Cycling Safely: Top Tips for Being Seen on the Road 

Shoulder check and looking in the general direction of the driver does encourage them to pass you with more space. Good tip.

Using reflective pedal & tires with reflective stripes are useful.

Vests are great because they can fit over other jackets and the are easy to find and replace

Since I started commuting regularly I started buying all of my replacement t-shirts are high vis. Only downside is that when at work, you can see the high vis through my dress shirt. Considering that my bike is parked in my workspace, I don't think its out of place. I also wanted to add that while on trails, I often play music too. I turn the head lamp off as not to blind oncoming joggers, but the music offers a consistent awareness of my presence to close I'm coming up behind. I still call out before passing, but they can't say they didn't hear me coming.

Thanks! Here in Arizona it's a law to have both a headlight and tailight when road riding, but I notice only 50% do that. My front light is on an alternating strobe, as is the rear, and we use them both on and off-road. Both are visible over a mile... And I ALWAYS wear bright colors! I totally agree with movement... it's called FIXATION. Motorcyclists will often weave slightly when approaching intersections.

I do the shoulder check to signal that I need more space. They come too close. Great video.

I’ve found that on the brightest days, it’s actually harder to see cyclists in the shadows. Having a taillight is super beneficial and makes a huge difference in visibility!

Really helpful thank you 🙏

Blue reflective patch of tape on the heal of your left shoe and a patch of silver on the right heal; motorists seam to notice blue and white flashing lights fore some reason. 😁

The rear light I like is the Garmin Varia Radar Light and is a game changer. Besides being a very bright light and also senses approaching cars and cyclists. The radar light gives you a beep and moving target on your computer. It will sense a car over 150 yards away and gives a warning. This has helped me tremendously in both traffic and country roads in avoiding some bad situations especially with trucks on narrow country roads. I know a mirror does a similar thing but this is more perceptive in knowing what is approaching you and gives time to plan for the situation.

I had a crash when a parked motorist opened his door as I was cycling by. I now use a strobe light up front that will attract the attention of any motorist in their rear vision side mirror.

There is something to be said about breaking movement to capture attention, it is how I catch wildlife views, like birding. The mandated passive reflectors are annoying, but in motion can be effective. There is a cyclist in my town who may own his/her/their life to them in absence of any another device in dark. It was too close and I nearly nailed them. I am slowly installing dynamos on all my bikes, Wyoming specific winter bike is done. Should have the fleet of three done by New Years. USB rechargeable lights are a game changer. Even with steady dynamo lights, I am going to need to keep USB flashy lights.

Super helpful video. Thank you!

On bicycle tours I wear a hi-viz long sleeved polo work shirt (Australian Standard) rather than a vest. Besides the visibility they are SPF50 so are excellent in the Australian sun. BTW because of occupational health and safety in Australia, many manual workers wear hi-viz shirts so you don't look out of place walking around or going in shops wearing one. I find that the orange is more easily seen in the bush than the yellow. I read somewhere fluro pink stands out the most. As already noted in these comments moving reflectors catch motorist eyes. I remember reading a study (can't find it now) that said moving pedal reflectors best identified cyclists as cyclists to motorists at night. Funny enough people often remove their pedal reflectors. I have a quite a few which I got for free from my LBS because they were removed. I put a big strip of reflective tape down my rear mudguard. I can also confirm "the wiggle" aids visibility and overtaking. 2:20 in the video is right near where I live.

great video! just an addition: If you have two rear lights always have one steady and not flashing because its harder for the eyes to estimate the distance between drivers and cyclists. If you can only have one rear light it should be a steady one

Thanks for another excellent video! And yes to morning around to be seen. Waving a "pretend hello" is one of my favourites when a random car approaches on a semi deserted road.

Thank You for thease vidios very helpful

Thanks for the video.

Great topic and very well made as always! I also find WHERE I ride to be important as well. I ride 1/3 of the way into my lane. This keeps my form clearly in the road and not broken up by the clutter of the roadside. When I see a car coming up behind me I will yield as much as I safely can and always wave them by if they are waiting and I always always always wave and smile to those who give me the lane. But I also live in BFE Ohio too so things may be different in other areas. Thanks again for the video! I’m getting one of those triangles.

I think the University of Nottingham(?) England published a study on what drivers noticed about cyclist, it concluded that bright material moving below the waist such as shoes and socks drivers noticed more then vest and jackets. I wear everything bright at night but during daylight some day glow socks and the flashing front and rear Blinky lights work well. Little known law in California the state requires a bike to be equipped with a rear reflector at night too.

I don't think you mentioned Ankle strap reflectors. Some even have small lights. Very helpful as the movement catches driver's eyes. I ride 1/3rd of the lane from the right unless it is a road with lots of shade at which point I move left another 1/3 of a lane. I also move left as a car gets somewhere around 100 yards away to catch their attention. As they get closer I make a distinct move back to the right to catch their eye & to show I am aware of them.

That "rooster" tail is a great idea for attention getting :)

I have absolutely noticed that drivers will treat you more considerately if you just glance over your shoulder to let them know that you know they're there. I guess maybe humanises the cyclist to an impatient driver, or in the opposite case if a driver is nervous of passing it lets them know that you aren't going to make any sudden moves.

awesome job! Cheers.

Ladies another great video keep up the great work and love your videos.

I do like my cygolites. They also have a helmet mount, and at night I will run a high lumen (1100) on the handlebars and the 450 metro on my helmet. Being able to flash and make "eye contact" with drivers at intersections is super important. I also prefer the daytime flash on the 450 to the 1100 version.

I have heard about the movement technique, although I rely on my helmet mirror a lot to see what’s coming up. I put reflective tape on the cranks to provide something in addition to the lights that flashes & grabs attention. Some tires offer reflective sidewall strips, too. Excellent advice as always; well done! 👍🏻

For front lights I use a strong non flashing beam mounted to the bars so I can see at night and to be seen, I have a flashing one mounted to the front of my helmet. Also agree having 2 rear lights makes a big difference for depth of view. For hi vis with movement, I wear velcro type ankle straps in bright green with a center piece of reflective tape sewn in (amazon).

I snow bike and I think other road users find it really awkward or new to the frostbiking culture, so I try to make eye contacts with thewm and literally pointing at the direction where I am trying to make turns. It brings a little more human interaction. I hear a lot about irritated car drivers honking or harassing at cyclists but I rarely encounter them, perhaps because of that? (also I wear hi-vis everything so other cyclists asked me if I weren't embarrassing myself lol but my life is more precious than coolness) I am re-watching your videos, finding them extremely helpful while preparing for moving from a snow-covered island to South by bike with my cat (she does her daily rides with me).

I bought an orange bike partially to be seen better. Paint color can matter.

Enjoyed the video and agree with you on visibility, flashing lights etc.. I have Schwalbe tyres with a reflective strip in both of the sidewalls - great for junctions and as an additional reflector! And an air horn (124 db) which gets the attention of almost all inattentive road users. Also reflectors (amber/orange) are available to fit many pedals - excellent at night.

It’s always entertaining watching you, especially on such an important subject. Thanks for taking care for safety. We live in Germany and here we have special regulations regarding lights and reflectors. Nevertheless, we upgraded our bikes with a permanent light-on system, NOT battery driven. How does this work! First you need a strong front hub dynamo, that delivers already full current at low rpm. All these dynamos have 6V3W, so the low speed option is essential. The shutter precision SP-PD8 does deliver that. The front light is a Busch+Mueller Fly Premium that delivers 60LUX and has a stand-light option. The rear light we use is the AXA spark steady. During daylight ride, we have adjusted the front light 1 click upward. This ensures that you are seen excellent. And yes, a mirror installed in the left grip of the handle bar is a must.

Ive also read movement is important. The study suggested hi-viz should be on the moving parts of your body. If you have something larger like a jacket, that doesn't really move like your feet for example, drivers see you, but their minds don't automatically connect that with human. They might instead think 'sign' and signs don't tend to be on the road, and don't bleed if you hit them.

I put the second light on the end of my handlebar so it is sticking out onto the road as much as possible. Drivers leave you more room when passing, they really do.

As a driver, I've noticed that the trend to flashing neon lights by emergency vehicles has actually led to diminished aspects of visibility. The lights are quite bright - much brighter than the lights of old - and therefore are visible at much greater distances. Paradoxically, I find it much harder to localized in space than the old rotating beacons. That's only anecdotal with a sample size of one (me), but I suspect that having both a flashing light and at least one (good, bright) solid light source could be helpful. That said, I've not done it, but I did mount the passive reflectors that came with the bike in conjunction with my lights with the idea that perhaps that would help.

Another great video. I use lights during the day whether I’m commuting or touring. People are so distracted. I’d love a video on mirrors if you get a chance. I’m scared I’m going to hit something if I check over my shoulder. Whereabouts in Australia did you tour?

I really like rear lights that are also reflectors. That way if the battery dies you still have the passive visibility left. The one that I've been using lately is Planet Bike's The Greatful Red USB. It's not very slick, but it's bright and relatively inexpensive. Also, I'm not sure what your experience is, but I find the blinking lights are most important around dawn and dusk. Something about that half light is dangerous. It's too bright for reflectors to be effective, and too dark for people to get a good look at you. Once night settles in I can usually go to steady front lights without having close calls.

It's also worth mentioning that blinking lights are unfortunately illegal in some countries (looking at you Germany)... Bike shops even have separate sections of "illegal" lights, that is lights that have any sort of blink mode. I was very surprised to find out. Ps: Spoke reflectors are also super visible when coming from the sides.

Very nice video, as the others are. My wife and I enjoy watching your creations. Off-topic a bit but where would you suggest I pose newbie questions? For example, I wonder if bodyweight counts the same as the weight of gear? If I had gear that weighed a pound or two would losing a pound or two of my own weight balance it to zero? Thanks for all the information that you provide in your videos!

There is passive & active in one combo riding jackets & vests(REFLECT360 type) from PROVIZ, been available for years now that don't need any batteries to be very highly active/reavtive at all, any light source including the sun even on a dull light day ( it works even brighter if it gets wet) or any vehicle light will activate the the glow factor at long distance from the riders body towards the oncoming vehicle. The best part of these jackets & vests is the fact the oncoming vehicle drivers will dear not even try to leave there high beam powered lights on, they are the ones who get blinded first before you get the same effect on your eyeballs, as in very highly active/reactive powerful glowing white factor ( like instant respect from a good distance yet comfortable on your own eyes!). When combined with a decent rechargeable 800 lumens front light units & from just as effective rear rechargeable light units with various pulse strobing on both front & rear lights, you end up with a day/night running abilities that far exceed what use to the best given how cheap and reliable they are these days, have got both a vest & full jacket(REFLECT360 type) from PROVIZ to suit whatever riding conditions I'm riding in and large numbers of riders in my area use these same jackets & vests because they are so good. As an side note, a major motorcycle clothing brand from Germany and very well known outside of Germany is now making a version of these Reflect360 jackets for motorbike riders along side the traditional high vis yellows/orange colours, I will be buying that jacket to add to my motorbike riding kit and it will replace my current high vis yellow & black wet weather jacket, this type of jacket is that good! Yes movement of the body or flag or clothing like a flapping vest makes people actually pay attention to you, it's part of our human instinct regarding things dangerous or not to our personal survivability space, it cannot be ignored!

In France EU certified hivis vests are mandatory to ride at night in the countryside. Like bells or pedal reflectors, it's not really enforced but still. I'm still looking for a certified (not just yellow) highly compressible windstoppper to replace my black one but no luck so far. I find standard vests to be realy flappy, and while I'm not an aero-nerd, especially during trips, the constant flapping noise is kinda annoying, especially while riding during a quiet night.

When the road is very narrow i drive in littel curves, so the drivers automaticcaly keep more distance to me .

Nah that helmets fine.🤣 I've learned from experience you can fix helmets with super glue and pink duct tape the pink duct tape adds Flair. Aside from that I will look for a triangle that is such a great suggestion.🤟🤙 PS don't know about you but I would like to get one of those old-school rooster reflectors from the Kellogg's box again😆. Yes and what you said about the lights is very true. One on the knapsack one hanging off the saddle the other on the seat post.

I have a Thousand helmet. Where can I find that magnet rear light? Love that. Thanks!

If I hear a car coming and they seem to be going too fast or not moving over I do a little wobble on my bike, 90% of the time the driver slows down and moves Waaay over.

Iv tryed to get the triangle system but with no luck here , trying to find one here is like a needed in 50 hey stacks

What do you use to BE SEEN on the road??

I used a Safety Pizza on my Europe trip. Unfortunately I lost a piece of pepperoni somewhere down the Rhine. I don't suppose you found it? ;-)

Good grief. I would totally buy an animal bicycle tail. Get on that! That's a million-dollar idea!

Drivers do see cyclists ……………. the problem is, that they don’t actually care

Drivers in the UK are awful. High Viz helmet, jacket and clothing and bright flashy lights are a must. In the UK avoid busy roads. However…… UK made EXPOSURE LIGHTS are great, long battery life, auxiliary battery compatible, and made by a diving company so they know waterproof.

“If anyone has seen these, let me know.” *swings item wildly so it’s completely unidentifiable*