Some of us ride for sport and pleasure, but for a lot of us—our motorcycle is our primary method of transportation. Commuting by motorcycle means facing heavier traffic and greater risks during peak hours.
As always—the way you ride is your responsibility, but we can add safety elements, high visibility gear, and smart technology like a Brake Free smart helmet light to mitigate the risks other (often distracted) drivers pose to our safety while we're riding.
Motorcycle Visibility In Traffic
We've all seen the sea of lights in front of us during rush hour commutes—and we know how easily they can all blend in with one another during a bleary-eyed morning or after a long day. And when we're caught in that sea, it's imperative to stand out as much as we can.
According to an IIHS study of motorcycle fatalities in 2023, the highest number of fatal accidents occurred on weekdays between 3:00 and 6:00 PM. Looking at the table below, you can see that 827 fatalities—or 24% of all fatalities—occurred during those times.
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Source: IIHS.org
It would stand to reason that during weekday rush hour commutes—it's important to increase our visibility as much as possible. Which brings us to our next point.
Motorcycle Commuting Safety
Brake Free can help improve your safety during your commute in a number of ways.
High Mounted Visibility
As our taillights sit below drivers' lines of sight, particularly in bumper to bumper traffic, a center high-mounted stoplight does wonders to draw attention to drivers behind you. As we like to do, we'll point to another NHTSA study that saw a 35% reduction in rear-impact crashes of all kinds when a center high-mounted stoplight was present. That's a pretty significant figure.
Signals All Forms of Braking
Brake Free lets drivers behind you know that you're slowing down, no matter how you're doing it. If you ride in a state that doesn't permit lane filtering, you'll find yourself caught in stop-and-go traffic.
Depending on your bike, the way you ride, and a variety of other factors—you might not be actuating your brake lever every time traffic slows down ahead of you. Which means your brake light isn't lighting up.
Often we just pull the clutch lever in a little to operate in the friction zone, or we simply roll off the throttle. Full on braking isn't always necessary to reduce our speed, especially in slow conditions. The downfall, however, is that drivers behind us might not realize we're braking.
Brake Free's patented algorithm, along with accelerometers and gyroscope, detect braking of any kind. So no matter how you decide to reduce your speed, Brake Free lights up to let drivers behind you know you're doing so.
Is Brake Free Good For City Riding?
Even if you aren't riding in heavy traffic—yes. Having a light that signals reduction in speed in addition to your taillight is a massive safety improvement. Brake Free is the perfect helmet light for commuting and city riding when you're dealing with pedestrians, traffic, and traffic signals at every corner. Especially when other drivers are distracted by all of the above, it's more important than ever to improve your visibility to those behind you.
So whether you're commuting daily, enjoying the city on weekends, or riding for pure sport—Brake Free is an incredible addition to your visibility and overall safety on two wheels.
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