Are Bike Lights Effective?

April 05, 2022 5 min read

Bike lights are essential for safety at night. They provide visibility to drivers and pedestrians alike, allowing them to see you better. Are bike lights effective?

Bicycle accidents are common during nighttime hours. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 4,500 bicyclists die each year in traffic crashes. In addition, nearly 2 million injuries occur annually due to bicycle accidents.

There are two types of bike lights: front and rear. Front lights illuminate the road ahead of you, while rear lights illuminate behind you. Both types of lights should be installed according to manufacturer instructions so that they are secured properly to your bike. 

It is important to make sure that you illuminate yourself on the road, both in the day and the night. This will help to keep you and other drivers safe and reduce the number of crashes that are experienced every year. Using bike lights can make a huge difference in protecting not only yourself but other people who are using the road. 

If you want to know more about how effective bike lights are, find out more below. 

When Should You Use The Lights?

In the morning during dawn and dusk, the natural daylight can be a lot darker than later on during the day. Use your front and rear blinkers to help keep you visible at this time so you can be safe on the road.

When you are cycling at sunrise or sunset, you will need to appear more visible, so a bright front headlight with tail lights will help you to remain visible to traffic. 

Should You Use Bike Lights During the Day?

In the daylight, some cyclists feel that it is unnecessary to have their lights on. They believe that blinking front lights in the daytime can cause more distraction rather than approve their safety. However, some people prefer to cycle in the daylight with their lights on to make sure that they are very visible to motorists. 

Some cyclists also believed that having their lights on during the day was draining their light batteries. Due to this, they prefer to only have their bicycle lights on during the nighttime when they want to make sure that they are visible to motorists and pedestrians to prevent accidents. 


What To Look For In Bike Lights

When you go to purchase bicycle lights, there are a few things to look out for to make sure that they are the right lights for you. 

Bike lights can be difficult to purchase, especially as a first-time buyer. You want to make sure that you remain safe by being visible to motorists, but you don't want the lights to be too bright and cause motorists to become blinded by the light. 

The brightness of bicycle lights is measured as lumens. The higher the lumen, the brighter the light. Some cyclists believe that the brighter the lights, the more visible you are, but it is the opposite. Bike lights like have 1000 lumen or even 10,000 lumens, you will need to avoid these as they will be too bright for motorists to see.

The E9 Bike Light Set from Everbeam includes all of the lights that you need to remain safe on the road. The lights have a maximum brightness of 300 lumens and a low beam of 180 lumens. These lights are bright enough for you to be seen in the road, but not too bright that other drivers and cyclists are blinded. 

When Should You Use Flashing Lights?

The flashing feature on a bike light is a great feature for remaining visible, but can you overuse it? The main problem with flashing lights is that they make it very hard for motorists to judge the distance between you and them. 

This can cause more accidents than usual as motorists may think you are further away than you are, and you may not be able to properly see the car. 

Despite flashing lights causing some problems for both you and motorists, they do make you extremely visible to drivers. As well as being visible to other drives, it is important to remain visible to other cyclists to avoid any collisions. It is a good idea to only use flashing lights that have 300 lumens as any brighter can cause issues for other cyclists and drivers. 

The best time to use flashing lights on a bike is in the daylight. This is because motorists find it easier to spot cyclists on busy roads, so using the flashing light can help to make you more visible and to make others aware of your presence on the road. 

Even if your flashing light is bright in the daylight, it won't appear as bright as it would in the dark. It is still recommended that you have a lower number of lumens, but keep in mind that you want others to see you in the daylight, not just in the dark. 

Lights Without Flashes

The Everbeam E6 Tail Light doesn't flash and isn't too bright that it will blind other people on the road. The light is adjustable so you can position it perfectly to make sure that you are seen and it can last for up to 9 hours, making it perfect to use on commutes or cycling trips. There is a USB charging port included with the light that allows you to charge it overnight for optimum brightness.

This tail light from Everbeam is also weather-resistant, meaning that it won't become damaged in the rain. You will still be able to be seen in the rain as the brightness isn't affected by the weather. This means that you can stay visible in poor weather to make sure that accidents don't happen, making yourself and the road a safer place. 

Can You Get Rechargeable Lights?

If you do not want to use a front light on your bike, there are other options available to make sure that you remain visible to others on the road. Everbeam's E200 LED Safety Lights that you can attach either to yourself, your bike, or your helmet. The lights are waterproof and smaller in size than front lights, but they are still bright and allow you to be seen on the road. 

The Everbeam E2000 LED Safety Lights come with built-in batteries that are rechargeable and they last for several hours. They are also waterproof so you can use them during any weather conditions without worrying about them becoming damaged, unwearable, or broken. 

Final Thoughts

To conclude, bike lights are a very important piece of equipment to make sure that you remain safe on the road. However, it is important to remember that you should always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, and you should never ride at night without wearing a headlight. If you follow these guidelines, then you will be much less likely to get into an accident. 

By wearing lights to keep you visible, you are not only keeping yourself safe but others on the road. So, whether you're commuting to work every day or going out for a leisurely ride through the park, it is important to make sure that you have the right lights for your needs.