Lighting up the night, one bicyclist at a time
From Facebook:
Teams of volunteers will be installing bicycle lights and educating
bicyclists on the law requiring bicycles to have operating lights at
night and provide information on safe riding during both daylight and nighttime hours.Bicycle lights will be installed on Thursday, November 19, 2009, from 5p.m. to 7 p.m. (or until supplies are exhausted) at the intersection of Third Street and Treat Avenue.
Bicycles will be equipped with a basic set of front and rear lights by volunteers from the BAC, the Greater Arizona Bicycle Association, and the El Grupo Youth Cycling Club. Lights will only be installed on bicycles without lights.
The purpose of the campaign is to improve the visibility of bicyclists at night while educating riders about the safety benefits of a bicycle light and the requirement for a front and rear bike light as specified by state law for operation of bicycles at night. The law states that every bicycle when in use at nighttime must be equipped with a lamp on the front able to emit a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet, and with a red reflector on the rear visible from 50 feet to 300 feet. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.
–EBR
November 18th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Free bike lights —— cool.
Should all bikes have lights? I’m not so sure. Among other things, there is research that indicates that lights can sub-consciously attract drivers toward the light. (I hear that in Germany, the flashing red ones are particularly discouraged, as they are known to sort of mesmerize people to go towards them.)
But, in general, “Light the Night?” Terrible idea. As biological organisms, “…we need the darkness as surely as we need the light.”
November 18th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Yeah, those little LED blinkies sure do contribute to light pollution.
Target fixation is a real problem, especially in the US, land of the oblivious unskilled driver. Unfortunately, most bicyclists are equally oblivious, and tend to ride as though they assume that everyone else can see and avoid them even when they are completely invisible. “Stealth mode” is one thing if you are consciously riding to stay out of the way of all those other road users who can’t see you, but that is certainly *not* the case with all the bike ninjas I find myself constantly dodging on my way home every night.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Wow, such a stupid idea for bikes to have lights at night! Maybe we can get the cars to give theirs up also.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I drive along Grant Road a lot at night. There are a lot of cyclists who have neither lights, nor reflectors. I hope there is a repeat of this event with a location at one of the parking lots at Grant/Alvernon. Would also be good if these bike riders learned some safety rules as they often ride against traffic and cross erratically. I would be willing to help.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Cycling more dangerous at night with lights? Are you trying to troll?
It’s very simple, if someone can’t see you, they can’t avoid you. It’s not just someone swerving into a shoulder and running you over from behind, you will get hit by someone making a turn in front of you without lights.