MBurke

I always use my Red blinker on the back...day or night. Now what about using a White Light on the front ? Like a running / driving light on a car. Does anyone use one ?
I like to use a White Light on front.. just wondering..... blinking or solid white light for Daytime riding ?

supercharger

FWIW I use a front and rear light on my drop bar conversion because the wife bought it for me as a gift. I don't know if it really makes a difference to a driver behind the wheel of a car/truck but I figure it can't hurt. I usually ride that bike around the neighborhood after dinner; even though there's plenty of daylong remaining it is a time of approaching dusk so I like to think it adds a bit of safety. I don't use it for nighttime riding - I'll use a dedicated headlight for that purpose in addition to the white light that I keep mounted on the fork tube.

Steve B.

A friend of mine turned me on to front white blinkers a few years ago.

I use it all the time on every bike. I noticed immediately that motorists were more likely to pause when turning against me or when pulling out of a side street, driveway etc..

I know it's not scientific and only one example, but my attitude is every little thing helps.

canklecat

Yup. Whenever I'm in traffic I use a Vivo-Bike Illuminati in strobe mode on my helmet. It's available for less from a couple other vendors on Amazon under other brand names. It's a lightweight USB rechargeable, remarkably bright for the size and weight.

Being helmet mounted, it's a bit more visible in traffic because it's above roof height for most cars. Ditto my rear helmet light, a Blackburn 2'Fer on red strobe. The combination are so lightweight I don't even notice them. And the Illuminati light is so directional I can increase visibility by looking directly at drivers who don't seem to be paying attention, or drivers approaching intersections, driveways, etc., to be sure they see me. Seems to work, even in daytime.

I also use bike mounted front and rear lights, but usually only on steady and usually only in dim ambient light.

woodway

I ride with a Dinotte Amber daytime running light in flash mode. It's very bright and noticeable, even in direct sunlight. It's pretty much eliminated the issue of drivers turning left or pulling out in front of me. Too bad Dinotte does not make it anymore, it's a great light.

no motor?

I ride with a Magicshine and Vis 360 on during the daylight, both on the flashing setting

But its me 

When not on the MUP of my daylight commute, I use the front light in pulsing mode (Light and Motion model I'm too lazy to look for the model number). I try to remember to turn it off when on the MUP to keep from blinding other users.

01 CAt Man Do

When the sun begins to set I use a front 80 lumen ( white ) blinkie on the bars and turn my helmet torch on to flash when approaching traffic lights. Now you would think this would be enough but no matter what you use to get seen you still have to ride defensively. Just the other day ( at sunset ) I was approaching a red traffic light and turned the torch strobe on ( making two blinking white lights, bars and helmet ) . Just before I reached the white line the light changed and I had the green to go. When I started to go straight through the light some car tried to make a left in front of me. Even with a bright bar blinkie and super bright torch strobe going some fool threatened to hit me. Of course I saw what was happening ( as did the driver ) and both of us stopped. Thankfully no one was hurt but I was ticked that the guy didn't see a bike with flashers going waiting for the light. Some people are in such a hurry all the time that they habitually gamble when making turns. I guess I could say that at least I did get seen but getting seen sooner is always better than getting seen later.

RandomEncounter

I ride with a front light in the day because I have to ride on streets with parking. Maybe a driver will catch a light in their mirror as they're about to open their door and hesitate, saving me from a dooring.

I don't use blinking front lights, ever.

01 CAt Man Do

Not to be argumentative ( Just my opinion ) but for day riding I wouldn't think a steady lamp would make you more visible than a blinking lamp. Depends on the lamps though. I've seen some Pi** poor blinkies and some sad steady lamps as well. I feel you when you mention the threat of being doored. I never ride closer than 4ft to any car parked on the side of the road when I ride. My bet is that if you used a bright blinking light ( > 100 lumen ), it would be just as or more visible than a standard steady light using twice the output. I don't speak for everyone but when I'm behind the wheel ( doing my job ) it's the flashing lights that always catch my attention first.

kingston 

I don't believe that either flashing or steady headlights the daylight help to avoid getting hit by a car. You should watch where you are going and not crash into things. You can also turn off that blinking red light during the day. Cars don't need to see you half-a-mile away to avoid running into you.

10 Wheels

These are a Great Strobe for day safety.

CREE XM T6 1000Lm LED Headlight-20.10 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

ItsJustMe

I use a Metro 550 in strobe mode during the day.

I have been told by car drivers that it GREATLY improves my visibility. Nobody has complained about it, many have liked it.

RandomEncounter

I find blinking lights dazzling when I'm driving and safety is reduced as a result. A gentle blink is OK, but people where I live seem to believe that the brighter your lights and the faster the blink the safer you are, which just results in a confusing mess that makes it difficult to judge position and speed. Plus, it's obnoxious to pedestrians. But that's another argument, and I could have it all day.

I stay out of the door zone but there are times when road conditions or design force me into it.

kingston 

A lot of people on this forum believe the same thing. I'm still waiting for someone to produce the tiniest shred of evidence that a very bright and/or blinking light significantly reduces a cyclists likelihood of getting hit by a car.

Here's the thing about getting hit by a car. Either the car sees you and avoids hitting you, or they don't see you and crash into you. That's it. It's a very binary thing. So this idea that a really bright and/or blinking light makes you "more visible" doesn't make any sense. Either cars can see you and avoid you or they can't, and it doesn't take very much light (or any if you have reflective material) for a car to see you. So all this extra brightness and blinking doesn't actually do anything to keep you safe. It just makes you feel better.

1nterceptor

Where's your study to support that opinion? ^^^^^^

1nterceptor

Rider(me) in actual traffic in the daytime:

kingston 

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Cycling Accidents Fact Sheet is one of the most comprehensive studies I have seen recently. There is literally no mention of accidents caused by drivers unable to see cyclists at night because their lights are too dim.

Here's another one from the Centre for Transport Studies, University College London from a few years ago. Statistics for light usage is cited on p. 27, but again, failure to see the cyclist because the lights were too dim is not listed as a cause of any of the accidents reported in the study.

I think this one from The University of Bath and Brunel University on The influence of a bicycle commuter's appearance on drivers’ overtaking proximities from 2013 is the most interesting of all. To quote the lead researcher " “Many people have theories to say that cyclists can make themselves safer if they wear this or that. Our study suggests that, no matter what you wear, it will do nothing to prevent a small minority of people from getting dangerously close when they overtake you."

There are lots of others, and I have never seen one suggest that excessively bright and/or blinking lights would do anything to prevent accidents between bicycles and cars.

canklecat

Steady lights don't help in daytime. Several times on daytime rides I've seen pinpoints of light in the distance, or through the foliage on the MUP, and couldn't tell for certain whether it was a bicycle or a glint from a reflective surface.

And this weekend I attended a group ride on a long, flat open road that I've ridden solo many times before, but never with a group. Under the steel gray overcast morning sky the cyclists blended in with the road and sky -- particularly because we wore blue, as requested for the "Back the Blue" theme. The blue jerseys blended in with the steel gray sky and road. But the handful of cyclists who ran blinking white front and red rear lights were much more visible, even from hundreds of yards away.

Cyclists running flashers are much more visible -- particularly those irregular, pseudo-random flashers. It's an attention getter. Anything out of the norm will help.

On the one hand, it sounds like the proving a negative fallacy. On the other hand, I haven't seen any studies that researched exclusively the effectiveness of lights.

I'm satisfied from my own experience that flashing lights are effective, including in daytime. I've had drivers and passersby tell me so. While I usually prefer evidence and facts, it isn't always necessary to confirm the efficacy of something. I don't expect lights to protect me from all situations, particularly from negligent or hostile drivers. But I am satisfied lights will improve my odds of being seen. And there are zero consequences for running appropriate lights, other than the relatively small personal cash expense.

1nterceptor

National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety

"• Using the high beam of a motorcycle’s headlight during the day also helps to prevent violations of the motorcyclist’s right-of-way (Hurt, 1981).

• Recently, some automobiles have started using daytime running lamps (DRL), which may reduce the effectiveness of motorcycle automatic-on headlamps.

• Headlight modulators, which cause the light to alternate between a higher and a lower intensity during the day, also increase conspicuity (Hurt, 1981). Headlight modulators are federally regulated lighting devices and as such, all state laws governing them are preempted. Motorcycle headlight modulators have not been studied to determine their effects on other motorists."

01 CAt Man Do

My God did I let the cat out of the bag or what. ( and I said I didn't want to be argumentative... ) Look, I don't care or give a hoot about what some goofy study some air head college students might have posted on line. I really don't, even if they were supporting what I said. I simply believe what my own eyes and experience tells me is the truth and if someone else doesn't agree, hey..to each their own opinion. You want to use steady lights?...knock yourself out. Steady or flashing if I see a light on the road I aint'a gonna run over it. I'll see it either way, I'll just likely see the flashing light first but that's my opinion because based on my personal experience that's what usually happens. In the mean time the people who don't agree with my opinion might want to try to explain why the powers that be incorporated flashing lights almost everywhere in an attempt to draw attention. You see them on Police vehicles, Fire Trucks, Tow vehicles, car emergency lights and turn signals, flashing intersection lights, Railroad crossings, advertising signs, School buses, Jets and airplanes....Geez, do I need to go on? I look at it this way, you get the flashing lights off all the government vehicles and I'll give up the flashing lights off my bikes. In the mean time I won't be holding my breath waiting for that to happen any time soon.

Dear God, would you please stop making lightning. Lightning tends to flash and this upsets some people. Don't ask me why, nothing they say makes sense to me either. Personally I like the lightning...*cough*...just as long as it doesn't land in my vicinity.

1Mule

I ride almost every day in urban traffic in Portland/Vancouver and it does seem to help.

kingston 

Help make you feel safer? I'm sure it does. Help prevent cars from actually hitting you. No.

The only accident type that is not almost completely avoidable by the cyclist is a collision from the rear when both the bike and the car are travelling in the same direction, and a blinking headlight does absolutely nothing to prevent that type of accident.

rfomenko

I use Lezyne Super Drive (old model) in blinking mode during the day. You can see it a mile away in bright sunlight. It works like a magic wand & I wouldn't ride without it. Plus, it's a great "to see" for riding at night. 18650 batteries are rechargeable in or out of the light and could be replaced under 30 seconds. Cygolite Hotshot (the new model) covers the rear and I'm good to go! P.S. I also have a glasses-mounted rear view mirror to check to check my behind from time to time.

RichSPK

I don't usually use a headlight during the day unless there's poor visibility because it's particularly overcast or foggy, for example. If I do, I usually set it to the strobe mode to preserve the battery.

Most of my riding is commuting, and I get out of work between 9 PM and midnight, so I want to be sure I have plenty of charge left in my headlight for the ride home. I also play Ingress, which means I make lots of detours and stops on the way home, so my one-hour commute can stretch to three hours. Sometimes I carry a spare headlight-and-battery, but I'd rather not have to swap headlights.