According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, you're much more likely to die in an accident involving your bike and a motor vehicle at night than you are during the day. Bright safety lights can make the difference between being seen while riding at night and being hit by a car, the commission notes.
Light Safety Information
In tests of nighttime bike light visibility and safety, the CPSC determined that a car's driver needs to see a bike as much as 800 feet ahead in order to stop in time, assuming the car is traveling at 40 miles per hour. Other research shows that bikes appear less visible to cars approaching them from the side. According to the commission, the research argues for recommending the brightest possible safety lights for bikes.
Front Lights
Bikes should use bright front headlights capable of producing a wide-width beam that illuminates far enough ahead to keep up with the bike's speed, according to the CPSC. If you want a light-weight bike light, consider LED bike light products, according to LEDLights.org. LED bike lights tend to be lighter since they require less battery power for the same amount of light.
Rear Lights
For rear or taillights on your bike, consider purchasing a bright flashing red light fixture. According to the CPSC, which tested various bike light configurations, red flashing lights stood out better from background lighting than steady red lights or red reflectors. You can purchase red flashing LED bike lights or incandescent red bike lights.
Considerations
When using your bike as transportation at night, high-quality bike lights will help improve your safety, but you also will need to carefully monitor the traffic around you and drive defensively to avoid an accident, according to the CPSC. Even the best bike lights won't prevent all nighttime accidents between bikes and motor vehicles, the commission says. Take special care in crossing situations, since the commission determined drivers have the most difficulty seeing bicycles in those situations.
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