Tom N.

Another thread asked about using red flashing lights on the front of the bike, although responses indicated that this is illegal - and that red should be used for the rear only. My concern is that red doesn't stand out in a sea of car tail lights. Obviously, modern flashing red lights are better, but I wonder whether cyclists shouldn't commandeer another colour, either to replace or, more usefully, to augment their white front/red rear lights.

Imagine, for example, having a green flashing light on the front, together with a white fixed beam light, and having green and red flashing lights on the rear. This would be distinctive and might forwarn motorists that they are approach a bike sooner. Of course, it need not be green - blue, yellow, orange or even purple would work too - but the key point is to provide more differentiation from car lights.

Just an idle thought ... any opinions on this?

Keith99

Green is a really bad idea. Green means go. Blue is right out also.

I don't think a special color for bikes makes sense, just creates confusion. Also remember as you use more colors to mean different things you get more problems with color blindness.

wahoonc

Doubt it would help all that much. FWIW I drive a Red F350 Crewcab dually(not exactly an invisible vehicle) with a flashing strobe brake light and still have been rearend twice the last time by a drunk cellphone yaking idiot. Until they get drivers to actually drive and give up everything else they are doing, I don't think anything is going to really make a difference. I could have a spot lighted Lady Godiva in the back of my truck and it wouldn't help

Aaron

seafoamer

celeste!

barba

Drivers know that white light is on-coming and red is a rear light. I don't see the advantage and running against that convention.

Artmo 

Aren't vehicle lights confusing enough already? What other country uses red rear direction flashers which can be confused with brake lights? What other country allows amber front running lights which are also flashers? What other country allows the direction flashers to be positioned close to the center of the vehicle as opposed to as far to the outside edges as possible. US vehicle lighting is a joke already without adding multicolored lights to bikes.

skiahh

Also, some areas use Green as emergency lights for volunteer fire/rescue personnel, so green isn't necessarily good.

nelson249

An idea I had was using a white LED strobe light on the rear but have it point out onto your left and shine on the pavement so it didn't blind drivers. If you use a slow flash strobe it seemed to be much better. I carried out some experiments on some back streets out of curiousity. I am not convinced that it really serves any purpose as I always ride with two red strobes, my BLT helmet light and a yellow reflective jacket. I think some form of a reflective vest or jacket is indispensible regardless of how many lights you have on the rear of the bike.

mechBgon

A steady red bicycle taillight wouldn't stand out, but some of today's best red blinkies are quite powerful, and they contrast with car taillights by strobing. Planet Bike SuperFlash, Cateye TL-LD1000, NiteRider Universal Taillight. These three are strong enough for real-world daytime visibility from the direct rear.

Amber would be a good color for contrast with, but (1) there are no super-powerful amber bike blinkies, and (2) they'd be of questionable legality in many places. People interested in doing an end-run around these issues may want to check their local laws really carefully, and see whether they can attach amber flashers to their body, helmet or backpack.

I asked the Washington State Patrol their opinion about this, and they said there's no law forbidding me to attach amber, white or red lights to my person or my riding gear, just don't use blue. So if I wanted more visibility, I could clip an amber Xenon strobe to my belt, backpack, helmet, etc. Xenon strobes aren't directional, so precise aim wouldn't matter. However, they tend to eat batteries pretty fast. The Lightman Xenon models (not the LED models) have a rated battery life of just 5-7 hours, which is pretty short.

DieselDan

White on the rear is illegal too. Try using a flashing red taillight, a relective band on your left ankle, and some odd reflective accents on your bike and clouthing to stand out rather then utterly confusing the rest of the world?

Shouldn't this be in Advocacy and Safty Forum?

slowandsteady

Why does it have to stand out? All you need to communicate is that you are an object that is supposed to be on the road that shouldn't be hit. Does it matter if it is a Toyota or a Honda, or a motorcycle or a trailer? A vehicle is a vehicle.

ranger5oh

Color is irrellevant to me... brightness is the bigger deal. I think white front and red rear. Standard, and tell the driver the direction of travel... just buy somethign bright!

stapfam

If you need to be seen-and a red taillight is not good enough for you- Buy clothing with reflective strips. Works every time. those bright white lights on the clothing are not lights- Just reflective strips.And that is just at twighlight.

jcm

As a truck driver who drives at night every night, in and around Redmond, Washington (which every human being knows is the bike capital of the galaxy ), I find that a red LED strobe is fine at night for the rear, even in the rain. Good batteries are a must.

I have had a problem with some of the white strobes in front, though:

Sometimes, in the rain especially, the fast speed flicker-mode looks like a reflection of someone else's headlights off a puddle or other relective object. In other words, they have tended to hide the source. I advise all riders to use the solid mode or a slower blink rate. The color white is not a problem in and of itself.

Amber is the only other color I would advise for either front or back, as an additional light, not an alternative. All the reflective clothing, tape, patches, stick-ons ,etc, you can get are also good.

A defensive rider is a strategic rider.

kk4df

I have a red blinky in the rear. I have a white headlamp AND an amber blinky beneath the headlight in the front. I think the amber stands out pretty well, and I believe it's perfectly legal. Amber is typically a "caution, slow" color.

DataJunkie

Purple! Except that certain evangelists think that means you are gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Just not in my bum. NIMB
Sort of like NIMBY

This thread brought to you by the letter P and the number 7.

mechBgon

Caution, stapfam, remember that's a photo illuminated with a camera flash! People don't normally go around with camera flashes attached to their forehead And without the illumination of the flash, or headlights, the reflective strips won't show at all.

More info on that here: https://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/activevpassive.html the third comparison photo illustrates why reflective stuff alone is not going to cut it. If a motorist doesn't turn his headlights on until late into the twilight, then twilight would be quite a dangerous time to just have reflective stuff instead of actual lights.

I do advocate reflective EVERYTHING, of course, but lights are real important as your primary defense. My latest reflective vest, check out all the 2-inch OmniBrite:

mechBgon

Purple doesn't mean you're gay, purple means you're dead.

This post brought to you by the colors yellow and black, and the number... uh... four.

DataJunkie

OMG
That link.....
Still....I want a purple strobe for something. Not biking.
Maybe I could secretly attach it to my sister in-laws car. The way she drives..... ugh

DieselDan

Some light duty DOT legal refelctive tape on the helmet has always worked for to get extra attention. My Specialized Chamonix has a series of vertical opening in the back, and lining those with red reflective tape has gotten me a few positive comments while riding. Also, applying the tape the lenght of the seat stays catches the eye.

mechBgon

And if you have full fenders, they make an awesome place to put a lot of reflective tape. DOT Class 2 Conspicuity Tape on the fenders, DOT red and amber reflectors on the rack bag, and a Nova lurking unlit:



Always good to remember, though, the reflective stuff doesn't work unless the driver's lights are hitting it. If his lights are off, or aimed elsewhere, or it's a person with no lights (pedestrians, wrong-way ninja cyclists from heck, etc) then it's down to your active lighting (headlights & taillights). Sorry to repeat something that almost everyone already knows, but just in case.