The Bookman bicycle whistle might be based on nineteenth century technology, but its benefits for urban cyclists has never been more useful.
Established in Birmingham in 1870, Acme Whistles recently teamed up with bicycle accessory manufacturer, Bookman, to create a new design of whistle for today’s rider.
The bicycle whistle produces a loud high-pitched sound without the need for any moving parts – the perfect way to alert drivers of your presence on the road.
The police have been using both the bicycle and the whistle for over 100 years – two designs so efficient and reliable that they have changed remarkably little over the course of a century.
As cities have grown over time, so too has noise pollution and congestion. Luckily the bicycle and whistle remain the ideal tools to tackle both.
Different sounds elicit different responses depending on geography and culture. A traditional bike bell might work in some areas if it can be heard, but sometimes your surroundings necessitate a different audible or visual signal. Police outriders leave a whistle resting on their lip because, even though their bikes are equipped with powerful sirens, they know that the shrill sound of a whistle works universally to grab the attention of other road users.
Win a Bookman bicycle whistle
We have five Bookman whistles to give away. Simply leave us a comment at the bottom of this page and we will pick five winners next week.
Cycle insurance
Making yourself heard when you need to is just one of the challenges that face today’s rider. Cycle insurance from the ETA is designed to make your life on two wheels as easy as possible. We protect against theft, but unlike other insurers will never devalue your bike. We reimburse you when bicycle parts are pinched, but unlike other insurers we will not penalise you if have not secured quick release items. Just two of the things that set us apart. After all, we have been rated as ethical by The Good Shopping Guide. Find out more
Kathryn
Desperately in need of one of these!
Stuart B
That whistle really caught my attention!
bob garrod
Interesting – – i wonder how effective it will be – will car drivers take any notice ? Pedestrians seem to be confused by bicycle bells on shared footpath/cycle lanes . perhaps whistle more effective ? Give me one to try and I’ll report back.
Darrel Hier
Blow me id love to have one of these.
Martha
What a great idea, I can see this being really useful
Richard Newman
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…
SARAH FITCH
Whistle down the wind 😀
mark
yeah why not
Peter Clark
Yes please!
Hugh Roberton
On my busy road such a whistle would be heaven especially on dull winter days when we seem invisible!
Tim Earl
Can I have mine delivered by the lady in the picture, please?
Bryn Jones
If it’s as good as my Bookman’s reflective bag, it’ll be brilliant.
Jim Marshall
Good idea. Better than a bell and will annoy the guy who keeps telling me I should have a bell!
Peter
The worst culprits round here for not getting out of the way of cyclists seem to be Old Deaf Dogs – let’s hope that they will respond to the whistle (and NOT by running towards it)!
Christelle Tichauer
Great idea! Rather safe than sorry
Alison Holmes
Any way to attract the attention of oblivious pedestrians would be good. Yes please!
Ian Troughton
Hmmm. For best results, this would need to be left “resting on the lip” rather than dangling on the lanyard, and I wonder how comfortable this would be given the breathing required for cycling. Also if the sound is loud and high-pitched, it’s not going to be subtle, so we’ll need a traditional bell in addition, for use when cycling in sub-cacophonic environments.
Bevan Craddock
As the 82 year old Town Crier of Penkridge, when riding my bicycle safely I am unable to carry my hand bell. So this whistle would be wonderful to help me attract the attention of people when I am approaching.
Richard Scrase
Yes please
Leon moore
I’ve used a whistle for several years, it is very affective in warning pedestrians and motorists. I’d love one for my cycling partner.
Laurence Koster
I’ve never heard of cyclists using whistles before, but I’d like to try.
Colin Symon
Sounds like a blast!
The police Special Escort Group (SO14) tend to use whistles over sirens so they must get the attention of motorists.
Anna Shakoor-Green
This is a great idea – a much more penetrating sound than a bicycle bell 🙂
Andrew Harmsworth
It would be a real blow if I don’t win this time…
Gordon Pickering
Whistle while you wide,
Hey ho, hey ho, it’s off to wide we go!
Tom Casey
If it’s good enough for the police it’s got my vote, I would love to have one, thank you
Michael
Don’t write something off because it’s old school. I use a crappy pea whistle and it does seem to work, especially over a useless bell!
Thanks for the chance 🙂
James
Sounds a brilliant different idea would love to try one
TD
Love to give it a go.
Jeremy Pond
I’ll be able to whistle in the wind on my commute to work. Much more positive than for whom the bike bell tolls 🙂
Francis Voon
I’ve always liked whistling whilst cycling.
Wayne Smith
One problem with my fitness levels after xmas I’m struggling to breathe let alone blow a whistle 😀
Jon Vamplew
The Simple whistle – back to basics for me,
The historic one made by ACME,
The high pitch shrill from such a device,
Alerting the drivers, to see me – that’s nice,
If the Police outriders use them well,
Let’s give it a go – Oh what the hell!
Ashley Brown
Spiffing
Sue Bower
I’ve got a 20 year old whistle in my backpack when out walking but never had the need to use it, not sure if I would do more harm than good trying to use it when cycling in central Newcastle.
Paul
I was a bike messenger in London in the 80s and we all used whistles to warn cars and pedestrians back then. Bells are useless over the traffic noise and it was very effective. I don’t know why but by the 90s you never heard anyone using a whistle anymore. I always assumed it was some legal thing imposed by the police because they were the only ones legally allowed to use a whistle.
I’d be interested to know if anyone has any knowledge about this as I’m thinking of going back to using one to warn the iPhone zombies and tourists when they step out into the road without looking or ignore the crossing lights. They don’t hear a bell and shouting is a bit in your face.
The ETA
Paul, As far as we are aware, it is perfectly legal for cyclists – or anyone else for that matter – to use a whistle on the roads. Your email has prompted us to run another prize draw to give away some more whistles for cyclists.
Paul
I know in certain US cities only the traffic police are allowed to use whistles so I assumed it became the same here ( if it wasn’t already). If it’s legal then I’m going to give it a try again – the number of people just stepping out into traffic without looking is astonishing, not to mention cars cutting you up left right and centre, people opening doors at the lights and all sorts of other dangerous things.
The other thing I’ve noticed over the last year or so is the huge increase in numbers of food delivery moped riders. A lot of these guys don’t seem to know the highway code at all. They are in and out of bike lanes and have little awareness of cyclists in general. They can’t see you from behind because of the huge boxes on the back and inside their helmets they can’t hear a bell so maybe a whistle would work.
How do I enter the competition?
The ETA
If you sign up to our newsletter, which has lots of cycling stuff in it, you’ll be the first to know about our giveaways
Tim R Hill
I am physically disabled with spina bifida from birth and use a Mobility scooter to get around town, which can be quite a challenge when the area is busy, My scooter only has a very low pitched horn that no body can Hear, I think that this type of whistle would be a real benefit to myself and the safety of pedestrians who often stand in the middle of pavements to talk, taking no notice of their surroundings or anything approaching them, putting them in danger of an accident, this would be a good cause for a whistle.