Nightriding - Is Bicycling Safer at Night?

7/25/14 254lbs, 54 pounds lost since 8/30/11
Night Spin last night

Last night was 100% ideal for a night ride. Temperature dipped into the low 90s (sounds funny, but low 90s without the sun beating down can be an awesome temperature for exercise) and the wind was very light. I wasn't the only person that thought the weather was ideal, though. The streets were full of cyclists and the park I rode by, and sat in for a while, was packed with runners and walkers.

As far as collision-risk, bicycling is safer at night. Or at least I think so. The name of the game when riding on these city streets is to see and be seen, and night riding, if done correctly, is better than daytime riding on both fronts.

Face it - Riding a bike as much as many of us do is really a game of "Dodge Car". Have you ever heard of "Dodge Ball"? You get the idea. There's texters and phone-talkers not concentrating on where they're going, people that hold the odd belief that bicycles don't belong on the streets that buzz us, etc. Riding safely means being incredibly sensitive and observant. We rate every car we see on a danger-meter. Riding at night gives us an advantage, because cars with lights on at night are more visible to us that cars in the daytime. Cars with lights on can be seen around blind corners, because of the beam of the headlight. With greater awareness of where the cars are, it's easier to plan safe moves on the bike.

For example, if I want to make a legal left turn from a 4-lane road, at night using my mirror I can glance and know where the cars, if any, are that are coming up from behind, and move into the left lane for the turn with confidence. During the daytime, what's going on behind is less clear.

Then there's the most important thing: Lighting on the bike. Ask Bonnie, and ask those people that encounter me while I'm riding: My lights, both front and rear, are bright. I am definitely not one of those "ninja" style of cyclists that ride without lighting; it is very, very clear when I ride that I can see (the road is very lit up in front of the Black Knight!) and I am seen by motorists and other cyclists.

I can tell it's safer for me at night by how motorists respond. When coming up on me from behind, they swing waaaay out into the street to avoid me, or follow from a safe distance. During the day, I don't get that type of respect. Cars in front of me never impede me. They never back out from driveways, and the always hide behind stop signs. Recently (about a month ago?) I pulled up to a stop sign on two separate occasions and opposing drivers stopped, even though they had the right-of-way, to let me go through the intersection.

Last night, as I was ending my ride, I sat on "my" park bench at Edgemere Park, and watched some other cyclists ride by. Some were lit up pretty good, while others were playing the "Bike Ninja" game. Why ride after dark on dark city streets without reflectors and lighting? I don't understand the logic, I guess.

Oh well. See you on the bike!