Our visual footprint as motorcycle riders is significantly smaller than that of a car at any point—but we're particularly harder to spot when we're riding at night. With rising gas prices, ease of parking, and let's not forget that it's just awesome to ride, more and more people are turning to motorcycles as a means of transportation.
An often overlooked issue we deal with when we're commuting in heavy traffic at night is the headlights coming from the opposite direction. Oncoming traffic shines lights towards us. With a smaller profile—and taillights that sit below a driver's line of sight—cars behind us have a harder time spotting us.
Many of the dangers we face when we're out riding are beyond our control, so it's incredibly important to focus on what we can do to keep ourselves safe while we're on our bikes.
Hi-Viz Gear
This one's pretty simple and straightforward. Adding a high-visibility vest, reflective tape, or even purchasing gear that isn't all black (terrible, we know) can significantly improve your chances of being spotted by cars on the road. Jackets, boots, and even reflective patches can make a world of difference when you're riding at night.
Auxiliary Lights
Adding auxiliary lights can certainly help drivers in front of you see you better. With a single headlight, drivers often misjudge their distance from you—as they're typically scanning for cars rather than motorcycles. Adding auxiliary lights can help improve your visibility on the road, particularly if your commute relies heavily on roads with a single lane in either direction.
Your Pre-Ride Checklist
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's pre-ride checklist includes your tires and wheels, controls, lights and electrics, oil and other fluids, your chassis, and your stands. Here, we're focusing specifically on your lights. Making sure your brake light and turn signals are operational every single time you get on your bike is imperative to safe riding.
If your taillight is out, your chances of being spotted by traffic behind you drop drastically. Plus, unless you have a Brake Free (we'll get to that in a second), you have no way of indicating to drivers behind you that you're reducing speed or coming to a stop—which, in turn, increases your chances of getting rear-ended significantly.
Add A Brake Free To Your Setup
An NHTSA study indicated in early pilot tests that rear-impact crashes were reduced by 35% with the addition of a center high-mounted stop lamp. While this figure has dropped down to closer to 4-5% in the long-term, part of that reduction is attributed to novelty wearing off. With modern vehicles being required to have center high-mounted stop lamps, drivers are now accustomed to them, which brings us to an interesting point: novelty. Helmet-mounted lights are still relatively unusual to see on the road, and as such, command attention more than what drivers are typically used to.
With motorcycle taillights being both small and sitting under a driver's line of sight, adding a Brake Free to your riding gear can significantly improve your chances of drivers behind you being aware of your presence on the road, both day and night. Beyond just acting as an additional running light, Brake Free solves a very specific problem: engine braking. Motorcycle taillights only illuminate when you actuate a brake lever, but we often roll off of the throttle or downshift to reduce our speed. Brake Free uses a Bosch IMU along with our patented algorithm to detect any kind of reduction in speed and illuminate, letting drivers behind you know you're slowing down—no matter how you're doing it.
Start Riding At Night With Improved Visibility
Layering all of the above can seriously improve your visibility on your motorcycle at night. Start by adding a Brake Free to your gear and ride knowing that drivers behind you will know you're slowing down—all without apps and wires. Just attach it to your helmet in minutes and get going. If you've got multiple helmets, order extra mounts: you can swap Brake Free between helmets in seconds.
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