This is the personal blog of Paul Petch a self professed outdoor addict, reformed graphic designer, picture taker & IT geek living in Christchurch NZ. While you are here why not subscribe to my tweets, Flickr, RSS and Vimeo?


Riding at night on the road- safe or not?

I’ve been thinking of late that I prefer to commute at night. I have mates and family who think riding my bike in the dark is just dangerous. People I talk to at work are convinced that riding my stead at night is plain asking for it and think I’m crazy. I tend to disagree :)

If I miss the rush hour- it is relatively peaceful out there and cruisy spins after the gym just seem magical at night and arguably safer than during the day. In fact I often stay back late at work just get ride back at this time :) Obviously, if you’re going to ride in the dark, you are going to need high quality front and rear lights. I also have strips of reflective tape here and there on my commuter bikes and in particular on the side of the frame and forks. The pannier bags actually came with some reflective “bits” on them to which helps. I’m positive that car drivers give me more room and slow down earlier at night due to the “road hazard” effect that the tape and flashing lights gives. This tape cost me about $15.00 from my local bike shop and it’s worth every cent – I highly recommend it.

With proper lighting and a little more care, riding in the dark can be as safe as riding during daylight hours, and I’d even say that outside of the early or evening madness on the roads it may be the safest time to commute….and it’s peaceful too :)

What are your thoughts on commuting at night?

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  5. First night ride at Port Hills

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 at 7:55 pm and is filed under Bike Stuff and tagged with . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

6 Responses to “Riding at night on the road- safe or not?”

  1. Antoine says:
    June 22, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    I don’t finish work until 10pm and definitely feel safer riding home at that hour than 9.30am on the way to work. I look like a bloody jumbo-jet landing with blinkies on the front and back of my helmet, a blinding rear blinky on my rear rack, a strong flashing headlight and various reflective bits on my bike, clothes, tyres and ankles.

    I do worry about being taken out by a drunk-driver but it’s so quiet in the burbs you can hear the cars approaching at that time of the night.

    Reply
    • Paul says:
      June 23, 2009 at 4:03 pm

      Nice :) 10pm would be quiet as…..but man that’s a late finish :/ When I first got the Fargo, I rode it a few days without the reflective tape. It was really noticeable- that cars slowed down later vs when I put it on. Once you get over how daggy it can look, it is far safer I reckon.

      Have you seen these? Hokey Spokes…..

      Reply
  2. Antoine says:
    June 23, 2009 at 7:11 pm

    What I really want (apart from a Down-Low-Glow neon set-up) is some of that black reflective tape I come across occasionally on the internet. Works just like the silver or yellow stuff but is black in daylight.

    Reply
  3. Rick says:
    July 8, 2009 at 6:43 am

    I have just stitched some reflective tape to the back of my backpak. My jackets has some small pieces, but this new strip is ‘roadwork’ quality 3M stuff. I have definitely noticed that cars give me more room.

    Reply

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