Daytime flashing front light: good or bad idea?

Now that the days are becoming increasingly dark, I decided to start using a powerful flashing front light. Today an old guy in a parked car, as I approched, shouted "that front light is ridiculous!" The tone of his voice was that he thought it a bad thing. But is it?

 

My experience to date is that riding down a narrow suburban street with parked cars both side, is more likely to persuade an oncoming car to patiently wait while I pass, rather than just keep on coming which forces me to pull in where possible. For me this is a plus. Also out on narrow and dark country roads, I consider it essential.

 

I would appreciate thoughts on this. Also what's the legal situation if any?

Don't know the legality but flashing or not, I do know some cyclist front lights are too bright and actually dazzle , making them potentially dangerous IMO.

Turn on full in fog maybe. but not normal conditions.

Bad idea. I think it could potentially cause an accident as the lights could affect other drivers vision as well as those who have epilepsy and other medical conditions. Also, when the light flashes off (intermittently) the rider would be invisible and it only takes a split second to not see you, thus resulting in an accident too.

Edited November 25, 20205 yr by UrbanPuma

I ride in low light with a constant front light and rear strobing or constant one, In day light no light.

I got the free seesense lights, I use them, flashing lights draw attention, I'd rather be seen. I seriously doubt the flash rate would trigger epilepsy or get missed on the off beat by someone looking up the road. I'd say a glance of such brevity isn't long enough anyway.

From British Cycling:

Do I need lights during the day?

Whether you should have lights on during the day is a contentious issue amongst cyclists with one camp singing their praises for increasing visibility and the other decrying that, like helmets and hi-viz clothing, they put an unfair onus of responsibility on cyclists. Although studies have shown some of the possible benefits of daytime running lights, we feel that they should be viewed as an additional option to the fundamentals of positioning in the road, good road-craft, group riding skills and a bit of common sense.

Don't know the legality but flashing or not, I do know some cyclist front lights are too bright and actually dazzle , making them potentially dangerous IMO.

Turn on full in fog maybe. but not normal conditions.

Some people adjust their front lights far too high, and with the great modern LED lights, that maybe the cause of the problems with opposing drivers. Which is partially why I have two, one is for distance and the other basically is as though it was dipped.

Though the main reason for having two was that on my first e-bike, when the battery was "empty", it shut down the front light! Really great at night!!!

I now use only lights, front and back, with batteries in them....and I use rechargeable cells.

Having one front light flash, as long as its correctly adjusted, sounds like a good idea, especially if you want to be noticed, though I have never considered it at any great length myself, with or without flash!

I want to see what the consensus here is as well.....

Regards

Andy

I got the free seesense lights, I use them, flashing lights draw attention, I'd rather be seen. I seriously doubt the flash rate would trigger epilepsy or get missed on the off beat by someone looking up the road. I'd say a glance of such brevity isn't long enough anyway.

If someone is sensitive to epilepsy and flashing lights, I doubt that they will get a driving license!

So many things flash from ambulances and police cars and people using them as turning indicators......

I would rather like to see bike riders with lights of any sort, too many ride dark!

regards

Andy

I know some lights on flashing mode will supposedly use less battery - but I sometimes find my own front flashing light quite distracting so tend not to use that option.

This LINK seems to know the regulations.

I use flashing lights back and front , with the front angled down so as not to dazzle . I bet the Motorist who complained has dazzled a few in his time , probably us Cyclists .

Of course at the other extreme, when was the last time you saw the authorities cracking down on the lack of ANY lights on a bike in the evenings.

Some of (if not all) the Reise & Muller e-bikes have dip/main beam front lights, as well as actual brake lights on the back, which shock the heck out of motorists who have barely got used to the concept of brake lights on cars.

He saw you, right? Job done!

 

However, overly bright bike front lights are a pain. A few I've seen were equivalent to a car's full beam, and stop you seeing details other than the light, which in turn increases the risk to both the lit bike and the oncoming road user.

Not a fan of flashing lights tbh and re headlights in particular, have seen some pretty distracting ones.

 

Have read some (albeit anecdotal) mentions on social media of flashing bike lights not being kind to those with epilepsy. Whether just in terms of causing anxiety rather than fits I dunno.

From British Cycling:

Do I need lights during the day?

Whether you should have lights on during the day is a contentious issue amongst cyclists with one camp singing their praises for increasing visibility and the other decrying that, like helmets and hi-viz clothing, they put an unfair onus of responsibility on cyclists. Although studies have shown some of the possible benefits of daytime running lights, we feel that they should be viewed as an additional option to the fundamentals of positioning in the road, good road-craft, group riding skills and a bit of common sense.

From the same report: a fairly clear endorsement of daytime lights (doesn't say flashing or steady):

The incidence rate, including all recorded bicycle accidents with personal injury to the participating cyclist, is 19% lower for cyclists with permanent running lights mounted; indicating that the permanent bicycle running light significantly improves traffic safety for cyclists. The study shows that use of permanent bicycle running lights reduces the occurrence of multiparty accidents involving cyclists significantly

I got the free seesense lights, I use them, flashing lights draw attention, I'd rather be seen. I seriously doubt the flash rate would trigger epilepsy or get missed on the off beat by someone looking up the road. I'd say a glance of such brevity isn't long enough anyway.

Flashing rate should be legally 60-240 according to the above link. It doesn't state how tthese figures were arrived at, or by whom, or whether epilepsy was taken into consideration for the figures.

Flashing ones at night as a sole means of lighting in the country can be dangerous. Esp when tipsy! I cam back after a party and it was like being in the end stroboscopic sequence of the Alien movie. As a result I missed the curve on a country lane as it suddnly jumped out of nowhere at me resulting in me falling into the some bushes laughing away.

 

Next time I did anything simlar I still had the flashing light but with a bright fixed beam light.

Now that the days are becoming increasingly dark, I decided to start using a powerful flashing front light. Today an old guy in a parked car, as I approched, shouted "that front light is ridiculous!" The tone of his voice was that he thought it a bad thing. But is it?

 

My experience to date is that riding down a narrow suburban street with parked cars both side, is more likely to persuade an oncoming car to patiently wait while I pass, rather than just keep on coming which forces me to pull in where possible. For me this is a plus. Also out on narrow and dark country roads, I consider it essential.

 

I would appreciate thoughts on this. Also what's the legal situation if any?

Just the result you wanted, you were noticed.

The hire bikes in Swansea have steady lights on at all times of the day.

If someone is sensitive to epilepsy and flashing lights, I doubt that they will get a driving license!

Yep, but passengers of other vehicles? Pedestrians?

 

And just googled. It is a thing Peeps. >>> https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/photosensitive-epilepsy

People should Google before grumbling, sorry if it takes the joy out of grumbling.

 

"The frequency or speed of flashing light that is most likely to cause seizures varies from person to person. Generally, flashing lights most likely to trigger seizures are between the frequency of 5 to 30 flashes per second (Hertz). The likelihood of such conditions combining to trigger a seizure is small."

 

So no problem!

I always just relied on the wired in manufacturers front and rear lights on my ebikes. On most, though the front is a bit pathetic, so I then supplemented the fitted lights with battery operated front and rear, until I got fed up shelling out for batteries. I have recently opted for a USB rechargeable set of Lezyne lights front and rear which are amazing. In fact there are probably too many options - 9 for the front light, and 11 for the rear (inc 6 flashing options!!). Max front output is 600 lumens. I am convinced that the flashing front options greatly enhance visibility even in daytime and happily use them although I do keep them angled down to avoid dazzling oncoming motorists. The use of the front light on max 600 lumens steady illumination tends to be self limiting due to current useage. For daylight riding 400 lumens properly adjusted flashing at the front seems a good compromise.

My 10pence worth

I ride with a daytime flashing light and on my travels I see many other cyclists with lights, as i approach them some are dim and only noticeable when they are really close while occasionally some are so bright they glare and obscure the surrounding area. The most noticeable lights (without being a hazard) are the bright flashing type.

if you’re interested in how effective your light are rather Than looking at them close up, try propping you bike up and walking a few hundred feet away so you can see how a fellow road user sees them.

DRL (daytime running lights) are a good idea that’s why they are a legal requirement on all modern cars, so why shouldn’t we be using them on our bikes ?

My 10pence worth

I ride with a daytime flashing light and on my travels I see many other cyclists with lights, as i approach them some are dim and only noticeable when they are really close while occasionally some are so bright they glare and obscure the surrounding area. The most noticeable lights (without being a hazard) are the bright flashing type.

if you’re interested in how effective your light are rather Than looking at them close up, try propping you bike up and walking a few hundred feet away so you can see how a fellow road user sees them.

DRL (daytime running lights) are a good idea that’s why they are a legal requirement on all modern cars, so why shouldn’t we be using them on our bikes ?

Wow! you are expensive, Gringo! Up North, it was always two penn'orth! . Inflation, I suppose!

Just my experiences

I experimented over two years whilst travelling along 10 miles of single track country road. I just could not believe that oncoming motorists could not see me, as 90%+ just kept coming & forcing me to give way.

I tried a single solid light, then flashing before settling on using small flashing lights on the back of mirrors affixed to the edges of the handlebars.

Result now All vehicles now either slow down or stop.

I do not like the flashing headlights of other cyclists as they are too bright.