car light not used right assistant turned killer
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In early summer, the evening temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, sometimes accompanied by a cool breeze, making it delightful for cycling enthusiasts. Summer is also the peak season for night rides. After work or school, cyclists often gather with friends to ride around the streets, and if they're in the mood, they might even get together for a late-night snack. It's truly wonderful.
During night rides, many cyclists choose to equip their bikes with headlights for auxiliary lighting and taillights for warning purposes. This is undoubtedly for safety reasons. However, whether the lights are chosen correctly and installed scientifically directly affects their effectiveness in enhancing riding safety. If there are serious errors in selection or usage, the lights might even turn from helpers into 'killers'!
In today's charging knowledge session, Codoon Cycling's good friend@DownstairsPandaFlowerwill talk to night ride enthusiasts about the correct selection and use of bike lights.
-- Headlights --
The main function of headlights is illumination, with the added benefit of warning oncoming vehicles. Currently, most bicycles use T6 or T6-L2 LED light sources for their headlights (T6 is the standard model for LED bulbs, with a power of 10W and a brightness of about 885 lumens. L2 is short for XML2, a packaging mode for T6-LED, with T6-L2 having a brightness of about 1100 lumens and less heat generation). Whether T6 or T6-L2, their brightness is generally sufficient for night rides.
But have you only considered the illumination directly in front of you?
Many headlights can zoom (adjust the distance and range of the light). Some cyclists narrow the light range to get stronger illumination directly in front, which can easily leave the sides insufficiently lit. Moreover, when a certain area is too bright, our vision can easily ignore areas with a significant contrast in light, causing us to focus too much on the front and neglect potential dangers on the sides.
Therefore, PandaFlower suggests adjusting your headlight's range to cover most of your forward field of vision to avoid visual blind spots.
Is there a trick to adjusting the headlight angle?
Of course! The angle of the headlight significantly affects its illumination and your safety.
When the headlight angle is too horizontal, the light distance becomes very far, creating a 'blind spot' with no or weak illumination between the actual lighted area and your current position. This makes it difficult for cyclists to judge sudden situations in the nearby area. Additionally, far-reaching light can cause your eyes to focus on distant areas, which isn't very helpful for cyclists who aren't 'eagle-eyed'.
Moreover, a too-horizontal headlight can severely affect the vision of oncoming vehicles, potentially causing traffic accidents. Imagine being dazzled by a car's headlights up close; it's the same feeling.
Conversely, if the headlight angle is too downward, the illumination won't keep up with your speed, making it hard to see the road ahead in time. This angle might also cause you to look down, focusing on the nearby lighted area and neglecting the distant road conditions.
The correct headlight adjustment should be based on your actual speed and road lighting conditions, adjusted to illuminate 6-20 meters ahead without being too horizontal.
-- Taillights --
The purpose of taillights is simple: to warn vehicles behind you so they can clearly see you in the dark.
Answer me this: Have you ever been 'blinded' by a strong flashlight from the front? Did you feel like a thousand mythical creatures were running through your mind?
Some cyclists use strong white or yellow LED lights meant for front illumination as taillights. This is extremely dangerous for both themselves and others. Strong white or yellow LED lights can severely impair the vision of drivers behind, making it difficult for them to judge the cyclist's exact position, easily leading to serious traffic accidents.
The correct taillight color is only one:Red! Red! Red!As the standard color for vehicle taillights, red provides a clear warning without affecting the normal driving of vehicles behind.
Should you use the flashing mode?
Many taillights have a flashing function, and cyclists often like to turn it on to attract more attention from the cars behind.On poorly lit roads, turning on the flashing mode to alert drivers behind is indeed necessary.However, on well-lit city roads at night, this might interfere with the vision of drivers behind, so it's not recommended.
Choosing and adjusting your front and rear lights correctly can indeed make them great helpers for night rides, but don't rely entirely on them. Always stay alert, pay attention to road conditions and vehicles, to better protect your safety.
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