vol

I have seen a few people on the streets that uses blinking white light (meant for headlight) as their taillight. Any accidents caused by such? Why don't they get red taillight?

10 Wheels

They do.

Orange Hatter

I featured a post on this topic recently (using white light as tail light) and a number of upset people commented calling this tactic using words such as "asinine" to describe it:

https://www.bikehacks.com/bikehacks/2...ike-light.html

kenleekenlee

10 Wheels, those all look like red rear lights to me. The clear lenses have red LEDs behind them (superflash turbo, radbot, etc).

unterhausen

the guy on the right should have skipped a few of those lights and invested in a Dinotte

mulveyr 

Ummmm... wouldn't it be more productive to ask them, not us?

While any light is better than none, I find it ridiculous that someone would use a white light on the rear. There are conventions about which colors go on which end of a vehicle, and to do otherwise invites confusion. I wouldn't want to be the cyclist who caused a motorist to swerve into the opposite lane because the driver ( rightly so ) thought that there was a motorcycle approaching the wrong way in their lane.

dahut

I use a white strobe on the rear, along with my red blinkies. People say I look like either a carnival or an ambulance from afar. Suits me

I have one for the front, too.

DnvrFox

I use a blinking white multiple LED - it can be seen for along way off - along with a red blinkie. This is for our MUPS. Red is not a very visible color, as colors go. White is quite visible.

wphamilton

I've been near blinded by bright strobes on MUP's and counted myself lucky not to run into them or off the trail. No offense intended - I'm sure Fox's isn't of the 300 lumen aimed in the eyes variety - but I think they can be dangerous. Isn't just a regular light enough to warn oncoming cyclists on MUPs?

DnvrFox

Nope, mine is not 300 anything, and it is aimed low, and will not hit your eyes. It was just sitting around on the workbench, and my mind said "Hmmm!!" - there must be a use for that. It is too dull for a front light - to give some indication of its brightness. And, we have a lot of early morning bicycle commuters, and, yes, I have received positive comments from others about my high degree of visibility.

wphamilton

That wouldn't bother me at all. I wish someone would teach some of the locals that. Maybe young eyes wouldn't be bothered by bright strobes but they have me hitting the brakes and picking my way by feel because I literally can't see anything but the strobe.

cyccommute 

If it quacks like a duck...

For 2 reasons: 1. Motorists have been trained to know that a white light indicates the front of the vehicle. Just as they have been trained to know that a red light means the back of the vehicle. Putting a white light on facing rear sends the wrong signal and confuses the drivers about the disposition of a bicycle. Confusion is never good.

Putting a red light on the front of a bicycle (yes, I've seen this bit of idiocy) tells them that they are over taking a vehicle from behind. If the cyclist is riding the right way, an on-coming vehicle may assume that the bike is a salmon and turn across their path. Squished cyclist.

2. A rear facing white light is likely to blind a driver. If the light is facing forward, the cyclist's position on the road will almost never result in enough light spill to blind oncoming traffic. The distance from the cyclist's light to the driver is just too wide. With a white light facing rear, the motorist is much closer to the light (~4' vs 15' or more) and the light probably isn't going to be aimed as well to take advantage of the beam.

dynodonn 

An investment in some SOLAS reflective material, along with a DiNotte.

rex_kramer

Yep, yep and yep (btw, I've seen a few riders on my route with red lights carried front and back). I would imagine most non-Bizarro World states have something similar in their VC handbook...

vol

On my ride today I saw two people using red light as headlight. That must be even more dangerous!

CaptCarrot

This is something that is becoming more common, and I don't like it.

Practically all road traffic laws require white front and red rear, and restrict or prohibit anything else.

While some light is better than none, there is no real excuse.

The real danger with inverse lighting comes with salmon. Cycling the wrong way down a painted cycle lane in the gutter of the road with lights on back to front means that the motorist is going to approach the cyclist a lot quicker than he is expecting.

pkpyro

I've thrown a couple key-chain type blinkies on the back a couple times in really dark conditions.

Didn't have any lights on me besides those, and I held up my flashlight while I was biking with my left hand for the front. My logic was that I'd rather be seen then get rear-ended.

Though to be fair, I wouldn't run this set up all the time. I've super-glued and cable tied a couple red blinkies to my seatpost now so I've always got a red blinky. I really really do hate people that run white lights only on their back - they've caused me to swerve out onto traffic and nearly cause an accident. (You do occasionally see some idiots riding on the wrong side of the road)

On a side note: if your light isn't a damn blinky (brighter than 1 watt or so) then please please don't put it on strobe mode. It pisses off drivers and blinds cyclists. I will legitimately crash into the next cyclist that runs strobe on a 15 watt light... at least it'll teach them a lesson, versus me just wrecking my bike against the curb for no good reason.

vol

Did you mean to say "is a damn blinky" instead?

idc

I wonder if it's feasible to put a red plastic sheet of some kind over a regular white light. I know they make lens repair tape for car rear lights in different colours.

Shimagnolo

Indeed. I chased down a cyclist one night just to find out what kind of tail light he was using, because it was brighter than any car's tail light. It was the Dinotte 140R...the same tail light I was running.

vol

I saw some videos of that light. Damn bright. However, unless you are riding on the highway and cars miles behind you may catch you in a minute, isn't that kind of too-bright taillight annoying to the drivers? I ride mostly on city streets, so I guess no need of it? (costs about half my bike price, too )

Shimagnolo

It is not annoying, but it really catches your attention.
The Dinotte lights have 3 brightness settings: 25%, 50%, 100%.
You don't need to run it at 100% all the time.
I change the settings of mine depending on the current situation.
On a busy road with little/no bike lane I'll use 100% for safety, but on a quiet road with a generous bike lane I may use 25% to preserve battery life.

Rapidoyfurioso

how long does it take to turn them on?

daredevil

only took 5 posts to see my exact thoughts

daredevil

Which means we have their attention which is what really matters...many are annoyed at us no matter what.