This Active Trans video is one of the best illustrations of how hard it is to see cyclists without lights (Bike Ninjas). With the time change, it's incredibly important to have your bike ready with lights.
Buying lights: Your favorite local bike shops will have a range to choose from. You'll need a white headlight and red taillight, sometimes they come in sets. There is always the online option as well: Next level: I also like to go next level and wear high-vis clothing. Rapha has a sale right now on their new high-vis line. I own the high-vis vest in pink and you can literally see me coming from 2-3 blocks away. Rapha High-Visibility Collection, "Night Moves" https://pages.rapha.cc/stories/night-moves Additional reading: http://chicagoist.com/2015/10/29/video_see_why_cycling_in_chicago_w... |
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lol at the rapha link. people riding without lights probably aren't going to spend a few hundred bucks on reflective clothing, seriously. instead how about some practical links to reasonably priced lights and reflective bands..
basic lights: http://goo.gl/58SOZq
usb rechargeable set: http://goo.gl/maIPWT
reflective bands: http://goo.gl/E6wZxh
Thanks for the extra links. The video also does a good job of covering getting lights and what to expect to spend. We all have our favorite local bike shops to find a good range of lights as well as REI.
As I mentioned in my post, expensive reflective clothing is "next level" for those of us that have lights but would like more options.
I sometimes sport a construction safety vest like this at night:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Visibility-Mesh-Construction-Safety-Ve...
No, it's not stylish, and in fact it's goofy, but it gets the job done for fifteen bucks. Whatever cyclists do to make themselves more visible is good, be it fashionable or flea-market.
I love it. :-) You can always jump off your bike and help direct traffic at a moment's notice too.
Bright clothing is a good idea, even if it's not expensive or reflective. Most of my jerseys are yellow, orange, or red.
Good point, it really is an all-year-round requirement for riding your bike. The time change is just a really good reminder if you aren't lit up, people cannot see you and you are increasing the risk of getting hit, doored, etc. I've also noticed a scary change when the time changes - drivers seem to be confused/distracted for a few weeks while they are adjusting to the change. It's not a result of a study, just my own experience.
Good video. Thanks for making and sharing it.
The topic of lights has really been bothering me. I’m pretty lucky in that almost my entire commute is on the trail rather than streets but before daylight savings when it was dark in the morning and now that it’s dark at night instead things have gotten so bad that I’m actually paranoid about my commute. Rides aren’t enjoyable anymore because all I can think about are all the people I see riding with no lights at all and not even reflective clothing. In three years of commuting I’ve never had an accident or collision (knock on wood) but in the last few weeks I’ve come really close. And as much as I love Divvy getting more people on bikes they are part of the problem. The lights on Divvy bikes are barely visible and sometimes completely non-functional. I’m actually getting really close to going back to the CTA which should tell you how bad things have been. :(
There are more blacked-out parts of the lake front trail north of downtown this year, too.
You already wrote what I wanted to, thanks. I commute back in the dark on the LFP pretty much the entire north stretch. Full of ninjas. However, I have less issue seeing the Divvies, just wish they would stay to the right and not take the entire two lanes...
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