There have been some recent discussions about which lights to buy for biking after dark, providing a lot of great information and comments on personal experience with taillights. Here's a link to one of those discussions for anyone who is looking for lights: Bright Rear Lights. Rather than skew that discussion of what lights to buy, I thought a separate entry was warranted.

First, let me admit that I only commute to work during the part of the year when I can ride in daylight in both directions, and that my recreational riding is only done during daylight. What prompted me to write are several cyclists I saw on the road this week as I was driving home from work (both at dusk and in full dark conditions). And yes, I am writing this from the point of view of a driver of a motor vehicle.

One cyclist had no lights at all, and no reflective clothing. He absolutely faded into the night. Bad.

The second had a very bright (and blinking) tail light, with no other lights on the bicycle or on the cyclist. This lack of lights was made even worse by the fact that the cyclist was wearing dark clothing. As I drove up behind him, I was very much aware that there was a cyclist on the road ahead of me. At first glance I thought that was fine, but I was wrong. The cyclist pulled to the left into a left turn lane to make a turn. I could see him from behind, but as I passed him (OK, OK, I know it could have been a woman...) I glanced to the left. I couldn't see him at all from the side, and he didn't have a headlight or any blinking lights on him. Yes, oncoming traffic should have picked him up in their headlights, but I could argue that he was still putting himself in a very dangerous situation.

The third cyclist was very visible. There were excellent lights on the bike, both back and front. And the cyclist also had a lights on his helmet and was wearing reflective bands. This individual could be seen from the front and back as well as from the side.

Another thing that I think we should all be aware of is the angle of the light late in the day (and probably early in the day too). Last Saturday I was riding in the afternoon and was out at about 3:30. It was a bright day, and there was still plenty of daylight. But at one point I was riding directly into the sun and had difficulty seeing a runner coming towards me on my side of the road. We were both in the right place - I was riding with traffic, and she was running against traffic. I did see her, but later than I should have (and no, we didn't crash). My difficulty in seeing her means that a driver coming up behind me could also have had trouble seeing me. From that point on I kept an ear tuned to the back so that I could pull off of the road quickly if I heard a car coming up behind me. I think that I may start wearing bright blinking red lights at that time of the day, just in case...

For those of you who are braver than I am and who are riding at night - please make sure that you can be seen from all directions. Safety first...

--- Denise