Opinionated much? Anything that can draw the attention of a driver is a help. I could detail for instances, but I'm guessing I'd be wasting valuable daylight typing at you.

Eyc Headlight from B&M is part of my Brompton's Hub Dynamo lighting system.

Like this : B&M Eyc T Senso Plus Dyno Headlight

Eyc Senso T has 3 LED's 2 are day running lights , 1 the Bright one that shines down on the reflector , comes on from the Light sensor, at Night ..

the 'See By' Light.

so I Just leave it On and the engineering switches Modes for Me .

This is a common argument here. Some of us have rode for years with flashing lights and have seen enough people suddenly notice us that we're going to keep doing it while others think it's the worst thing we could do. Don't let the naysayers here change your mind if you feel it helps, you're not alone there.

I had 2 lights on a slow flash on my way into work this morning when a young woman in an overpriced car swerved after suddenly noticing I was in her way as she rounded the blind corner in my lane. The sudden change in direction of her car made me feel that she had noticed me due to my lights, but my high vis shirt probably helped too.

It's not really an opinion. There is no evidence that blinking lights do anything to prevent accidents between bicycles and cars. Period.

If you have some data I would love to see it, and I will gladly change my position. Perhaps you can find something more relevant than the motorcycle headlight research from [MENTION=182364]1nterceptor[/MENTION], which I will definitely keep in mind when I'm fit enough to pedal my bike at highway speeds.

Motorcycles are only ridden at highway speeds? One of most common car and bicycle(and/or motorcycle) collision is a left turn by a car at an intersection.

I've actually started riding with two lights. One light flashes bright and the other is on steady. This is basically what my Dinotte 300R rear light does (stays illuminated at all times and also flashes). What I've noticed is that a flashing front light alone is hard for drivers to track. A steady light alone is not bright enough for drivers to notice in direct sunlight. The combination of both works best IMO as the driver is drawn to the flashing light and they can easily track your movement with the steady light. I do wish light manufacturers would make a front light that does both and is bright enough to be noticed in direct sunlight.

Let's face it, most "cyclists" have woefully inadequate lighting (if any at all) so any research on daytime lighting is going to be pretty much useless.

Based on the the London Analysis of Police Collision Files (2007-2011) 2% of serious P/C (Pedal Cycle) accidents are caused by a right cross (what would be a left cross in the US). I think this is the only type of accident that one could legitimately claim could be avoided with the aid of a blinking headlight. Alternatively, the cyclist could slow down or stop to avoid crashing head-on into a motor vehicle, which I think is what most people do.

By far the most common serious accident between a motor vehicle and a bicycle in the study mentioned above is the left hook (what would be a right hook in the US) at 32%. This is also the easiest accident to avoid by not passing cars on the right (or the left in the UK). The second most common accident at 17% is the other vehicle running into the the rear of the P/C. I haven't seen the data but have to believe that both of these types of accidents (which comprise almost half of all serious P/C accidents) are pretty unusual for motorcycles.

I wouldn't be surprised if a left cross is the most common motorcycle accident. The obvious difference is that even in urban settings motorcycles are travelling much faster than bikes and have significantly increased stopping distances making these types of accidents harder for the rider to avoid.

I use my Fenix BT-20 on flashing mode in the day-time and a Dinotte 140 taillight. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and possibly more visible on the outside.


Couldn't hurt!

No one is claiming that having lights is going to prevent all accidents. Doesn't matter what you do you can't control fate, accidents happen. This doesn't mean you throw out all preventative measures. Forget looking for data or someone who did a study. Cars have full lights and get in accidents all the time. On the other hand they are more exposed to accidents because there are more cars on the road and they are all "IN THE ROAD". Bikes are usually on a shoulder when available but do ride directly on the road on occasion when they have no choice.

Just the other day I was approaching an intersection on a gloomy overcast day. I had my 80 lumen front blinkie on and flashing on my handlebars. I also had/have a torch ( XP-L LED ) set for fast flash that I have on standby sitting on my helmet. My main front lamp was not on. As I approached the intersection I slowed, reached up to turn on the torch ( no shoulder on this road ) and slow rolled toward the cars that were already at the light. No cars were in my lane in front of me. Just before I got to the white line the light turned green and I started through the intersection. When I entered the intersection I noticed that a car on the opposite side of the road was already in the intersection trying to make a left in front of the on-coming traffic. I think I saw him the same time he saw me. Both of us came to a stop. Did the high power flash of my torch being aimed right at him make him stop? I have no idea. I just know that if someone aimed a high power flashing torch directly at me that there's probably a good 95% chance that I'm going to see it as long as I'm looking where I'm driving. I'm just glad I didn't get mowed down. Why didn't the guy see me sooner?...maybe because I slow rolled up to the light and was blocked from his view by the other traffic beside me (?). Nope, lights won't prevent all accidents but given the right circumstance/situation they can help the cyclist get seen and getting seen ( sooner rather than later ) is the first step in preventing accidents.

Here is Dave.

Dave on the left

I also choose the pulse mode in daylight to preserve battery, though in my case I'm using the front light nearly always. (My commute passes through some complicated intersections; I'll take whatever help I can get.)

I haven't noticed any difference in driver behavior with solid vs. pulse, but I haven't done a rigorous comparison either.

Every right hook I've encountered was committed by a vehicle that passed me, then turned in front of me. Those are the most difficult to avoid because it's sheer negligence. The driver put me into their blind spot, not the other way around.

It's also why I don't trust or relax around dedicated bike lanes on city streets, especially between traffic to the left and parking to the right. Between the door zone and right hooks, it's an accident waiting to happen.

I'm usually prepared to brake hard when forced to ride those bike lanes, whenever approaching a driveway or intersection.

But both of my close calls Tuesday were drivers turning left across my path. The first was a pickup (why is it always pickups?) driver who jumped a protected walk signal. He looked right at me the whole time and kept turning in tighter toward me. He saw me. He just decided his turn was more important than the traffic lights or common courtesy. I had a front light flashing but it wouldn't make any difference with aggressive, hostile drivers.

The second was a distracted woman in a van. She stopped her turn as soon as she looked up and noticed me, and rolled down the window to apologize. I didn't ask her whether my light made any difference to her.

I'll keep running daylight strobes anyway. Costs me nothing. And a few drivers and other folks have said it helps to see us better.

There are flashing lights, and there are flashing lights. A steady, visible but not blinding flash during the day is cool with me. But, I overwhelmingly see obnoxious lights that create unsafe conditions these days.

Most of those could be resolved by tipping the lights downward a bit. I see many cyclists on the MUP using lights aimed dead ahead into the eyes of oncoming cyclists and pedestrians. It's unnecessary. It doesn't take much light on the MUP to be seen, even in daylight through curves obscured by foliage.

I always angle my lights downward on the MUP, then adjust them slightly upward for nighttime use on public streets -- I try to emulate the same pool of light cast by any vehicle headlights. I've already checked them by eyeballing and video recording the lights to be sure the angle won't distract drivers, but the lights are only 300 lumens or less, so they're only reasonably bright.

The purpose of a blinking light is to attract attention. The more ambient light that is present the brighter the lamp needs to be. An 80 lumen blinkie in full daylight isn't going to garner as much attention as it does at duisk or night. That's because their isn't enough contrast to draw as much attention. My opinion is that you need at least 200 lumen to help draw attention in the day. Of course I'm sure that the flash/stobes used on Police and other ERV is likely more than 10 times that and that for just a single strobe. Of course I'll add I see no reason to use a super bright light on a MUP ( if others are present ) but only because you have less chance of being struck by a car. During the day if I'm on a road where I feel I need added attention, not only will I turn the helmet flash on but I have a setting on my Gloworm X2 called "Beacon". It's basically a slow flash but when it flashes it is using the full output of the lamp ( about 1200 lumen, this is an older model ). I rarely use it but it's there if I feel I need it.

Lately I've been reviewing some of the newer lamps being put out by Gemini. Gemini has incorporated a "momentary Flash" button onto their new "Wireless" remotes. When I first received these I wasn't too interested in the flash feature. Lately though I've begun to see how useful of a feature it is. I've used it now on a couple road rides and it has a remarkable effect on traffic. I mount the Gemini's on the helmet in place of the torch so when I need to flash it all I have to do is hit the remote button once and I get a super ( single ) burst of light. If I toggle the button I get as many bursts of light as I want.

Just last night I was using my Gemini Duo on the helmet for a MTB trail ride and had to ride back to my car on a short stretch of paved two lane road that goes up a long mile long hill. Last night was a beautiful moon lit night. While riding on the road I didn't use my main lights but used only a small torch which I had mounted on the bars. Climbing the long hill is slow arduous process, especially after a MTB trail ride on a warm night. After 12:00am there is little traffic on this rural road. The road has wide shoulders and I have two good rear blinkies protecting my back so I feel pretty safe. When no cars were around me I started playing with the remote flash feature of the Gemini Duo ( also on the newer Olympia ). Goodness! Damn thing lit up the entire road like you wouldn't believe. I started thinking that if a car approaches from head on and has high beams on all I have to do is hit this remote once and it should get an immediate reaction. Sadly no cars were using high beams last night. That was when the idea dawned on me; Why don't I use this feature when cars approach from behind? The idea being that when the car is still behind me I light up the entire road ahead ( including all the little reflective road signs that light up like beacons ). Wow! this worked like a charm, especially when there are reflective signs right close to me. I actually had a car tap his brakes at me in acknowledgment after he passed. Of course with my excellent rear lights I really don't have to do this but I figure anything I can do to increase awareness of my presence can be a positive thing.

^My Specialized Flux Expert has a "visual horn" (brief strobe of the light) if you press & release the handlebar-mounted remote button very quickly (easier said than done.) It does come in handy at times along with the ability to quickly cycle the 1200 lumen high beam on-then-off to 'flash' oncoming traffic. I prefer the strobe for left-cross avoidance since flashing the high beam could be misconstrued to mean "go ahead, I'll wait for you to turn left in front of me." I only install the Flux Expert about 1/2 the year since it's really overkill during daylight savings time when I'm off the road by sunset. A construction worker once thought I was a motorcycle at night as I approached with the Flux Expert on the 800 lumen setting with a nice beam cutoff.

I agree entirely. Going through an intersection you need your hands free anyway just in case you need to hit the brakes. The Duo has a dedicated flash mode as well. Very easy to activate too, just push/hold the main mode button and you have the flash mode.

I agree. I had a co-worker who rode a motorcycle die by getting hit by a vehicle hanging a left at a light. I've often thought that motorcyclists could probably benefit if they had white strobes mounted to the front of their motorcycles with a button on the bars they could activate when needed. The idea being that the strobe would come on automatically ( a 20 sec timed circuit ) whenever the horn is activated ( OR ) activated for about 20 sec with a secondary switch when no horn is needed. I don't ride a motorcycle but if I did I would very much desire something like that. Surprises me that someone else hasn't come up with that idea yet.

Pretty sure flashing lights are illegal on a motorcycle unless you are a cop. Can you imagine how horrible it would be if every vehicle had bright white strobes on the front?

They're legal per US federal law: Motorcycle Headlight Modulator Regulations - webBikeWorld

Every vehicle doesn't need strobes. Motorcycles, because of their size, tendency NOT TO BE SEEN in certain situations and their related rider vulnerability if involved in a collision accident, would benefit much from the system that I described. My suggestion was that the strobes could only be activated manually and that for only a 20 sec. interval at a time. How often do you see Police or ERV's going through intersections with their lights on? I drive for a living and see it all the time. Doesn't bother me the least bit ( unless it makes me miss the light . ) It would not bother me one Iota to see a motorcycle go through an intersection with a couple front strobes flashing. Matter of fact it would give my a big fuzzy warm feeling inside just knowing that such a system might in fact save some lives.

Sorry, but I couldn't make heads or tails out of the link that RichSPK provided. Legal or not, I doubt the police would write anyone a ticket ( using a device like I described ) designed to provide added "momentary" visibility. Use to be illegal for anyone to use wheel lights, frame lights, colored or otherwise. I see people ( including myself ) using colored wheel and frame lights all the time on bicycles. I see motorcycles using colored side lighting. The police aren't going to say anything about it unless they thought it posed a threat to the general public. You can't of course put Police type strobes on your car and try to act like a Police vehicle. That will earn you a day in court. I have however seen vehicles equipped with white and/or amber LED strobes front and back. * I don't think you can legally use them while driving down the road though unless you are a commercial construction, tow or escort vehicle. ( *although I might be wrong about that )

Here's a of the modulators which apparently are legal in the US.

I rode a motorcycle for many years that would flash the brake lights for several seconds when activated. It used an aftermarket product called Priority Lights and would confuse people enough that they would usually give me plenty of room as they weren't sure what was happening in front. The motorcycle was an older BMW boxer that came from the factory with notoriously dim rear lights, and many people that rode those (airheads) installed Piority Lights for this reason.

thanks for the link!

I've wondered about making a "be seen" headlight of this type for my bikes, and this does help identify the important characteristics....

(a) The rate of modulation shall be 240 <plus-minus> 40 cycles per minute.
(b) The headlamp shall be operated at maximum power for 50 to 70 percent of each cycle.
(c) The lowest intensity at any test point shall be not less than 17 percent of the maximum intensity measured at the same point.


in essence, the modulator just dims the light slightly, and at a 4Hz rate. Compared to some flashing bike lights I've seen, it's enough to be noticed without being annoying. Very nice!


Steve in Peoria