Riding your bike at this time of year when the days are at their shortest – for the Northern Hemisphere at least – can make you nervous about being seen. Bike safety isn’t just about wearing a helmet, bike lights, wearing reflective gear or following the law, it’s also about cycling smart to avoid being hit. To help you cycle more strategically at night, we’ve pulled together some safety tips to help you ride smart in the dark.
Avoid Busy Streets
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they start biking is to take the exact same routes they used when they were driving. It’s usually better to take different streets with fewer and slower cars. Sure, cyclists have a right to the road, but that’s a small consolation when you’re dead. Consider how far you can take this strategy: If you learn your routes well, you’ll find that in many cities you can travel through neighborhoods to get to most places, only crossing the busiest streets rather than traveling on them.
Light Up
Too obvious? Well, if it’s so obvious, then why do most night-time cyclists ride without lights? Bike shops have front and rear lights for $40 or less. Headlights are just as important as rear lights. And modern headlights use LED’s so the batteries last ten times longer than old-school headlights.
To address the “unseen cyclist” at night, The Blaze Laserlight is a beautifully designed bike light with a laser bike projection designed to tackle the biggest cause of cycling fatalities – vehicles turning across an unseen bike. You can preorder
Take The Whole Land When Appropriate
It’s often safer to take the whole lane, or at least ride a little bit to the left, rather than hug the right curb. Here’s why:
- Cars at intersections ahead of you can see you better if you’re squarely in the road rather than on the extreme edge where you’re easily overlooked.
- Taking the lane prevents cars from passing you too closely on narrow roadways.
- Riding a bit to the left prevents you from being a victim of the door prize.
You might worry about slowing down the traffic behind you if you take the lane. But if you’re on the kind of street where you’ve got cars blocked up behind you or constantly changing lanes to get around you, you’re probably on the wrong street and should find a quieter neighborhood street.
Taking the lane works especially well in most traffic circles. The traffic generally moves slower so it’s easy to keep up, riding in the lane makes you more visible to motorists, and taking the lane prevents motorists from right hooking you as they exit the circle.
It’s perfectly legal for you to take the lane when appropriate. Most state laws say you have to ride as far to the right as is “practicable”. Here are some things that make it impracticable to ride to the extreme right:
- You’re in a heavy traffic area with lots of side streets, parking lots, or driveways ahead and to your right. Cars turning left won’t see you because they’re looking for traffic in the middle of the road, not on the extreme edge of the road. Move left.
- Cars are passing you too closely. If the lane is too narrow for cars to pass you safely, then move left and take the whole lane. Getting buzzed by cars is dangerous.
- Cars are parked on the right-hand side of the road. If you ride too close to these you’re gonna get doored when someone gets out of their car. Move left.
There are risks to both riding to the extreme right as well as taking the lane. Whether you ride to the right or take the lane depends on the conditions of the roadway you’re on. On wide roadways with few intersections/driveways, right further right. On narrow roads with lots of intersections, ride farther to the left. It’s not always better to take the lane or to hug the curb; it depends on the roadway you’re on.
Signal Turns
You’re less likely to get hit when your movement doesn’t take motorists by surprise. Let them know you’re about to turn or move left or right by signaling with your arm. Point your left arm out to move left, and point your right arm out to move right. (You might have learned an old way of signaling a right turn with your left arm, but drivers have no idea what that means even when they’ve been tested to know, so it’s useless. Signal a right turn with your right arm. Before signaling left, be sure to check left by look behind you before signaling (since a car passing too closely can take your arm out.
If you’re a smart tech loving type of gal, Lumos is the first smart bike helmet that beautifully integrates lights, hard brake, turn signals, iOS app, and helmet into a single cohesive whole. Thanks to smart gesture-recognition algorithms the Lumos app on your Apple Watch recognizes when you’re making a hand signal and then automatically activates turn signals on your helmet. Or you can simply tap the corresponding button on the included wireless handlebar remote making it easier for drivers to predict your move.
Re-think Head Phones
It’s more important to hear what’s around you when you’re biking than when you’re driving. Whether you want to ride with headphones is your choice, but doing so does increase your risk. Similarly, texting or talking with a mobile phone raises the risk level. When you’re mixing with car traffic, the fewer distractions the better. Also, you’ll want both hands free in case you have to brake suddenly.
Ride Invisibly
It’s often helpful to ride in such a way that motorists won’t hit you even if they don’t see you. You’re not trying to be invisible, you’re trying to make it irrelevant whether cars see you or not. If you ride in such a way that a car has to see you to take action to avoid hitting you (e.g., by their slowing down or changing lanes), then that means they will definitely hit you if they don’t see you. But if you stay out of their way, then you won’t get hit even if they didn’t notice you were there.
On very fast roads cars have less time to see you because they’re approaching so fast. Of course, you should avoid fast roads in the first place if at all possible, unless there’s plenty of room for a car and a bike side by side. And if there IS such room, then on fast roadways, you can practice invisibility by riding to the extreme right. If you’re far enough right that you’re not in the part of the lane the cars are in, then they’ll zoom by and won’t hit you, even if they never saw you.
Here’s another example: It’s a good idea to signal a left turn, but it’s a better idea to make your left turn at a time or place where there aren’t cars behind you that could hit you while you’re stopped and waiting to make that turn. You can hang out in the middle of the street, stopped, with your left arm out, waiting to make your turn, but you’re counting on cars behind you to see you and stop. If they don’t see you, you’re in trouble.
Naturally we don’t advocate running red lights, but if you’re the kind of person who does, then apply the invisibility principle when deciding on whether to run a particular light: Could any cross traffic possibly hit me if I were invisible? If yes, then absolutely don’t do it. Never make a car have to slow down to avoid hitting you (red light or not). Remember, the more you rely on cars to see you to avoid hitting you, the more chances they’ll have to actually do so.
Remember, you’re not trying to BE invisible, you’re just riding with the assumption that cars can’t see you. Of course, you certainly want them to see you, and you should help them with that. That’s why you’ll wave to motorists whom you think might be about to pull out in front of you, and why you’ll be lit up like a Christmas tree at night (front and rear lights).
Remember that in many cases you’ll need to take the lane, in which case you’re counting on motorists to see you.
Other Tips:
– Check your bike for any potential issues before you head out; you don’t want to be stuck on the side of a dark road repairing a chain or without working bike lights. Make sure you know how to do a pre-ride bike inspection.
– Get familiar with your route in the daylight so you can see any obstacles or confusing intersections. If you’re just starting out with night riding, a well-lit bike path can help ease you into it until you feel comfortable enough to tackle darker routes.
– Even with good lights, the occasional pothole will take you by surprise. Keep your weight on your legs rather than your seat to absorb sudden bumps.
– Ride with a buddy when you can, because the old adage of safety in numbers is true.
– Night riding is not the place for your fanciest road bike. Choose something sturdy, preferably with wider tires and mounts for lights and fenders.
Cycling smart in the dark should be easy when bike infrastructure allows for it but don’t count on it to protect you. Always be two steps ahead pedestrians and cars as it’s also your responsibility to consider others safety around you.
Image: Lumos Helmet