Which of the following describes the recommended light specification for Public Safety Cyclists?

• A. 28 lumens at five feet
• B. 60 lumens at ten feet
• C. 42 lumens at ten feet
• D. 42 lumens at twenty feet

Answer: (C)

Public safety cyclists need lighting that reveals hazards ahead without creating glare for others. The recommended setup provides a moderate brightness that clearly lights the road about ten feet in front of you. That distance is chosen because it gives you enough time to spot potholes, debris, or pedestrians and react appropriately in urban traffic, while not blinding oncoming road users or wasting battery.

The best option mirrors this balance: a forward beam bright enough to see hazards clearly at roughly ten feet ahead, without being overly bright or too dim. The other choices miss this balance—one is too dim to reliably reveal hazards in time, another is brighter than needed and can cause glare or drain the battery, and the last implies a longer reach than the guideline recommends.