Why you need lights

[ny biker]

Can you see the cyclist in this video?

(New Link - not porn!!)

http://chicagobikes.org/video/index.php?loadVideo=headlamp

Frankly, I think this shows the importance of wearing bright colors as much as it makes its point about the importance of using lights. It also shows how much harder it is to be visible in a busy urban environment vs a more rural area.

[Eden]

I'm not sure what you think you linked to..... but what came up in my browser was *not* a cyclist....(good thing I'm not at work :eek:)

We started a light/reflector idea swap out here a few years ago. Once a year a group of people get together, show off their gear. You can have someone else ride your bike to see how you appear. Someone brings a car so that we can see how thing look under lights as well as in total darkness.

We found bright clothing at night is relatively useless.... while easy eye green might work well at dusk or on cloudy grey days, you aren't really much more visible in white or bright colors in the dark than in any other colors. A good combo of lights and reflectors work well - be sure you are not just visible from the front and rear, but also from the sides, which can be more difficult. Spoke lights/valve stem lights are great as are reflective sidewalls - as long as they are clean.

[kermit]

UUhhhhmmmmm, you really need to check that link. I got links to porn when I opened it.

[ny biker]

What?? I even clicked on it after I pasted it. I will delete it and try again.

[ny biker]

Fixed.

[Cataboo]

R's cousin's biking around (on the bike we let him borrow) at night wearing all black with no lights, reflectors, and using his ipod in both ears.

Crashing into a ditch one night didn't fix that.

We've both told him a ton of times to get lights. I could buy them for him, but he's wearing my helmet and I bought the new tires for the bike and ...

[ny biker]

I bought lights for my sister. She goes out for 20-minute spins after work and has no lights or reflectors even when it gets dark before she gets home. When I told her she needed lights, she said, "when it's my time, it's my time."

I pointed out that her 13-year-old daughter had heard her, and it was only a matter of time before she used that argument right back at her mother as a reason to not take safety precautions in some situation or another. Sure enough, it took the girl less than a day.

[sempronialou]

A lack of a bike light prevented me from cycling all last fall and winter (I had just bought a new bike at the end of the summer). I did not want to risk it without lights. So I finally bought a front and rear light this summer so I could ride when the sun was setting as it got dark out earlier, especially since the sun sets much earlier since the time change. I couldn't imagine cycling in the dark without bike lights.