Focus on safety through visibility
In the morning, it gets light later, and later, in the evening, it dawns earlier: Autumn has arrived, with it the coziness but also the danger of being less recognized as a cyclist in traffic. As part of the prevention concept to reduce cycling accidents, everything revolves around the topic of "safety through visibility" in November.
In addition to the prescribed functional lighting on the bike, a light, reflective safety vest and light-colored clothing should be standard equipment for every cyclist at the beginning of the dark season. Bicycle helmets, rucksacks, and bicycle baskets can be supplemented with a neon yellow, reflective protective cover. The more it shines and reflects, the better the cyclists are actively noticed by car drivers in traffic. Because in the dark and wet it is difficult to recognize them through the raindrops of a vehicle's side window, despite looking over the shoulder and looking closely.
"Cyclists with dark clothing can only be seen very close in the dark at a distance of 25-30, 40 meters with light-colored clothing. Wearing a reflective safety vest makes the cyclist visible to all road users at a distance of 140 meters."
Visibility and thus safety is not expensive: high-visibility vests, helmet covers, reflective backpack covers with moisture protection can be purchased cheaply in specialist shops. A good helmet according to DIN standards is part of the standard equipment of a responsible cyclist.
Note: Racing bikes must also be equipped with appropriate lighting and reflectors, otherwise they are not permitted in public traffic areas.
When it comes to safety through visibility, the vehicle drivers are equally responsible:
Before starting the journey, moisture and ice must be removed from all vehicle windows, both inside and outside so that visibility is not obstructed. A peephole in the windshield is not enough. Every time you start your journey, make sure that the lights on the vehicle work properly. Defective headlights and restricted visibility through the vehicle windows interfere with the timely recognition of cyclists and thus increase the risk of accidents considerably.
