Lighting etiquette for mainly bike path

[bychosis]

Plus one on using a steady beam on the roads so they think I’m a motorbike. I assume that drivers think a bicycle is slow and they will have time to pull out in front of me. If they think I’m a motor bike they think I’m 1: faster and 2: heavier and will cause more damage.

[andrewjcw]

I'm also in the steady camp, at least for the front. The big reason other than it being annoying is I find it much harder to gauge distance/direction/speed of a flashing light compared to a steady light. For the rear flashing is ok as long as it isn't super bright and seizure inducing.

[owly]

Thanks all for the tips. Very helpful.

[Duck!]

I'm also in the steady camp, at least for the front. The big reason other than it being annoying is I find it much harder to gauge distance/direction/speed of a flashing light compared to a steady light.

Definitely. The slower the flash rate, the harder it is to judge.

While driving one night a few weekes ago, a came upon a cyclist who had what I consider a downright dangerous - to him - rear light. It would give two quick flashes, but then had a really long interval before the next pair of flashes, so he's disappear for several seconds, and a cyclist at speed can cover a lot of ground in that time. Plus with such a long dark phase, you don't immediately recognise it as a bike at first sight.

[ValleyForge]

I only recently discovered the German sTVZO standard specifies a steady rear light. Being a fan of flashing rear lights (Lupine Rotlicht), made me wonder. The logic is a steady rear light helps motorists to judge distance better.

Seems legit.

[RobertL]

Plus one on using a steady beam on the roads so they think I’m a motorbike. I assume that drivers think a bicycle is slow and they will have time to pull out in front of me. If they think I’m a motor bike they think I’m 1: faster and 2: heavier and will cause more damage.

And...
3. Might be a big scary bikie who will cause them physical harm.

[AdelaidePeter]

Plus one on using a steady beam on the roads so they think I’m a motorbike. I assume that drivers think a bicycle is slow and they will have time to pull out in front of me. If they think I’m a motor bike they think I’m 1: faster and 2: heavier and will cause more damage.

But on the minus side, they might feel less inclined to give you a metre when passing. (Admittedly this applies mostly to the tail light).

Anyway, on my way home in twilight tonight I counted 14 flashing rear lights (plus 1 on a pedestrian) and 0 non-flashing ones, on paths. Front lights were a mix and I lost count.

[bychosis]

Plus one on using a steady beam on the roads so they think I’m a motorbike. I assume that drivers think a bicycle is slow and they will have time to pull out in front of me. If they think I’m a motor bike they think I’m 1: faster and 2: heavier and will cause more damage.

But on the minus side, they might feel less inclined to give you a metre when passing. (Admittedly this applies mostly to the tail light).

Anyway, on my way home in twilight tonight I counted 14 flashing rear lights (plus 1 on a pedestrian) and 0 non-flashing ones, on paths. Front lights were a mix and I lost count.

Perhaps I should have clarified. My comment was for front lighting. I usually have blinking rear because it says ‘slow bicycle’

[g-boaf]

I only recently discovered the German sTVZO standard specifies a steady rear light. Being a fan of flashing rear lights (Lupine Rotlicht), made me wonder. The logic is a steady rear light helps motorists to judge distance better.

Seems legit.

Since when did Australia get a Deutsches Institut für Normung? Or when did DIN get authority over our Standards Australia?

[AndreB1972]

Plus one on using a steady beam on the roads so they think I’m a motorbike. I assume that drivers think a bicycle is slow and they will have time to pull out in front of me. If they think I’m a motor bike they think I’m 1: faster and 2: heavier and will cause more damage.

I sometimes commute on a motorbike and the attitude towards them is similar to a bicycle. I frequently get SMIDSY and clueless behaviour, so not sure that will help you...

I noticed some of the newer rear lights have a pulse function, so its always on, but then dims slightly so you get the change of intensity to distinguish you from the rest of the traffic. Not sure if they work, but they appear to be less intense for bike path use, but still attention grabbing when you switch to the road.

[AdelaidePeter]

Another thought as I rode home tonight (where the numbers I counted were 6 solid front lights, 10 flashing front lights): on most routes I know, the bike path crosses some roads, and occasionally uses the roads. Twice tonight, an oncoming car driver had to see me and give way. So I was glad to have my front light flashing, because it helps visibility.

So for "mainly bike path" - implying some interaction with roads - I'm leaving both lights on flashing. Perhaps it would be different if it's 100% off road or the path had zero lighting.

[Thoglette]

I only recently discovered the German sTVZO standard specifies a steady rear light. Being a fan of flashing rear lights (Lupine Rotlicht), made me wonder. The logic is a steady rear light helps motorists to judge distance better.

Seems legit.

Since when did Australia get a Deutsches Institut für Normung? Or when did DIN get authority over our Standards Australia?

Since when did NSW get authority over the rest of the country to allow flashing bike lights in the first place ? (Actually, I know the answer to that.)

And I also know what the ADRs say about flashing lights: they are for emergency vehicles only.

Mind you, if we were to drop our "but Australia is so special" viewpoint the DIN standards would make some sense. After all, Standards Australia has been moving everything to mirror IEC standards. They're still called AS/NZS but they're IEC. No prizes for guessing where the royalties go, either.

[NASHIE]

Another thought as I rode home tonight (where the numbers I counted were 6 solid front lights, 10 flashing front lights): on most routes I know, the bike path crosses some roads, and occasionally uses the roads. Twice tonight, an oncoming car driver had to see me and give way. So I was glad to have my front light flashing, because it helps visibility.

So for "mainly bike path" - implying some interaction with roads - I'm leaving both lights on flashing. Perhaps it would be different if it's 100% off road or the path had zero lighting.

i ride solid all round, but don't really mind flashing, If they not the super bright, pointing in your face type. I get the same sort of numbers 30%-40% solid, 40-50% flashing and 10% ninja. Out of the flashing 10-20% are very distracting and i let them know. Worst are the guys with a solid and a flashing pointing straight at your head.

[g-boaf]

I only recently discovered the German sTVZO standard specifies a steady rear light. Being a fan of flashing rear lights (Lupine Rotlicht), made me wonder. The logic is a steady rear light helps motorists to judge distance better.

Seems legit.

Since when did Australia get a Deutsches Institut für Normung? Or when did DIN get authority over our Standards Australia?

Since when did NSW get authority over the rest of the country to allow flashing bike lights in the first place ? (Actually, I know the answer to that.)

And I also know what the ADRs say about flashing lights: they are for emergency vehicles only.

Mind you, if we were to drop our "but Australia is so special" viewpoint the DIN standards would make some sense. After all, Standards Australia has been moving everything to mirror IEC standards. They're still called AS/NZS but they're IEC. No prizes for guessing where the royalties go, either.

When did NSW ever do anything about allowing or disallowing flashing bike lights?

I do dislike flashing front lights at night, they are very bad. I'll only have mine flashing in conditions where there is already adequate ambient light around that they won't be irritating. Otherwise they are on solid. I'm not now commuting at the times when I need to worry about riding in absolute darkness and I'm not riding at night anymore so I don't have to worry about that anyway.

[Duck!]

Since when did NSW get authority over the rest of the country to allow flashing bike lights in the first place ? (Actually, I know the answer to that.)

And I also know what the ADRs say about flashing lights: they are for emergency vehicles only.

ADRs (Australian Design Rules) are not road rules. The road rules state that bike lights may be steady or flashing.

[Thoglette]

ADRs (Australian Design Rules) are not road rules. The road rules NOW state that bike lights may be steady or flashing.

Fixed that for you.

[Duck!]

Road rules have had the steady or flashing option for bike lights for quite some time.

[Shred11]

I love my German B&M Ixon IQ front light for commuting on shared paths in darkness. Most bike lights sold in this country would be illegal on German roads. The German lights have more sophisticated optics - like a car headlight. It puts most of the light down on the path in front of me, where it's needed, but still scatters some light up so that I "can be seen".

Having said all that, my regular commute starts with about 3km of fast (50km/h) downhill riding on a moderately busy main road through an urban area. It's not uncommon for drivers (particularly those in SUVs) to reverse out of their driveways on cold Winter mornings with all the windows covered in dew or frost. I guess these special people rely on seeing the car headlights through the murk and have no idea that there are other non motorised road users traveling at relatively high speeds. On that section of my commute, I have a blinky front light "set to stun". I suspect that it has now saved me from a few collisions.

Once I leave the road and start on the shared path, I have both the front and rear lights set to low brightness and constantly on. The pedestrians and other cyclists seem to appreciate it.