JohnnyCyclist

I've always used a red rear blinkie. I added a white front blinkie after a near head-on collision (driver behind slow vehicle couldn't wait - pulled into my lane of traffic and ran me off the road).

Since adding the front blinkie, I've noticed a real difference. I frequently wasn't seen by cars at stop signs turning into my lane - now, I am seen 95% of the time.

The rear blinkie won't stop an ******* driver from buzzing you (you gotta love the ones that lay on their horn, yell out the window, and then buzz you anyway), but most drivers aren't ********, luckily.

In my opinion, they are effective, highly effective. No matter how bright it is (I ride daytime only), I always have them turned on.

JoeyBike

+1. Started a couple of years ago and noticed an improvement right away. Maybe people think I am some kind of cop I don't know. I have pulled a couple of cars over after dark running the strobe so I stopped doing that. I run the strobe daytime only.

I added a Monkey Light to my front wheel for after dark during Winter months. M204 Monkey Light | Bike Lights by MonkeyLectric

I think my enjoyment of it far exceeds any added safety but lots of people look at it for sure.

mr_bill

Cellphone video doesn't to it justice, let alone 240p. These stopped geeks four years ago.


-mr. bill

vol

What about high-visibility clothing/backpack during daytime? I thought that's better and less annoying, not to mention no worry of battery issues. If it's foggy or rainy day I use some slow strobe front light but never intensely bright fast flashing which would be annoying to even myself.

In 10 Wheels cases below, seems to me high-vis clothing will be a great addition if not substitute

KD5NRH

Honestly, for daytime, bright colored clothes make a lot more difference. As an example, last Saturday morning I was driving down a county road with a medium overcast and light haze; I could still see the horizon, but it was just hazy enough to say less than perfect visibility. I topped a hill and saw two joggers just at the bottom of the next hill, about three quarters of a mile away. One was wearing a neon yellow sweatshirt and the other a hunter safety orange one. I was about two hundred yards from them when I spotted the one wearing a maroon top, and even closer when I saw the fourth one wearing the standard sweatshirt gray outfit. I had already slowed to about 35mph by then, and moved to more or less the middle of the (unlined) road to give the more visible pair plenty of room. Had it been only the less visible ones, I probably would have been quite a bit more surprised to see them that close on the 55mph road.

JoeyBike

Use both.

My Denotte rear light can be seen from space. You likely would have noticed my light before noticing any of the runners if I were near them, day or night.

Hypno Toad

IMHO - lights trump hi-vis clothing. I have hi-vis stuff, but I never ride without lights.

I have a wide selection of lights for the bikes, some I use flash mode, some steady (NiteRider 700 has a ridiculously overkill strobe).

Here's my summer commuter with it's lights:

KD5NRH

A neon sweatshirt is always on, and omnidirectional. (Well, ok, maybe not very visible from straight down, but if I'm seeing them from below, something's wrong.)

ItsJustMe

Counter-example. A couple of years ago, before I started running a front daytime headlight, TWICE in 3 weeks I had oncoming drivers on a 55 MPH 2 lane rural road pull into my lane to pass, nearly taking me out, both on bright sunny summer afternoons. After that I started running DRLs and I haven't had the problem since. I *always* wear bright, neon green clothing and if it's not daylight, a reflective vest. Didn't help that time.

vol

Imagine if most/all bikes on the city streets use bright flashing daytime front lights

lostarchitect 

Yes, I'm imagining it... Now what?

ItsJustMe

I really don't see the problem.

Bizman

I use front & rear lights day & night on all of my bikes that I ride on the road. I use "white front" and "red rear" Dinotte lights for some of my bikes and movable from bike to bike. I use them in the blink mode front and rear during the day. At night I use solid white in the front and solid/blink mode in the rear.

On my ebike I use hub dynamo lights which are white front and red rear both are on steady day and night. On my Velomobile I have dual "white front" and "red rear" battery lights both on steady day & night. i also add the Dinotte red rear that I use on solid/blink mode.

I also use a reflective vest day and night. In my experience I do feel I am more visable to others using lights all the time. I have people comment on how well they can see the rear Dinotte light and even ask what kind it is.

daihard 

That's what I do, too. Of course, being in Seattle, I end up using my lights pretty much all the time.

squirtdad

I have to disagree.... based on my personal observation, while thers is no question that a fluorescent yellow/green is highly visible, I always see front white blinkes and rear blinkies far earlier than Fluorescent yellow/green

Dunbar

The only problem I encounter are riders on the bike path who leave their bright flashing front lights on at dawn/dusk or at night. If the light is bright enough I basically have to to look away to avoid being completely blinded.

rekmeyata

While I will wear a fluorescent neon green vest when riding in low light situations I would have to agree though that front and rear blinkies are indeed more effective. I only wear the neon vest because it has reflective strips running through it, though again passive lighting is not anywhere near as good as active, but I figure every little bit helps.

kickstart

Yes....and no......it sort of depends.

I agree lighting is more visible in most conditions other than full sunlight, but lights are also directional single point sources that are far more likely to be obscured.
If I had to choose one or the other? I would go with omni directional high-viz in an urban environment, and the longer range of lights for the open road. Fortunately we can use both if we choose.



High-viz also has the advantage that it can't break or run out of juice. It also can't be misused, if someone tries to compensate for other issues with excessive use of high-viz they'll just look odd, where as excessive use of lights will be detrimental to others.

vol

Since it's not considered annoying by many of you... on my way home today at dusk, for part of the trip I set the front light to flashing, pointed about 40 degree downward. Yes it must have been very effective in alerting drivers of my existence, but it's also a big distraction to myself, affecting my view and attention. I think I'll use the flashing mode in certain risky scenarios and when near a large vehicle whose driver may fail to notice me. What I did today was to turn the flashing mode on and off as situation dictates, instead of all the way.

kickstart

I ran a front flasher for a while and came to the same conclusions, but eventually gave up on it entirely, I find it easier to wiggle the bars or weave a little to attract attention than it is to switch between light settings.

Saving Hawaii

I rarely use daytime lights. I don't see a problem with doing so, but I work and commute nocs so I'm pretty concerned about battery use. Additionally it's nice to have less crap that has to be removed from the bike at every stop. I also don't have problems with being seen here. Drivers are actually quite good about expecting cyclists. There are a lot.

In rain I do run lights.

ItsJustMe

OK. I live in Michigan. The idea of a dedicated bike path that actually does anything but go around in a circle inside a fenced off park is laughable. We're lucky if we have shoulders with not much glass and nails in them.

spivonious

I don't use lights in the daytime unless it's foggy or rainy. I've gotten comments that my hi-viz vest is visible for a mile out, so lights wouldn't add anything except extra battery charges.

ItsJustMe

I have shown this to be incorrect on multiple occasions. You are VISIBLE wearing hi-viz, but you're not impossible to ignore. Repeating video links from upthread. Both of these happened when I was wearing hi-viz clothing, the second one happened with a Knog Blinder 4V in the front, about 35 lumens flashing red I think:

https://youtu.be/UOwv_IXZdIk

Then this happened just a few weeks later:

https://youtu.be/-hiZgxpWNlQ

I started running front headlight (400 lumen steady) plus in foul weather a helmet light (about 30 lumens pulsing white) and haven't had this happen since then.

vol

My observation: flashing front light in the dark or low-visibility condition (dusk/dawn/fog/overcast/rain...) would be most useful (and cannot be replaced by high-visibility clothing in this case) when you are not in direct view of drivers nearby or approaching, in which case drivers could be made aware of you upon seeing the flashing light, though you and your bike are still blocked from their view. Example: on my commute there is a T-intersection where I come up from the "|" of the "T" and will make right turn onto the top stroke "--" of the "T" where cars pass fast and wouldn't see me before passing the intersection not because the "T" is actually not right-angled, "|" is rather "/". I'm often there after dark and that's the only place when I tend to flash my front light so that drivers could know something is coming toward them before seeing me.

But during broad daylight, I'm not sure front light makes difference, flashing or not.