night time road riding versus day time riding incidents

[jamaris]

Does anyone know of any statistics of night time road riding versus day time riding incidents??

Like for those folks who wake up super early and use big lights compared to those riding at day time, are there more accidents with cars or less with night time riding? based on percentage, not number of incidents.

just curious if anyone know of any data, or even anecdotal? do you feel safer, less safe? etc

[Nooch]

I ride in the dark, most of the time. I feel safer in the morning, less safe during the evening rush hour when everyone is trying to get out of the office and back home...

My wife and I go back and forth on this at least once a year, where I tell her (jokingly/to get a rise out of her) that 'It's fine, hun, I'll just ride to job 1, then ride to job 2 and ride home when I get out at 10pm' -- She has a bigger issue with my riding at 10pm than at 5pm, equally dark, because "people don't expect to see a cyclist on the road at that hour, and maybe they've been drinking!" I stop there, because arguing will only expose the danger of the things she's comfortable with/puts up with me doing, and if I do that I may as well kiss the bikes goodbye.

I ride with a dinotte 300r rear light and a cygolite expillion 800 front, on half power most of the time.

[Lewis Moon]

Does anyone know of any statistics of night time road riding versus day time riding incidents??

Like for those folks who wake up super early and use big lights compared to those riding at day time, are there more accidents with cars or less with night time riding? based on percentage, not number of incidents.

just curious if anyone know of any data, or even anecdotal? do you feel safer, less safe? etc

Real data are probably pretty rare.

I'll give you my humble opinion, though:

Good:
1) Fewer drivers on the road
2) Headlights announce an approaching car pretty well
3) By trying to be seen, (blinkies, big lights, reflectors) you are probably less easy to ignore/lose sight of. All the other distractions are muted.

Bad:
1) No matter how good your lights are, you get less notice of road hazards
2) More apt to run into wildlife
3) One of the drivers on the road may have given up coffee that day...

I'm on the road at 4:30 AM. I ride with a 900 lumen front and a pretty bright flasher on the rear. I'm going to invest in reflective wrist and leg bands.

[etu]

use blinking mode when I am competing with other sources of lights/distractions - i.e. city riding at night.
steady when I am out of the city to avoid target fixation from any impaired drivers.

[milkbaby]

I think there are numbers from the national transportation and safety board, thinking I saw them in the book bicycling and the law. However, nothing on percentages as they can't really tell how many trips are made at night or day. Also, it doesn't discriminate between somebody training at night versus a drunk person riding home.

Just personally as a commuter, I feel much safer riding home at night when it's later and dark. This is because there is much less traffic and my lights make me more visible. I used to ride with a small 1 watt headlight on my bars, but once I got a brighter light (magicshine) for helmet mounting, I feel naked if I ride at night without it. I felt way safer riding home in the dark at midnight than at 6pm during rush hour.

[MattTuck]

We've definitely linked to a study on this topic (what time of day accidents happen), but it was years ago.

You can try searching.


As I recall, the majority of incidents happen at dawn and dusk. However, the bulk of those accidents are riders with no lights, riding in the dark.

So, the data may not have been representative of the 'training at night with lights' type of rider that you're curious about.

[chiasticon]

personal experience says that people tend to give you more space once it's proper dark out, if you have a good taillight. that's either because they definitely see you from the blinking light (and possibly high vis clothing), because they think you're nuts/scary for riding at such an hour, or because they think you may be a police vehicle. either way, they seem to be more apt to avoid the random bright blinking light in the dark, and I'm perfectly ok with it.

that said, we had a couple local riders killed and a few others seriously injured in a major accident recently, right at dusk. they had blinkies on and, by all accounts, were doing everything right as far as traffic laws are concerned. so I would agree that dusk and dawn are definitely the most dangerous times to ride.

[Jgrooms]

Plus one. Riding in the dark whilst properly lit gives you more space w cars.

And riding early -530 am- on Sun & you own the road. It is that good!

[Gummee]

I've got a Bontrager Flare taillight that I keep on 'retina sear' when I'm riding after dark. Seems to be decent 'car repellent.'

I've ridden home after dark 2x now. 1st time I was passed by 12 cars. Most of those within a few miles of home. 2nd time I was passed by 10 cars. #5 in his F250 had to be a douche and honk as he was passing. Grrr. We're on a small, country road with no one around for miles and you gotta honk?

M

[Lanternrouge]

When it is properly dark, I do feel safer since lots of lighting in the dark makes it feel like I stand out better and with a helmet-mounted light in addition to a bar-mounted one, I can be sure people notice me as I even have to make the effort to avoid shining right in their faces. Where I live, the biggest drawback is debris (mainly glass) in the roads.

[jamaris]

Real data are probably pretty rare.

I'll give you my humble opinion, though:

Good:
1) Fewer drivers on the road
2) Headlights announce an approaching car pretty well
3) By trying to be seen, (blinkies, big lights, reflectors) you are probably less easy to ignore/lose sight of. All the other distractions are muted.

Bad:
1) No matter how good your lights are, you get less notice of road hazards
2) More apt to run into wildlife
3) One of the drivers on the road may have given up coffee that day...

I'm on the road at 4:30 AM. I ride with a 900 lumen front and a pretty bright flasher on the rear. I'm going to invest in reflective wrist and leg bands.

I think number 2 is my greatest fear, descending 40 mph down a hill and hitting a deer (dark or light out).

It's interesting, I almost think that the ratio of folks who ride in the early morning with bright lights are less apt to have trouble than those during the day. But that could be pure speculation. There just seems that a lot of people who feel safer riding with bright lights and dark. I should also say I'd rule out the 10pm-4am window for safe riding times, because of drunk drivers and people falling asleep, etc etc

[JLP]

No data here, but much anecdotal evidence as a randonneur.

I feel people give a far more room at night when we are lit up and covered with reflective gear.

However, the risk of getting hit by a drunk goes up when the bars close.

Also, depending on the area, you get almost no hassle riding with even two people where solo riders tend to get hassled.

[OldCrank]

My morning commute is now dark, and after Daylight Savings, both.
Most cars do seem to give more room.

I have one blinky on the saddle post and another on the back of my helmet, and a ballsy headlight- I think the cars can see me.

I like that I can usually see the cars' headlights well before they get close- I can check the rearview and move over. Will that save me? Probably not, but it might help; a glancing blow instead of under the front bumper. I hope.

So- I give the safety nod to dark.
Haven't seen any moose yet.

[sg8357]

Evening group rides, 6-8 people in a semi- rural area.
We get lots of space, from a distance we look like a scene
from Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. It is also a lot easier
to spot cars approaching.

So I'd rate full dark rides a bit safer than summer time rides
at the same time and area.

[unterhausen]

drunks scare the heck out of me. Although they may actually be more of a danger when there is other traffic around than at night. Morning rush hour in the exurbs stress me out because people are in a hurry to get to work. I have found that rural roads after about 8pm are usually pretty quiet around here. And late at night is one of my favorite times to ride. If it's just me and a car, I really don't see the danger. Murderous psychopaths have better things to do.

Dark and a lot of traffic when there are few cyclists is a little scary.

[stackie]

I've always felt safer in the dark due to increased contrast of my lights vs the darkness. But this past Saturday I went out at 545am since I had to work later. Guy ran red light in front of me. He obviously didn't see my two exposure flash front lights on handlebar and my Diablo on the helmet at 900 lumens. I screamed at him and chased him up the road. He was super apologetic. I said that sorry wouldn't bring me back from the dead. I asked him to drive carefully for the next month so as not to kill a pedestrian or cyclist. Then I rode off.

Still like the dark and early morning. Pretty sure I will die on the bike one day. Night or day,I don't know which.

Jon