Originally Posted by
Eyes Roll
In all states in the U.S., if your bike has:
(1) White Front headlight - Steady.
(2) Red Rear taillight - Steady or Blinking (in many states even a red rear reflector in the place of steady or blinking red light).
You are covered.
Internationally, there's the
International Convention on Road Traffic, Vienna, Austria November 8, 1968, which most of the world's nations are signatories to. This applies when you ride your bike across international borders.
Chapter V
CONDITIONS FOR THE ADMISSION OF CYCLES AND MOPEDS TO INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC
ARTICLE 44
Cycles without an engine in international traffic shall:
(a) Have an efficient brake;
(b) Be equipped with a bell capable of being heard at a sufficient distance, and carry no other audible warning device;
(c) Be equipped with a red reflecting device at the rear and with devices such that the cycle can show a white or selective-yellow light to the front and a red light to the rear.
Note the subtle difference:
both a red light
and a red 'reflecting device' are required, and the lighting requirement applies even if it's not 'after dark'.
There are bicycle taillamps that additionally have built-in reflectors that meet various international reflector standards: CatEye offers a couple, Planet Bike's Grateful Red models, some of the B&Ms.
As a practical matter, after reading a thousand or more cycletour travelogs, I've never come across a case where anybody got in trouble for this. Hmm. I guess if you rode your bike on tour through Germany, you wouldn't have to have StVZO-compliant lights.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buy...o-bike-lights/