Visible on your bicycle

The view from the bike versus from the car
What happens to your vision in the dark? For one, your eyes adapt to different light conditions. As a cyclist, you have a wider field of vision, as you can see (little) ambient light in front of you. Your eyes therefore grow accustomed to the dark, meaning that contours in the surroundings give you sufficient awareness to anticipate your surroundings. The speed in relation to a car is also lower, making anticipating much easier. The field of vision for motorists is much narrower. Because of the strong light of headlights, a motorist can see in detail what is happening right in front of the car. Precisely what happens outside is not (or hardly) visible. This means that a cyclist sees a car much more quickly than a motorist sees a cyclist. Add to this the fact that 42% of Dutch people have difficulty seeing well in the dark. Night blindness is partly a cause of this. Additionally, there is temporary glare, caused by things such as oncoming traffic, which can cause issues for vision. The eyes of a motorist need time to get used to the dark.

Opvallen op de fiets
Now that you know that visibility in the dark can differ between motorists and cyclists, it is important to anticipate this! How do you do that? Use both active and passive lighting. Active lighting is lighting that gives light itself, like your bicycle lamp. Passive lighting, on the other hand, is lighting that lights up when light shines on it. Think of reflectors or reflective (rainwear)clothing. The more you apply, the more you stand out at any given time. The effect of active and passive lighting is shown in the image below. With dark clothing you are visible at 20 metres. Add your reflection on moving parts and you will be visible at 150 metres. With active lighting, on the other hand, you are visible with at least 500 metres!

We have listed these essential bicycle lighting tips for you:
We advise you to always comply with the legal requirements when it comes to bicycle lighting. And beware, that can vary significantly between country. For example, the Dutch requirements are rather light. In Germany on the other hand, there’s a much stricter standard, the StVZO quality mark. As far as we’re concerned, the legal requirements are the bare minimum to consider. Your safety comes first. Therefore, make sure you remain visible at all times.

Bicycle lights aren’t only intended for the night, but also during the day. Why bother switching them on during the daylight hours? We’ve two big reasons you should consider:

1. In the car industry, daytime lighting is a common technology. The lighting is intended to make you more visible during daylight hours. Research has shown that when cars use daytime running lights, they are less likely to be involved in accidents. It is therefore quite logical to put them to use with bicycles. Please note, daytime running lights often consist of a bright and flashing light. This is permitted during the day, but at times you have to use your fixed bicycle lights when running lights are not permitted. As such, your bicycle lights need to be constantly on.


2. You may encounter situations when it’s perfectly light when you begin your bike ride, only for the darkness to quickly descend before you’ve reached your destination. Getting off to switch on your lights is really a must, but it’s not always carried out by cyclists. By switching your bicycle lights to on as a standard, you avoid being surprised by twilight hours, roads with poor visibility, sudden downpours and so on.