SAFETY ACCESSORIES
Lights, Mirrors, Horns, Helmets

Accessories alone won't make you safe. You also need to know How to Not Get Hit by Cars. Stock up on accessories, sure, but also make sure you learn how to not get hit!

Lights are absolutely essential for night-time riding. Sure, this should be a no-brainer, but for some reason most night time riders seem content to tool around in the dark, almost completely invisible to motorists. Most cyclists who get killed are hit at night, and most don't have lights.

A headlight is actually more important than a tail light. That's because you're much more likely to get hit from the front (car heading towards you making a left turn across your path), or from the side (car pulling out of a driveway or side street and moving right to left across your path). When cars approach you from behind they approach you slower (because you're riding away from them), and if you have reflectors that's usually sufficient to be seen from the rear. From the front and the side it's another story. Get a headlight. Most states require a headlight for night time riding anyway. Make sure to get an LED light, because the batteries last about ten times longer than in a conventional light.

For a rear light, get a cheap ($5-15) red flasher, which runs off two AA or AAA batteries that will last for months (up to 200 hours of use). This is a cheap way to keep you from being invisible. Get these at any bike shop, although sometimes they can be had at places like HEB, Wal-Mart, and Academy. (And you can check out our Guide to Batteries to see which batteries work best.) Red flashers are cheap and effective. This is a no-brainer. Get one.

(By the way, it's long past time that bicycle shops started INCLUDING a red rear flasher with every bike they sale. They can either raise the price of the bike slightly, or eat the whopping $5 wholesale cost. Suggest this to your local bike retailer.)

A mirror is more important than you think. Your paranoia will decrease by 75% once you can see what's behind you. You can get a handlebar mirror at bike shops and even many large grocery stores. You can also get a helmet mirror or a sunglasses mirror from a bike shop for about $10. The ones that go on your sunglasses make you look like a Borg, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your personal style. The newest kind of mirror is a tiny circle on a pivot that glues to the inside of your sunglasses! It sounds crazy, but it works great. Here's a site which reviews various bike mirrors.

Horns. Another extremely handy device is an Air Zound horn. It's LOUD! If a car blasts you, you can blast them right back! The horn mounts to your handlebars, and the air cannister is shaped like a water bottle and fits in your water bottle cage on the frame. You refill it with a standard bike pump, and it's good for about 20 good blasts between refills. We use it when we're biking at night and there's someone ahead of us on the right who's about to pull out of a driveway or parking lot. Never again do we need to worry that they can't see me. The horn can also scare off some (but not all) dogs. It's pricey ($20-30), but worth it.

Helmets. Don't confuse wearing a helmet with bicycle safety. A helmet only makes it safer to crash, but does nothing to make it safer to ride. A helmet might only help once you've already been hit. Your goal is to avoid getting hit in the first place. To that end, you can greatly improve your chances of not getting hit by getting lights, a mirror, and an Air Zound horn, by not riding recklessly, and by being aware of the main ways a car can nail you (pulling out in front of you from your right, making a right-hand turn in front of you, and opening their door in your path). Also remember that a helmet doesn't make you invincible -- helmet-wearing cyclists get killed with depressing frequency. All this aside, it's still a good idea to wear a helmet because it may afford some protection in the event of a crash, but don't think that strapping on a helmet makes you "safe" -- being knowledgable, alert, and well-equipped will go a lot farther toward protecting your life than simply strapping on a piece of styrofoam. Here's a good page about helmet facts & myths from the Ontario Coalition for Better Cycling.

Make sure you know how to adjust your helmet to fit properly. If you wear it wrong it'll come off in a crash, erasing any safety benefit you might have gained. Thrift stores like Goodwill have helmets for as little as $2. Used helmets may be less effective if they've been dropped or impacted in a collision, but if you're pressed for funds, a cheap helmet beats no helmet. A good helmet at a bike shop starts out at around $30, but the folks at a bike shop can also show you how to make sure it fits properly, which is important. Wearing a poorly-fitting helmet is often like wearing no helmet at all.