Being Seen From Oncoming Traffic

[JAS]

I have a Fenix E-Lite on order and may buy one more.

With regards to approaching traffic, if I clip this to the back of my baseball cap and am walking/bicycling/horseback riding, what will likely be the MOST effective:

-Red and blue flashing

-Red flashing and one red steady burn

-Blue flashing and red steady burn

Or, some other combination?

E-LITE

MATCH CA18 white light LED and Everlight 2835 red and blue lights LED, with a lifespan of 50,000 hours. Built-in 275 mAh Li-polymer battery. Multipurpose EDC and signal light...

www.fenixlight.com

 

[alpg88]

i would not use blue at all, any any combination with any other color light. it is very visible color, but blue flashing lights reserved for LEOs, depending on a cop, you may get away with a warning, or get arrested for impersonating a police officer.
Flashing red will be visible just fine.

 

[ikanode]

Whatever you do, get a friend to wear it and then you approach from both the front and rear and see if you're happy with how visible they are in different situations. I see many walkers and bikers with weak lights that are barely noticeable. Especially when there are competing lights at night. What happens to cap-light visibility when you put your head down or turn to the side? I don't like them!

I recently saw some bike riders in the daylight on a busy rural highway. I don't know what lighted vest they were wearing, but the flashing red light was bright enough that they were very noticeable from about a quarter of a mile. That gave me plenty of time to change lanes.

 

[bykfixer]

White light forwards.
Red light to the rear.
That is typical for a motorist to understand white is facing toward them and red facing away from them.
A safety vest should have the slow moving vehicle symbol on the back as well.
No blue. Blue is for police.

 

[The Hawk]

I have a couple LED white lights on my bicycle handlebar and two red flashing LED lights on the back of my seat. As others have said, stay away from blue lights. Most folks are used to red for rear lights and white for front lights. Have a friend observe you wearing whatever setup you decide on.

 

[Lumen83]

I would not use red or blue flashing lights for the reasons listed above. Steady red in the rear is fine and steady white up front is what I would recommend.

I personally hate when cyclists use any kind of flashing light. It is a major distraction to me and I feel nervous I am going to accidentally hit them. I don't find it helpful to me as a motorist.

 

[chillinn]

I would like to hear the answer to this, and I know we won't and why, but would like to hear Virgil's and/or Alaric's suggestion or insistence of the only possible correct answer.

For oncoming traffic, I would think (but I don't know) a non-flashing white light angled towards the road at a distance would be best, which should appear like a motorcycle to oncoming traffic. Again, idk what is best, but I can't think why appearing like a motorcycle would not be ideal. Appearing like something out of the ordinary could be bad, and this anacdote is really about being seen from behind:

I was returning very late from a friend's house in the middle of a dark county. bykfixer will know what Route 5 is like at night. I could see in the distance what I thought was an emergency vehicle, what my eyes fooled me into believing was a flashing red light on top of an ambulance or fire support vehicle. It seemed very far off. Speed limit is 55 on that two lane highway, a very old road from Colonial times and before, now paved of course. It was pitch black with no oncoming traffic, and, due to the illusion, I did not realize the massive difference between the speed of the vehicle I was approaching from behind very quickly. It was something like below, but entirely enclosed in an aerodynamic cover such that the rider could not be seen, only a little red flashlight light on the top.

I nearly creamed him or her, but swerved around them with nothing to spare. Had there been any ambient light whatsoever, it wouldn't have happened, but there is nothing at night, no lights anywhere, along that stretch of road. I really thought it was a full sized emergency vehicle much further away and moving faster than me, but it was probably only going half my speed, if that.

I mention only as caution, because if there's no reference and no illumination, no one could know what that blinking light is somewhere in front of them, and eyes will play tricks trying to match it to something more familiar. I don't know what the law says, but a blinking yellow light would have made me more cautious, because it would have looked more like hazard lights. Flashing blue and red or just flashing blue is the police, flashing red is ambulance or fire, and flashing amber is tow or caution. Something to consider. I would only risk flashing yellow, otherwise constant white ahead and constant red behind, no flashing.

 

[The Hawk]

The only place I ride is in our subdivision. I usually only ride during the day and keep my forward facing light on constant, not flashing. The other ideas are definitely worth considering.

 

[bykfixer]

Bicycle pedals have reflectors so that they show motion when light hits them. Wheels have reflectors for the same reason when lit from the side.

Wearing bright clothing that does not mimic nature colors is probably the best technique in daytime. Reflective at night. The more coverage the better. You might look like a construction worker but studies show that stuff reduces accidents in work zones day or night.

Maybe a gentle amount of light up front and in back. Cool white up front. Red in rear. Light colored shiney frame, with chrome. Lots of chrome. If practical light colored tires too.

 

[DRW]

Daytime - white flashing front, red flashing rear.
Nighttime - white solid front, red alternating high/low rear.

I wouldn't use any other colors, it will just confuse people.

 

[M@elstrom]

I cycle to & from work between 4 & 5AM during the week and find continuous white light the most useful, my headlamp has a rear facing bright green LED but I have not had any issue with not being seen by other road users, the high output is also off-putting to would be trouble makers I have encountered.

YMMV 👍

 

[Mr305WorldWide]

I think flashing red is best. Yes it will bother drivers but you're at a huge disadvantage in a bike.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Check this out:

https://www.guardianangeldevices.com/outdoor-led-light/

 

[DRW]

No

Check this out:

https://www.guardianangeldevices.com/outdoor-led-light/

I don't see a cycling application for these.

The Nitecore NU05 is similar and far less expensive.

 

[LEDphile]

Having recently encountered a cyclist who had a bright steady red taillight with an intermittent flash pattern (possibly one of the Garmin radar units), I'll say that the steady red was plenty visible and was easier to keep track of the cyclist's position than the flashing red. Think "parking lights" on a car

 

[pnwoutdoors]

-Red and blue flashing
-Red flashing and one red steady burn
-Blue flashing and red steady burn

Or, some other combination?

Myself, when I'm cycling I have two taillights. Both of them CygoLite HyperShot 350, each on a different setting.

Ideal: one on a helmet, and a second one on a rack or seatpost.

These units are quite bright. At night, in bright summer daylight, in the hazy dusk hours. One's always on a random flashing sequence. On the other, I've tried doing a different flash pattern, and I've tried doing a steady or pulse. They also have a fairly wide beam, along with the eye-splatteringly-bright direct beam, so cars at an angle (ie, turning after me onto the road I'm traveling on) can still easily see me.

Since I began using those two lights in combination, cars have been giving me a noticeably wider space when approaching then passing me. Visibility's clearly gone up.

Can't say how that sort of combination compares to other lights, other combinations. But, at least in my experience, two extremely bright taillights with different patterns of display can't hardly be missed and does result in safer passes of me.

 

[letschat7]

I recommend also wearing a hiviz vest. Something with 3M would be good.

 

[DRW]

I recommend also wearing a hiviz vest. Something with 3M would be good.

That would be a hard sell for cyclists. I see motorcyclist wearing those occasionally.

High quality riding kit is typically available in safety colors along with reflective accents.

 

[DRW]

Myself, when I'm cycling I have two taillights. Both of them CygoLite HyperShot 350, each on a different setting.

Ideal: one on a helmet, and a second one on a rack or seatpost.

These units are quite bright. At night, in bright summer daylight, in the hazy dusk hours. One's always on a random flashing sequence. On the other, I've tried doing a different flash pattern, and I've tried doing a steady or pulse. They also have a fairly wide beam, along with the eye-splatteringly-bright direct beam, so cars at an angle (ie, turning after me onto the road I'm traveling on) can still easily see me.

Since I began using those two lights in combination, cars have been giving me a noticeably wider space when approaching then passing me. Visibility's clearly gone up.

Can't say how that sort of combination compares to other lights, other combinations. But, at least in my experience, two extremely bright taillights with different patterns of display can't hardly be missed and does result in safer passes of me.

Interesting observation by a fellow rider. I'm going to experiment with this idea.

 

[letschat7]

That would be a hard sell for cyclists. I see motorcyclist wearing those occasionally.

High quality riding kit is typically available in safety colors along with reflective accents.

For less than 20$ I got a vest which I wear when riding.