Cycle Safety At Night

Cycling is a wonderful way to keep fit, to travel in a sustainable manner and to avoid much of the congestion involved in a daily commute by train or tube.

It’s fun, liberating and practical. Unfortunately other drivers on the road are not always respectful of their responsibilities with their vehicles and that can make it dangerous.

Cycling at night can be perfectly safe if you take the right precautions. To avoid any damaging incidents you need to be prepared by making yourself visible to drivers.

Always wear a helmet

It may sound obvious, perhaps even like borderline nagging, but many cyclist think they don’t need to wear a helmet. The misconception that being a safe cyclist is the same as not being on the road with other unsafe drivers can be a deadly one.

In the interests of safety a helmet is always essential. A light knock can end badly without one and none of us want to have to spend a fortnight off our bicycles because of that, or worse.

Here is a beginners guide to good helmets should you not have one already or are looking to update to your safest option.

Don’t forget your reflective gear and lights

Cycling around at night dressed in black is a fairly clear no-no as the dark shade makes you more difficult to see. Help other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to spot you more easily by wearing high visibility reflective gear.

This could include a luminous jacket or just a few reflective bands which you can attach to your cuffs or sleeves.

If you are going to cycle in the evenings or at night then make sure you have bike lights, both some reflectors and actual lights. You can choose from different kinds depending on your needs, either so you can be seen or to light your way.

Keeping a set of spare LED lights with you,  just in case your main ones break, is wise if you are cycling regularly.

Obey the speed limit, even if you’re in a rush

Especially when you are running late or are rushing to get to your destination, the urge to weave between vehicles on the road can be overwhelming. But rushing and not obeying the speed limit is dangerous. Not just for you but for other road users.

Even on an electric bike, you need to make sure you have a safe stopping time. For example cycling at 10mph will give you a stopping distance of around 6 metres and at 15mph it is 11 metres.