£30 fine for no lights

[Herbie]

Good on them, the sooner the no lights / jump red light brigade get dealt with the sooner our image will improve to the average cage driver

Totally in agreement here....cars need lights in the dark and bikes need them too...good on the Polis I say...lights are so inexpensive these days so theres no excuse

 

[earlestownflya]

we're not talking about deaths and life changing disfigurements...we're talking about the prevention of such events....
a scenario for your delectation......cyclist on an unlit country lane at night ,no lights on the bike,a car travelling on the same lane in the same direction,family in the car,just been out for dinner...kids are playing up...a few distractions....they're bearing down on the cyclist...don't see him till the last second ,car driver swerves erratically..loses control ..hits a stone wall at speed...only 1 passenger survives
..is it sinking in?.......capeesh?

 

[TheDoctor]

And that happened when?

 

[mcshroom]

we're not talking about deaths and life changing disfigurements...we're talking about the prevention of such events....
a scenario for your delectation......cyclist on an unlit country lane at night ,no lights on the bike,a car travelling on the same lane in the same direction,family in the car,just been out for dinner...kids are playing up...a few distractions....they're bearing down on the cyclist...don't see him till the last second ,car driver swerves erratically..loses control ..hits a stone wall at speed...only 1 passenger survives
..is it sinking in?.......capeesh?

Interesting that the car driver not driving slowly enough to be able to stop in the distance they can see to be clear is now the cyclist's fault. You may want to revisit your hypothetical scenario.

 

[earlestownflya]

could happen today.......get lights on your damn bikes......idiots

 

[classic33]

could happen today.......get lights on your damn bikes......idiots

Might never happen. It might be given as an excuse though.

Who makes "damn" bikes?

 

[Dan B]

we're not talking about deaths and life changing disfigurements...we're talking about the prevention of such events....
a scenario for your delectation......cyclist on an unlit country lane at night ,no lights on the bike,a car travelling on the same lane in the same direction,family in the car,just been out for dinner...kids are playing up...a few distractions....they're bearing down on the cyclist...don't see him till the last second ,car driver swerves erratically..loses control ..hits a stone wall at speed...only 1 passenger survives
..is it sinking in?.......capeesh?

Replace "unlit cyclist" with "unlit deer". Are you sinking? Que pische?

 

[steveindenmark]

Uh. I really need to explain this to you?: Cyclists pose infinitesimally little danger to anyone but themselves. Motorists kill people. The polis have their priorities wrong. Capeesh?

In relation to injuring other people you have a point. But what about those cases where a driver seriously injuries or kills a cyclist who he hits as they dont have lights and he doesnt see them. The driver may not be physically injured but I know how I would feel if I killed someone on a bike.

I got very close to hitting cyclists in the dark last year ( twice). Pitch black and they had no reflective gear and no lights. I dont even know how they could see to ride. They literally came out of nowhere. So these accidents can and do happen and it is not the drivers fault.

So the police do not have their priorities wrong. They are just enforcing the laws of the land as they should. In my view, as a cyclist. The lights on bike law is a law they should apply at this time of year with vigor, every year, until cyclist take it for granted that if they dont have lights, they will be fined.

 

[Profpointy]

well if they're enforcing the law, what about pedal and spoke reflectors - which I undertand are a legal requirement?

 

[steveindenmark]

well if they're enforcing the law, what about pedal and spoke reflectors - which I undertand are a legal requirement?

You are correct. But reflectors are often in place when lights are missing. But if I were the police officer dealing with a bike with no lights, I would check the rest of the bike.

 

[uclown2002]

we're not talking about deaths and life changing disfigurements...we're talking about the prevention of such events....
a scenario for your delectation......cyclist on an unlit country lane at night ,no lights on the bike,a car travelling on the same lane in the same direction,family in the car,just been out for dinner...kids are playing up...a few distractions....they're bearing down on the cyclist...don't see him till the last second ,car driver swerves erratically..loses control ..hits a stone wall at speed...only 1 passenger survives
..is it sinking in?.......capeesh?

OMFG

 

[mickle]

When the law for cycle lights came in the CTC protested, saying that it shifted responsibility for 'seeing' away from drivers and placed the onus on being seen on the victim of the danger posed by drivers.

 

[mickle]

Does anyone have any figures on how much more danger an unlit cyclist poses a. To themselves. b. To other road users?

 

[Dan B]

I got very close to hitting cyclists in the dark last year ( twice). Pitch black and they had no reflective gear and no lights.

Maybe things are different in Denmark, but do you not have lights on your car? How do you avoid hitting unlit pedestrians who are crossing the road?

 

[steveindenmark]

The peds dont come out of pitch blackness at 30kph