Bicycle Safety and LED Lights

Well folks, technology is great!  Mind you, I do not mean that in terms of getting access to the latest smartphone or shiny new iPad or android tablet….Sure those are great tools and also devices that offer an incredible amount of entertainment and channel for learning, but this time I am writing about something much more pedestrian BUT at the same time a device that could save your life (if you are biking for example)

Earlier today, after quite a bit of research, I ordered my new red LED light — Planet Bike Blinky, and by next weekend plan to provide you with a nice review of its capabilities and a short video of how it works in the day time and in the dark.   Based on what I have been reading, the light provides for about 100 hours of operation, which was one of the key attraction points for me, and second — supposedly a much brighter LEDs vs previous models.   So will see…

Now, why am I writing a whole article about this?  Well, it is important — turns out (as some of you probably already know), bicycles are really tough to spot on the roads.  I prefer biking in the parks on mountain bike trails but even so every so often I tend to get on the local roads as well in order to just exercise or go and meet friends.   Havind said that, the importance of us bicyclists being visible on the road is extremely important.  

The visbility aspect is especially important at dusk / late in the afternoon when the light changes and drivers tend to have a lot more difficulty detecting a bicycle on the road.  Another factor is the degree of congestion and busy conditions on the road — the more other vehicles are on the road the less likely is that a driver will detect a bicycle near by.  

So we really need to make all efforts possible to increase the bicycle visibility — and a flashing red light on the back of your bike is CERTAINLY a step in that direction.

Well, enough for today — I will report on the light once I have had a chance to test it next weekend.

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