that.

 

[freiston]

I've often wondered if cyclists and pedestrians would be safer at night if cars didn't have rear/brake lights. As it is nobody seems to drive slow enough to be able to stop in the distance they can see to be clear.

Originally there wasn't a requirement for rear lights - the CTC campaigned against mandatory rear bicycle lights for night-riding for the same reason.

 

[freiston]

My reflectors work fine. I have been cycling down unlit country lanes and my first awareness of unlit cyclists in front of me has been their rear reflectors or their pedal reflectors. I've had even more cyclists in front of me whose rear reflector was brighter to me than their rear light. My front light is a German dynamo lamp rated at 80 lux. My opinion is that rear reflectors are as important as, if not more important than, rear lights.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I have been cycling down unlit country lanes and my first awareness of unlit cyclists in front of me has been their rear reflectors or their pedal reflectors. . . .My opinion is that rear reflectors are as important as, if not more important than, rear lights.

Presume this is in the dark. Say it was a pedestrian in front of you, without reflectors or a rear light; or a horse. Would that have been an issue? If it wouldn't then why does what first got your attention matter? If if it would, I suggest you would need to slow down until you could see far enough in front, with your 80 lux light. Your closing speed with a (n unlit/no reflector) pedestrian or a horse would be greater.

 

[freiston]

Presume this is in the dark. Say it was a pedestrian in front of you, without reflectors or a rear light; or a horse. Would that have been an issue? If it wouldn't then why does what first got your attention matter? If if it would, I suggest you would need to slow down until you could see far enough in front, with your 80 lux light. Your closing speed with a (n unlit/no reflector) pedestrian or a horse would be greater.

Where are you coming from? I'm just saying how reflectors have worked and assisted visibility in my experience and how I rate them above rear lights in importance. Nowhere did I say anything was an issue - that is something that came out of your mind - not from what I wrote.

In respect of the issues that you have raised, I believe that the Highway Code contains night-time advice and rules not only for motorists and cyclists, but also for pedestrians and horse riders. Lights and reflectors are required for horse riders and reflective materials are recommended for pedestrians. Of course it shouldn't need to be said but none of this reduces the need to drive or ride safely and the Highway Code has plenty in respect of that too.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Do you need an answer now, or can I reflect on it?

Just be careful you do not get stuck in an infinite reflection and cannot get back to reality.

 

[Thorn Sherpa]

I didn't realise how effective reflective strips could be till I started working at my current place, the Scotchlite strips on our work gear are very effective. For the cooler darker nights and mornings I wear my works fleece to commute, hi viz and Scotchlite cant go wrong imo

 

[Randombiker9]

I suspect that the most useful function of reflectors on motor vehicles is when they are stationary at night on the road, without their lights operating. Parked vehicles in the dark will thus be more visible to road users than if they did not have reflectors fitted.
Since cycles are rarely 'parked' on the road this is not a function required of a cycle reflector. The usefulness of reflectors on bicycles has been well covered above.
Please could you (OP) suggest/explain how a "USB cord" carried by a rider would prevent a light failing (I'm judging you are too young to yet have fitted a hub dynamo with a USB socket).

With veichlea what other reflectors are yo talking about as I thought the only relflectors were on the number plates and therefor doesn’t apply to bicycles.
Interest and my lights are by batteries I just changed the batteries to rechargeble batteries. One of the reasons I don’t use usb is because you can easily forget the cable and it’s more expensive even if the cyclist carries the cable lights can still fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc... Also if you have a charging socket fitted on your bike isn’t there a possible risk of fire as if it overheats? And I don’t want to risk that.

 

[jefmcg]

With veichlea what other reflectors are yo talking about as I thought the only relflectors were on the number plates and therefor doesn’t apply to bicycles.
Interest and my lights are by batteries I just changed the batteries to rechargeble batteries. One of the reasons I don’t use usb is because you can easily forget the cable and it’s more expensive even if the cyclist carries the cable lights can still fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc... Also if you have a charging socket fitted on your bike isn’t there a possible risk of fire as if it overheats? And I don’t want to risk that.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I blame auto-correct.

With veichlea what other reflectors are yo talking about as I thought the only relflectors were on the number plates and therefor doesn’t apply to bicycles.
Interest and my lights are by batteries I just changed the batteries to rechargeble batteries. One of the reasons

Responding in the spirit of 'chat'.
Motor vehicles have red reflectors as part (normally) of their rear light cluster. The OP can discover this, in the dark, by directing her cycle front light at the rear of an unlit car. Number plates are a bit reflective but the rear one is required by law, to be lit (normally by a small bulb) - take a closer look at the rear number plate of a car with its lights on (suggest easiest while both you and the car are stationary). The OP is right: this does not apply to bikes, for existential reasons.
OP earlier suggested that "not many people lights would fail if they carry spare batteries or USB cord", hence my question about utility of a USB cord, and then said "I don’t use usb [] because you can easily forget the cable and it’s more expensive even if the cyclist carries the cable lights can still fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc... Also if you have a charging socket fitted on your bike isn’t there a possible risk of fire as if it overheats? And I don’t want to risk that."
How do you charge your phone? With a USB cable? Do you "easily forget the cable"? Does your (phone charging) USB cable "fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc..."? No.
I think the chance of (ie risk of) causing a battery in a front light to overheat by being charged via a USB cable connected to a dynamo (or a powerbank) is close to zero. The power available through a USB socket is limited, constrained by the voltage (?5v max).
Personally, on longer rides which may go towards dusk, I carry spare batteries for my rear lights, and mount a spare front light, in case my main one fails. It was very cheap, has 3 modes, takes C2032 batteries and lasts a very, very long time (on low). 3000 lumens! Ha! Ha!

 

[I like Skol]

I think the OP needs to have a really good think about the differences between;

1. reflectors
2. lights/driving lights
3. brake lights

The difference in purpose of a tail light and a brake light is huge but seemingly lost on the OP? I am just guessing here but I have a suspicion the OP isn't a resident of the UK and quite probably is an American so it might just be the language barrier that is causing the confusion but here in Britain a reflector is most certainly NOT a light and the humorous posts about on/off switches and control apps for reflectors have perhaps not been understood by the OP?

 

[Randombiker9]

I blame auto-correct.

Responding in the spirit of 'chat'.
Motor vehicles have red reflectors as part (normally) of their rear light cluster. The OP can discover this, in the dark, by directing her cycle front light at the rear of an unlit car. Number plates are a bit reflective but the rear one is required by law, to be lit (normally by a small bulb) - take a closer look at the rear number plate of a car with its lights on (suggest easiest while both you and the car are stationary). The OP is right: this does not apply to bikes, for existential reasons.
OP earlier suggested that "not many people lights would fail if they carry spare batteries or USB cord", hence my question about utility of a USB cord, and then said "I don’t use usb [] because you can easily forget the cable and it’s more expensive even if the cyclist carries the cable lights can still fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc... Also if you have a charging socket fitted on your bike isn’t there a possible risk of fire as if it overheats? And I don’t want to risk that."
How do you charge your phone? With a USB cable? Do you "easily forget the cable"? Does your (phone charging) USB cable "fail for example if the cable breaks/becomes frayed/just stops working etc..."? No.
I think the chance of (ie risk of) causing a battery in a front light to overheat by being charged via a USB cable connected to a dynamo (or a powerbank) is close to zero. The power available through a USB socket is limited, constrained by the voltage (?5v max).
Personally, on longer rides which may go towards dusk, I carry spare batteries for my rear lights, and mount a spare front light, in case my main one fails. It was very cheap, has 3 modes, takes C2032 batteries and lasts a very, very long time (on low). 3000 lumens! Ha! Ha!

ok thanks and yeah my previous post i was messaging on my mobile (autocorrect is annoying sometimes) not macbook.

I think the OP needs to have a really good think about the differences between;

1. reflectors
2. lights/driving lights
3. brake lights

The difference in purpose of a tail light and a brake light is huge but seemingly lost on the OP? I am just guessing here but I have a suspicion the OP isn't a resident of the UK and quite probably is an American so it might just be the language barrier that is causing the confusion but here in Britain a reflector is most certainly NOT a light and the humorous posts about on/off switches and control apps for reflectors have perhaps not been understood by the OP?

I am a resident of the England which is in the UK. Have been since 2010. I'm not American however my brother is half American and half English. I'm half Dutch and half English. I was born in Netherlands moved to Singapore moved to Spain and moved to England. I thought a reflector is technically a light because when you shine light on it it lights up.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

When you shine a light on me I light up, but I am neither a reflector nor light.

 

[jefmcg]

when you shine light on it it lights up.

And that is the point of bike reflectors.