I increasingly see folk with their bike lights on in broad daylight…

…do folk think it will actually make a difference?

You saw them.

Stop one and ask.

motorbikes do it too – is it the equivalent of DRLs?

I’ve put my rear light on on sections where I was riding into the setting sun slightly too close for comfort before. I think – having watched other people in the same situation – that it can make you slightly easier to spot from a distance.

were their souls on fire?

Volvo have done it for donkeys years as they saw a reduction in accidents when sidelights were used – can’t see it hurting on a bike.

My new Leyzene rear light as a special ‘bright’ daylight settign on it.

Some do Al.
I ran a TT the other week (it was a lovely day )and a few riders had small rear lights on.

i got stopped / hassled by a chav yesterday (female i think)

‘WHAYA YA AGOGOT A ALIGHTT ON YAHEED?!

‘…so cars can see me?’

‘AREALLALAFUEDKKCIINGGSEEEACACARRRRA!’

sometimes it’s best NOT to be seen…

dawson, highway code says:

Daylight riding. Make yourself as visible as possible from the side as well as the front and rear. You could wear a light or brightly coloured helmet and fluorescent clothing or strips. Dipped headlights, even in good daylight, may also make you more conspicuous. However, be aware that other vehicle drivers may still not have seen you, or judged your distance or speed correctly, especially at junctions.

Don’t know why bikes do it, but I would if I were running dynamo hubs.

I run my helmet light (Moon Shield 60) come rain, shine, sun or night.

There’s no reason not to, and it could be the little bit of difference that means I get seen.

My commute is Eastwards in the morning (Towards the rising sun) and Westwards at night (In to the setting sun). As the sun is lower in the sky, it makes sense to try and have something else to stand out against it in the traffic.

‘AREALLALAFUEDKKCIINGGSEEEACACARRRRA!’

subtitles please.

I think some city bikes with hub dynamos just have the lights on all the time now. I guess with LEDs it isn’t such a big issue any more. My friends Birdy’s turn their lights on whenever you bump against the bike so I guess they have some sort of movement detector as well

With a singular point of light, it makes you appear further away than you actually are, making it more likely that a car pulling out will misjudge your distance away, years ago motorbikes started having a kind of purple tint on their headlights which counteracted the illusion, but they got banned.

Cars having two lights give a better perspective of scale and distance for the human brain to work out.

Saw a fella yesterday afternoon with a amazingly bright strobing front light. Seemed a bit unnecessary (especially on the front) I could see the light clearly from about 500 metres. Not really sure what the benefit of being able to see someone half a kilometre away really is, you’d need a hell of a long bonnet to hit someone from a half a kilometre.

motor-bikers do it, what’s the issue?

subtitles please.

i really don’t know exactly what words it/she was screaming at me, the jist of it was that it/she was drunk as a judge (at 8.15am), and wanted to shout loudly at something before getting on the tram…

sorry, I wasn’t arguing – just drawing parallels that a cyclist using lights in the daytime was similar to a car using DRLs.

Anything that aids cyclists bring more noticeable is a good thing.

Saw a fella yesterday afternoon with a amazingly bright strobing front light. Seemed a bit unnecessary (especially on the front) I could see the light clearly from about 500 metres. Not really sure what the benefit of being able to see someone half a kilometre away really is, you’d need a hell of a long bonnet to hit someone from a half a kilometre.

So you can have a seizure and run right into him or burn your retinas out and hit a cyclist round the next corner.

I always run a rear light on the road bike – seems silly to have my relatives asking what if, if I’m lying in a hospital bed…

If I’ve got charge, I’ll run the light on low in daylight – why the hell not?!

I can see why folk do it, and with super-bright lights it probably does make a differene, but with average lights, I don’t think it does.

Each to their own of course, I wear black on my bike but am still alive WTF!!?!?!

how about a load of small mirrors, disco ball style stuck on yer helmet, would attract the magpies 😉

Saw a fella yesterday afternoon with a amazingly bright strobing front light…Not really sure what the benefit of being able to see someone half a kilometre away really is

So you can have a seizure and run right into him or burn your retinas out and hit a cyclist round the next corner.

My Fenix has that setting. The box calls it ‘Tactical Strobe’. I call it ‘point it at the floor for riding through town’. Short duration use only, otherwise it’s me that’s having the seizure.

I use my lights most of the time when commuting. It’s surprising the difference it makes, even if it’s just a bit grey.

Drivers quite routinely sit there at traffic lights with their foot on the brake pedal so anything that helps a rider at the front stand out against that sea of lights is good.

Anything that aids cyclists bring more noticeable is a good thing.

agree with that!

I use lights if it’s grim or night.

I have issues with those that don’t.

I spotted a commuter freewheeling earlier today.. (coughs)

I’ll use my rear lights when it’s not dark. Not all the time, but when it’s:
– dusk/twilight
– overcast with low contrast
– the sun is low in the sky, particularly if travelling towards it.

I quite often stick my front light on while riding through areas with more traffic…

That will be Audi bike riders for you 😉

I’ve been using my helmet light and seatpost-mounted blinky light during daylight for the past year or so. I commute through some large roundabouts and also past queueing traffic and my experience is that it helps drivers see me more easily.

The helmet light is brilliant as you can point it at the drivers you want to see you. I use an XPG LED torch on the lowest setting, batteries last ages and it’s not too bright to dazzle. Not really sure if the rear blinky light makes much difference tbh but at least it’s there if it gets foggy / rainy / dark suddenly.

For proper winter dark I add a normal front LED on the bars and a fiber flare on my jersey pockets.

I commute with my Exposure Strada on flashing mode. It’s bright, lasts forever and saved me from a SMIDSY at a junction only yesterday. Driver did an emergency stop after staring at the light, not me. Rear is covered by a Cateye Rapid 1 USB rechargeable. It will all help come litigation time.

What’s the issue? From Highway code Rule 86:

Daylight riding. Make yourself as visible as possible from the side as well as the front and rear. You could wear a light or brightly coloured helmet and fluorescent clothing or strips. Dipped headlights, even in good daylight, may also make you more conspicuous. However, be aware that other vehicle drivers may still not have seen you, or judged your distance or speed correctly, especially at junctions.

As a driver: yes definitely.

Driver did an emergency stop after staring at the light, not me.

I’ve had this while driving the car. Got dazzled by a flashing light. Flashing light + single point meant I couldn’t work out how far away he was. Turns out he was much closer than he looked. I missed him, but he didn’t look happy.
Had he no light at all or just a small constant light I’d have been able to judge the distance much better and stopped in better time.

Car was pulling out from a side road, hadn’t seen me, then stopped midway across the lane as I was readying myself for evasive action. Nothing to do with being dazzled. And of course I’m wearing a high contrast top, in reasonable light, travelling at 20mph in the primary position.

I’ll keep my light on, thanks – although I do point it down slightly during daylight.

Something I have noticed as I commute in London especially in the evening whilst stopped at lights / in slow traffic etc you can see drivers texting and messaging. Their faces are lit up in blue from their smart phones.

Im my view anything at all that catches their eyes as they look up and adjust is a good thing. You see people driving without looking a lot more on your bike than you do in the car……

When discussing such things with drivers, one of the biggest, and most comment complaints they lecture to me about is how bright and dazzling modern day lights are; to a point where it actually is being counter productive to the safety of those involved.

I think using lights during the day is fine, as long as they aren’t too bright. To be honest, the same goes for night-time riding: You don’t need 900 lumens to ride on the road, even the darkest of dark country lanes. My 250 lumen MiNewt works perfectly, even on fast descents.

I think it is a great idea, saw a guy riding thorugh town last week with an exposure strobe flashing and thought it was a good move.

In Australia you are recommended to use your headlights in daylight, with roadside signs reminding you, and Saabs and Volvos used to come with permanently-on sidelights.

Audi now use a similar system of fairy lights on the front of their cars so other road users have advance notice of the impending case of terrible, terrible driving coming their way.

I have a Smart 25lux light on ‘flash’ when I’m commuting during daylight hours. I know it gets me noticed because when I’m passing stationary traffic cars often move over to make it easier for me to get through.

I’ve had enough near miss and actual collision-causing SMIDSYs that a flashing light doesn’t strike me as a stupid idea.

hat a flashing light doesn’t strike me as a stupid idea

I’m thinking though that a fixed light may be better than a strobe though. A good one still gets seen but doesn’t dominate the viewers concentration in the way that a flashing/strobe type one does.

There’s a line here between being easy to see and being the dominant thing in the driver’s view, grabbing all their attention.

flashing light in the day makes sense to me, bright as you like since drivers’ eyes are adjusted to the daylight so won’t be dazzled
Once it has got their attention they can also see what you are and where you are because of the daylight

same thing at night is dangerous IMO

I commute by car BTW