Editorial: An Open Letter to Cyclists [UPDATED]
[ UPDATE 11/18: All Star Bike Shop is offering discounts to readers of Goodnight, Raleigh! on all lights in stock. Please check the end of the article for more information. ]
More specifically, this is an open letter to cyclists who ride on the road at night with no lights.
If you ride a bike at night with no lights, what is the reason?
Anyone who has ridden a bike on a public road knows the dangers and risks, and these become more acute at night. Eight of the ten most common bicycle accidents involving motor vehicles are caused by the driver of the automobile not seeing the cyclist or not giving due circumspection to the area around them. Over at bicyclesafe.com, the very first piece of advice on how to avoid the most common type of accident involving vehicles is to get a headlight.
By not utilizing front and rear lights, you are not only endangering yourself, but you are creating unsafe conditions for pedestrians and other cyclists too.
You are also creating contempt amongst drivers towards cyclists. Cyclists and drivers need to coexist on public roads. You create a tense situation for the automobile driver as he or she must rapidly change course to give you proper clearance.
Cyclists get angry when drivers get too close on the road, why should drivers not get mad at cyclists when they must struggle to adjust to different driving conditions so suddenly?
Please consider the inexpensive accessories below:
Planet Bike – White LED Bicycle Headlight $9.99
Planet Bike – Tail Light $7.00
(Although these link to internet retailers for reference purposes, I encourage you to purchase these items from a local bike shop)
You’ve saved at least $17.00 by utilizing transportation that doesn’t burn fossil fuels. Please put it to good use.
Thanks.
—
All Star Bike Shop is offering a 10% discount to GNR readers on all bicycle lights in stock. This offer is good through December 31st, 2008, so you can use this opportunity either for yourself or to get your favorite cyclist a new light for Christmas and save a little too.
Although they carry the inexpensive lights mentioned in this article, I encourage you to spend a few dollars more and get something with real noticing power.
Simply mention this site when making a purchase at one of their three Triangle locations:
- 1218 Ridge Road, Raleigh 27607 (near Whole Foods)
- 5011-A Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh 27609
- 1427 SE Maynard Road, Cary 27615
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11/17/2008
Also, let me put this forward: legally, a bike is a vehicle on the road, and thus requires working lights. I was in a wreck last december (i was on bike, hit a car who didn’t see me, and it was entirely their fault), and i was lucky to have lights on the bike. working headlight and rear light. Why was I lucky? Because insurance companies will look for any reason to not have to pay you any money at all, and if you don’t have proper equipment, they can use it as a reason to avoid paying you any money at all, even if it was completely the driver’s fault. Also, i’ve learned that having lights isn’t necessarily enough. If the light is too dim it is also possible for the insurance companies to get out of payment.
11/17/2008
Devin is right. Althought it wasn’t in this state, when I was in college I traveled mainly by bike, and the campus and city police were serious about the fact that the same rules of the road apply to bicycles. A friend of mine got a $90 ticket for running a stop sign on his bike, and I was stopped when my headlight went out when I went over a bump even though the officer saw me start off with the light on (it was finnicky after it fell off once!). I was not ticketed because I knew how to make the light work again, but if it hadn’t worked I probably would have at least gotten a warning.
To me it is just common sense to use lights when riding at night.
11/18/2008
I’ve been kind of concerned lately myself (said grandpa).
Seriously, not only do I see a lot of bikers without lights but also without helmets and wearing dark clothes, all at the same time!
I really want to see the city become more bike friendly but it will all be for naught if folks break their heads in the process.
11/19/2008
I’m with you. It’s fashionable to have a fixed-gear bike that is as stripped down as possible and unfashionable to wear a helmet. But how much extra weight can some reflective material add to a bike, or some clothing? I am a cyclist but I get angry when I see cyclists with no lights, reflectors, or anything that might make them visible at night. Those are often the most diehard, anti-automobile, cyclists and I think it undermines their cause.
12/27/2008
Darn, I wish I had known about the All-Star discount before I went crazy buying lights there and at REI. So, just what can you do with over a hundred LED’s and a Chumby?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKrWFDIaG80