You can’t avoid darkness, grey days, fog and low sun if you commute all through winter – but you can make yourself easily seen by other road users

“Sorry, mate, I didn’t see you!” That’s the habitual response from drivers who narrowly avoid cyclists. On one hand, it’s not an excuse: all road users are responsible for looking where they’re going. On the other hand, when visibility is compromised by darkness, rain or fog, it’s extra important to ensure you can’t be overlooked. That mostly means using good, reliable lights, not dressing like a ninja and anticipating potential problems in advance.

Lighting

Your bike must be fitted with a working white front light and red rear light when you ride on the road between sunset and sunrise. While the fine details of cycle lighting law are not enforced – mostly because they haven’t kept pace with real-world changes – you must at least have front and rear lights that are visible from a reasonable distance.

These days, that’s easy to achieve. Every bike shop stocks powerful, rechargeable LED lights. Some are so powerful, in fact, that they can dazzle other road users. This is an offence (see Highway Code rule 114) and could cause an accident. If you need a high-powered light for riding on unlit roads, it’s worth investing in one that can immediately be switched to a lower setting, like a driver switching from full beam to dipped. Such lights are made by Exposure, Lezyne and Ravemen, among others.

Flashing lights are legal to use on bikes, unlike other non-emergency vehicles, so a flashing rear light immediately suggests ‘cyclist’. Flashing lights also draw the eye. However, it’s harder to track the location and trajectory of a flashing light in the dark. So they work better in urban areas lit by streetlights. On unlit roads, it’s safer to use steady lights instead of (or as well as) flashers. Flashing front lights can be distracting and won’t light your way properly in any case.

Dynamo lights, generally powered by a hub generator, are perfectly legal – even if they go out when you stop. However, it’s worth getting dynamo lights that have a standlight function. This keeps them illuminated when you’re not moving, which is safer at junctions, traffic lights and so on.

Some cars have daytime running lights (DRL), and all drivers are required to use their lights when visibility is limited during daylight. Bikes don’t normally have DRL and aren’t required to use lights outside of the hours of darkness. Nevertheless, it makes sense to light up whenever visibility is limited, and some cycle lights have a DRL setting that’s designed to attract attention in daylight. Such lighting can be useful on busy roads, particularly in places where cyclists are often overlooked, such as at roundabouts.

Whatever lights you use, make sure they have enough charge for your journey. Consider carrying backup lights, especially if you have a longer commute.

Clothing and reflectivity

The Highway Code recommends ‘light-coloured or flourescent clothing’. Darker clothing isn’t necessarily a problem, depending on what other conspicuity aids you use, but the current fashion for black cycling kit isn’t helpful from a visibility perspective.

Fortunately most cycling-specific jackets do come with reflective details, which will stand out in car headlights. You’ll also find reflectivity on gloves, over-trousers, shoe covers, backpack covers and more. Reflective ankle bands are among the more conspicuous additions; the up-down motion from pedalling means you’ll be immediately identified as a cyclist.

While hi-vis clothing is optional – although very useful– reflectors on your bike are not. By law, your bike must have a red rear reflector and amber pedal reflectors when used at night. As with lighting, reflector laws are not enforced. They nevertheless help you stand out in headlights, particularly pedal reflectors – for the same reason as ankle bands. Grime limits the effectiveness of any reflector, so clean them periodically.

Many flat pedals come with amber reflectors. Most clipless pedals (which, confusingly, you clip into) don’t. The exceptions are Shimano SPD pedals with a clip for a cleat on one side and a flat pedal surface for normal shoes on the other side, such the Shimano PD-T421 CLICK’R. You can also convert dual-sided SPD pedals with a plastic clip-in unit, SM-PD22, which adds reflectors and a flat pedalling surface to one side of the pedal.

Road positioning

Good road positioning is more important in winter because drivers’ vision is worse. Usually that’s due to darkness, dim light or inclement weather. Sometimes it’s because drivers set off before their windscreens or side windows have fully demisted, so their peripheral vision is restricted. If you’re well away from the road edge, they’ll still see you. If you’re in the gutter, they might not notice you – and even if they do, they’re more likely to misjudge things and pass too closely.

Riding further away from the edge of the road also gives you more room to manoeuvre around potholes, raised ironwork or debris. This is important as you’ll spot them later in the dark, however good your lights are. You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to swerve suddenly, which might put you into the path of a driver who is overtaking too closely.

Avoiding the edge of the road has an additional benefit when you’re on streets thronged with pedestrians: you’re less likely to to collide with someone who steps into the road without looking, having only listened for vehicles.

Awareness

Stopping distances are much longer on the wet roads that are common in winter, and poor visibility will result in drivers and cyclists taking longer to react and begin braking. You must ride within the limits of your lights, moderating your speed so that you can comfortably stop within the beam of your front light.

Buy yourself more time to react by anticipating what drivers might do. Don’t count on any given driver indicating correcting. Some will, some won’t. Look at where the car’s wheels are pointing. Listen to the engine noise. Assess the car’s speed. These are useful clues to what the driver might do next.

Being more aware of drivers in order to make them aware of you (or simply to get out of their way) is only possible if your own vision isn’t compromised. As well as a good front light, you’ll sometimes need something to keep rain, sleet or snow out of your eyes. A peaked helmet will help, as will a traditional cycling cap. The latter can be worn underneath a helmet, and there are winter versions if you also need to keep your ears warm.

If you wear prescription glasses, you may need a cap with a longer peak, such as baseball cap, to keep rain off your lenses. Alternatively, cheap polycarbonate safety specs – those used in laboratories – can be worn over the top of prescription glasses. That way, rain drops won’t distort your vision.

If a driver is dazzling you, which they will if they’re driving in your direction on full beam, you may be momentarily blinded and lose all sense of where you are on the road. Look down, so you’re looking at the road in front of your front wheel, and slow right down. A cap or helmet peak will reduce the dazzle. You can encourage a driver to dip their lights, if it looks like they’re not going to do so before they’re in dazzle range, by wiggling your handlebar from side to side to move your front light and signal that you’re there.