Decreasing people’s safety because of some nonsense remote possibility someone might confuse a bike for a cop car.
Wait, is that the reason???
I’m in Canada and have a wide range of bike light, including the Varia radar.
I own actual bike lights, regular lights that can be used as bike lights, and bike lights that are “StVZO” compliant.
The StVZO lights are dim, don’t have flashing patterns, have an extreme cut-off beam, and honest don’t make me feel safe at all. They reduce my visibility (i.e. seeing where I’m going), and it’s silly that they are this way for “safety”.
I do agree that some lights or flashing patterns simply shouldn’t be used. I’m not trying to give someone a seizure, but I do want them to know that I’m a vulnerable road user.
My daytime running lights flash a slow pattern, and have low lumens. They cannot “blind” people, yet can be seen at a good distance.
As a cyclist, you can’t win the visibility game. I’ve had people tell me that my lights are too bright, not bright enough, and have been praised for how good my lights are (by pedestrians).
My rear light is always in a flashing pattern, and the Varia will make this pattern more intense as vehicles approach. I was riding with another Varia user and he said that motorists would give him praise for how the light pattern works.
Any of these legislators are welcome to ride a bike with “safe” lights, and tell us how safe they feel. Or they can look up the numerous studies about visibility and cyclist safety if they don’t want to risk their life with a 300 lumen narrow-beam “compliant bike light”.
Absolutely bonkers regulation. Decreasing people’s safety because of some nonsense remote possibility someone might confuse a bike for a cop car.
Wait, is that the reason???
I’m in Canada and have a wide range of bike light, including the Varia radar.
I own actual bike lights, regular lights that can be used as bike lights, and bike lights that are “StVZO” compliant.
The StVZO lights are dim, don’t have flashing patterns, have an extreme cut-off beam, and honest don’t make me feel safe at all. They reduce my visibility (i.e. seeing where I’m going), and it’s silly that they are this way for “safety”.
I do agree that some lights or flashing patterns simply shouldn’t be used. I’m not trying to give someone a seizure, but I do want them to know that I’m a vulnerable road user.
My daytime running lights flash a slow pattern, and have low lumens. They cannot “blind” people, yet can be seen at a good distance.
As a cyclist, you can’t win the visibility game. I’ve had people tell me that my lights are too bright, not bright enough, and have been praised for how good my lights are (by pedestrians).
My rear light is always in a flashing pattern, and the Varia will make this pattern more intense as vehicles approach. I was riding with another Varia user and he said that motorists would give him praise for how the light pattern works.
Any of these legislators are welcome to ride a bike with “safe” lights, and tell us how safe they feel. Or they can look up the numerous studies about visibility and cyclist safety if they don’t want to risk their life with a 300 lumen narrow-beam “compliant bike light”.