How to Bike Safely After Dark

photo credit: Jule_Berlin

If you find you have to bike after dark there are some significant things you can do to bike safely in a time where it is much harder to see cyclists. Here are some tips that wil help you bike safely after dark.

Ride familiar, well lit paths.

Part of being safe on a bicycle is feeling confident and comfortable on your bike. This is especially true when it comes to riding after dark. A big part of feeling comfortable on your bike comes from being in familiar territory. Stick to rides you are familiar with and are well lit and you will feel more confident from the get go.

Tail lights.

Considering people who really need to see you will be coming at you from behind it is really important to make sure you can be seen from the back. This is where tail lights come in. You can get tail lights in a wide price range, but remember visibility is the key. There are some that are reflector, and there are some strobe rear tail lights. Both offer different benefits and it wouldn’t hurt to have both. You can also use the strobe tail lights for the back of your helmet. It’s always nice to have more than one way to get noticed.

Headlights:

Being able to see where you are going is a huge part of staying safe while riding your bike after dark. This is where headlights come in. You can spend a relatively small amount of money on a headlight, but remember this is what you are going to see with. You want to make sure you get one that is bright. If you get a cheap headlight you will find it’s pretty easy to overdrive the light, which leaves you in a difficult place while you’re trying to get where you’re going.

Reflective Tape:

Reflective tape is the night rider’s best friend. You can put it on just about any and every part of your body creating greater visibility for you and your bike.  A couple must have locations for reflective tape are:

ankles: the movement of your feet will be easy to see and draw attention to you.

Helmet: put a strip around the back of your helmet, this will be eye level to the driver and easy to see.

Clothing: put it on your clothing in a way that will be easy to see.

Reflective Clothing:

This is another option that will help people see you. Choosing reflective clothing, both for day and night time riding can be a great way to make yourself more visible on the road.  You can get high visibility yellow for your jerseys and other riding clothes. This is like the color from a yellow highlighter and will be highly visible in the night.

Being alert:

One of the most important things you can do to stay safe while biking at night is to stay alert. You have to be aware of your surroundings, alert to the road conditions in front of you, as well as highly aware of what is coming up behind you. Whether riding in the day or night, being alert will be your greatest weapon to stay safe on a ride.

Follow the rules of the road:

As a cyclist you are considered a vehicle, and being a vehicle you need to make sure you follow the rules of the road. This is never more true than at night. When you are less visible it is more important to follow traffic laws, like stopping for lights and stop signs  and riding with traffic. Cars will have even more trouble seeing you than during daylight hours so following the rules of the road will help you stay safe.

Biking at night can be a fun adventure, in fact, there are rides available that take place completely after dark, the key to staying safe is making sure you do everything in your power to make sure everyone else can see you, and you can see the road.