Bad cyclist, good cop!

[bhskittykatt]

Now first off, I'd like to say that I HATE cyclists who ride at night without lights. I drive a paper route, so I'm out while it's still dark (and often raining), and I can't count the number of times I've almost hit cyclists because I simply couldn't see them (seriously, they're invisible to cars but ride like they aren't). I always am thinking, "Where's a cop when you need one?" Or rather, "Where's a cop who cares?" since they let cyclists get away with a lot here (but that's another rant).

Anyways, yesterday morning I'm on my way home after the route, and I pass a university cop (who, though they get a bad "rent-a-cop" rep, are still real officers who can write you real tickets). He turns and starts following behind me.

Up ahead, I notice a shadow moving through the rain. As I get closer, I see it's a cyclist. No lights, no reflectors, and dark clothing. Is he suicidal?

Then, I start to get excited. My eyes dart back and forth between the cyclist ahead of me and the cop in my rearview mirror. Will he? Will he do it?

As the cyclist passes me, the cop stops. YES! Two blocks, three blocks, the cop is still back there, talking to the cyclist.

Here, at least, you have something like 90 days to get your bike in compliance and show a cop, otherwise it's a hefty fine.

I'll forgive you if it's summer and you simply stayed out a little too late, but with the shorter days now, there's really no excuse for not properly equipping your bike at night!

[Green_Fairy]

yay! i hate no light bikes! it bugs me when people are all like "well i have the reflectors. i'll be fine!" bah. lol...with my dad (certified bike junkie), getting a bike light happened before i even had a bike.

[Chromatix]

And then there are people like me, who use a 20W halogen dichroic lamp for a headlight in winter. Lights up the whole road.

[protege]

Damn...some people are just stupid. I never rode my bike at night...yet it had a full complement of reflectors. Then, when I had the paper route, my ancient wagon had reflectors front and rear, plus a reflective silver stripe all the way 'round. Added all that after a late delivery in the middle of winter.

[Iced Coffee Man]

And then there are people like me, who use a 20W halogen dichroic lamp for a headlight in winter. Lights up the whole road.

How do you hook that up?

[Argabarga]

Maybe next he can pull over some of the moron cyclists in this town who ride the wrong way down one way streets.

Hello? You may not be a car, but if you're in the street you have to FOLLOW THE ROAD RULES

[Lyse]

We constantly have a cyclist/motorist "us against them" thing going on where I live. I am strictly a motorist due to physical issues, and it never fails to amaze me the aggression that cyclists seem to have even when I am doing everything that I am supposed to do. On the other hand, I have seen a lot of drivers that need to have their keys taken away due to their childish and dangerous behavior towards cyclists.

Personally, I think that any incident that involves any vehicle needs to take into account the number of safety issues and/or regulations that are broken by either party. Head lights out? Ding. No lights on the bike? Ding. No brake lights on your car? Ding. Biking at midnight in all black without anything reflective? Ding. Once you drop below a certain percentage of points, you lose the ability to claim compensation.

[Darkforge]

Personally I cycle to work (can't afford car and its off the bus routes) but I make sure I have a bright orange High Vis vest, front and rear lights and spare batteries for said lights in my bag at all times.

I've still had close scrapes though, like one night on a well lit road I was cycling down the cycle path at the side of the road when a small car with no lights on hits me square in the back (Yes rear lights were working, wearing hi-vis jacket, reflectors too) I go flying off the bike, faceplant and the car (now swerving) goes over my left knee and my right shin.

Luckily nothing broke and I'm alright now, but all I'm saying is bikes can never be too careful at avoiding 1 ton hunks of metal propelled at many miles an hour, and drivers should keep a good eye out for obstacles in the road.

[Sandman]

Personally, I think that any incident that involves any vehicle needs to take into account the number of safety issues and/or regulations that are broken by either party. Head lights out? Ding. No lights on the bike? Ding. No brake lights on your car? Ding. Biking at midnight in all black without anything reflective? Ding. Once you drop below a certain percentage of points, you lose the ability to claim compensation.

There was actually an accident with that exact situation a while back. A pedestrian was hit at night. Now usually if you hit a pedestrian you are automatically at fault, but this time it was the pedestrian who was at fault. The reason... they were wearing dark clothing at night, in a poorly lit area.

[Primer]

We had one fairly recently where a bicyclist was wearing all black, riding a black bike with no lights or reflectors on an unlit stretch of highway. The driver that hit him was not charged.

[Chromatix]

How do you hook that up?

Hang a motorcycle-style lead-acid battery from the frame.

For longer distances I have a pair of big 7Ah batteries. It's too big a lamp to drive from a dynamo, that's for certain.

When they get around to making LED headlamps with the same brightness *and* spread profile as that headlamp, I'll welcome the lesser power requirements. Until then, there are no substitutes!

[mattm04]

I almost hit a couple cyclist who were wearing all black no rear reflectors and riding in the middle of the road. I also noticed them doing that on a fairly regular occurrence. I reported it to the police and one day driving home, a cop had the two stopped.

[BeeMused]

Can you spell "Darwin Arward Candidate"? Thought so

Honestly I don't understand those cyclists, as a cyclist you always lose when you get hit by a car. I personally even wear a helmet and make sure to be highly visible when it gets dark.
OT Story: This summer my neighbor's kids (5 and 7 year old girls) asked me which of their helmets I liked better. UhOh Danger! I managed to get away with praising the respective features of both helmets, one with flowers printed all over, the other with blinking lights on the back. They were satisfied that I couldn't possibly decide, because I liked the flowers and the blinking lights so much... Phew, long fight between them averted!

Here in Germany you can get your license suspended when you f* up badly as a cyclist. Get caught DUI on a bike? Depending on how drunk you were, kiss your license good by for at least a month and a hefty fine as well. Happened to a friend once, big ooopsie.

[Magpie]

I really wish there were more fines handed out like that. People like that person who thinks he's a cyclist make it really hard for the rest of us.

I can go you one better than riding without lights - around here they ride without lights on the sidewalks/multi-purpose paths. My theory is that their thought process is along the lines of "Gee, it's really dangerous to ride without lights. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I might as well ride on the sidewalk." And yes, these Darwin Award Candidates ride across crosswalks too, (the really dangerous part of riding on the sidewalk, and it means they're breaking provincial law as well as municipal).

[Chromatix]

Personally, if they don't have lights, I'd rather have them on the pavement and crossings than the road. If they at least have reflectors (which I believe is a legal requirement for bikes sold anywhere in Europe) and aren't completely oblivious, they're safer there.

This also counts for people who *do* have lights, but whose batteries have unexpectedly run down (especially as modern LED lights tend to last for months on a pair of AAs and then fail without warning).

No, the problem lies with cyclists who are completely oblivious to any form of danger, whether to themselves or to others. There are a lot of them, but not everyone who rides on the pavement is among them.