Be Safe - Be Seen
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High visibility is your best bet for safe riding, running and walking in low light conditions.
Applying reflective tape to your pack, ankles, helmet or bike is one simple and effective way to increase your visibility as the days grow shorter.
For cyclists, front and rear lights in good working order are a legal safety requirement.
Read on for our 2012 test results to see which lights and reflective gear offered the best visibility. The New Zealand Road Code requires cyclists to use front and rear lights during the hours of darkness, but not all lights are created equally. Bicycle shops offer a dazzling array of night riding equipment. We borrowed a selection of 55 lights (all under $100) and tested them using a Sekonic Illuminometer.
Our light test simply involved measuring brightness from different angles.
Most accidents occur during turning manoeuvres – being seen by vehicles turning across your path is vital, so we tested the lights from 0 to 80 degree angles.
Front lights side-on view from left to right: Flea, Zero Minibeam, Cateye EL450, Helmet Spok.None of the head lights we tested were particularly effective at lighting up the road ahead. If that’s the sort of thing you need, check out a powerful rechargeable light. They have become much lighter and more affordable over the last couple of years, but you can expect to pay at least $150.
We also checked out 15 reflective garments to see how effective they are at getting a drivers attention. The genius of reflective materials is that the brighter the lights of the approaching vehicle, the brighter the reflector will look to the driver.
If you do not have pedal reflectors, you must wear reflective material when riding at night. As well as reflectors on your spokes, other options for increasing side-on visibility are spoke mounted lights and tyres with reflective side walls.
Recommendations:
The law allows cyclists to use two front lights – one steady and one flashing. In an urban environment you are competing with many other light sources for drivers’ attention. We recommend using two front lights - one placed on the handlebars and one placed on your helmet. Use the helmet mounted light to attract the attention of drivers coming out of driveways and side streets. Pick one light that has a high score for brightness from the sides and one with a strong focused beam. You can choose a yellow or white light for the front – for a given power rating, white lights shine brighter.
For the rear, we suggest one flashing and one steady red light – one with a high brightness score from the sides and one that is super bright directly from behind.
Razzle dazzle on a budget. High visibility need not be expensive
An excellent combination from our sample would be:
- Blackburn Mars 4.0, or NiteRider CherryBomb 1 Watt and Ontrack Beacon II rear light
- NiteRider Mako 2 Watt, CatEye EL540 or Moon Rebel front light
- Reflective ankle bands, vest, rear flap or pack cover
There are many other good lights which we did not test. As a general rule for rear lights, the greater the number of LEDs, the brighter the light. Front lights can provide great illumination with a single LED - check the lumen rating on the packaging.
We highly recommend using lights during daylight hours whenever the light conditions are challenging (e.g: fog, drizzle or sun-strike). We also suggest bright clothing be worn during daylight hours and reflective material after dark.
If you are riding in areas without good street lighting, a powerful rechargeable front light is an excellent idea. This will enable you to see road hazards from a safe distance.
Mount the lights so that they face drivers, not the ground or the sky. The chance of a rear light clipped to a back pack being effective is slim.
Keep your lights' lenses clean and give them fresh batteries as soon as you notice they’re getting dim.
Thanks to Bike Barn, Penny Farthing Cycles, R+R Sport, On Yer Bike Wellington and Capital Cycles for the loan of lights and reflective gear.
Can you see the second rider?
