Road accidents are a lot more common than you think. According to WHO, approximately 1.3 million die, and 20-50 million get injured due to road accidents every year. Almost 13% of these involve cyclists–and it grows at an exponential rate every year.

Because of these statistics, people often think that cyclists are generally unskilled drivers who don't have road etiquette.

This doesn't seem right.

Many cyclists get into road accidents because of incorrect bike lights–especially brake lights.

The problem with brake lights

The most significant predicament cyclists and other road users face are that most road regulations don't include brake lights. Most state and federal laws only require white front and red rear lights–and these rear lights don't have to be brake lights.

Because of this, most cyclists, especially the new ones, don't even know that there are brake lights available for their bikes. They don't realize that a good brake light reduces the possibility of road coalition by 72%.

Aside from this, most of the brake lights for cyclists available in the market today have faulty motion sensors. 

Most of the motion sensors in brake lights today depend entirely on acceleration. This means that they go off at the slightest difference in acceleration, even when you're just getting into a bump.

But this is not what makes them dangerous. These outdated brake lights light up precisely at the moment when you come to a halt. In short, the drivers behind you won't have time to reduce their acceleration because of the lack of warning before you come to a halt. And this causes road collisions.

The features of the best brake lights

In brake lights for your bikes, you should look for a motion sensor that depends on inertia–and not acceleration.

When your motion sensor detects inertia, it will light up as you slow down, not when you've come to a complete stop. This way, you can warn the drivers behind you about your movements, the way a brake light should be.

This feature is mainly seen on smart brake lights. They come with artificial intelligence, which automatically knows when you're about to come to a complete stop. Aside from this, inertia-based motion sensors are adjustable. This means they won't light up with slight variance on your acceleration, such as hitting bumps.

Cyclist-related road accidents aren't about the bikers themselves. Sometimes, we all need a light to guide us–even on the road.