Red Blinkie Lights

Topic: Aim your Red Blinkie Light!

One of the greatest safety inventions for bicycles has to be the little red blinkie light. They are bright, the batteries last forever, and the are effective for their intended purpose. However, this article is just a reminder to let you know that these blinkie-lights are meant to be aimed toward the direction that the traffic is coming from. Used properly, they are very effective in early warning, but aimed incorrectly, they are essentially useless.

An example occurred this past weekend, the weekend after Thanksgiving. I was returning from Georgia from a few extra days with my folks, and down in rural South Carolina I came up behind a guy on a road bike at about 7:45 PM. It was dark, and he had on reflective tights, but no reflectors or rear lights on the bike -- or so I thought. As I passed him, I saw a red blinkie-light like so many of us use. It was clipped onto his Camelback strap. They way it was mounted made is essentially useless for its intended purpose. It was neither acting as a reflector or a light the way it was clipped and aimed toward the middle of the road.

If you have a red blinkie light, please mount it where it will be most effective in warning oncoming motorists of your presence. I prefer to mount them on my seat tube. I personally have one on each bike, but you can get several reflector mounts if you only have one light and several bikes that you rode in the winter. If you clip it on your jersey or Camelback, have a friend check that it is pointed toward the traffic, not the sky or road.

As a person who has ridden a lot at night commuting, I have the following suggestions:

Wrap your crank arms with reflective tape. The up and down motion is most effective in attracting attention. Most clipless pedals do not have reflectors on them any way. An ankle reflector band also serves the same purpose.
A spot of reflector tape on your rim every third or fourth space between the spokes is also a very effective attention getter. Car lights from behind show especially well.
A red SMV (slow moving vehicle) symbol is also good, specially in rural areas where farm equipment is so prevalent. The cars think tractor, not bike, and slow down.
Use the strongest light you can afford. Mainly to be seen, not necessarily to see with, especially in town where your are competing with auto lights and streetlights.
Mount a white strobe on the front of your seat tube. It attracts attention from almost all angles except directly behind, and if you have your blinkie-light properly aimed, that takes care of the back.

Charlie Clogston uses theis a VistaLite Total Eclipse rear flasher on his road bike. It costs about $18, but is well worth the money. It is far superior to any other rear bike light. The manufacturer's description reads in part, "A whole lotta flash in a tiny package. Seven disco-bright LED's and three modes provide more visibility than a fireworks show. Smooth, rounded shape increases side visibility..."

Ride safe out there!!

David L. Lee
Asheville, NC

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