Please use your lights at night

Last evening, driving home (in my car) westbound on Lawrence from Lincoln Square toward Milwaukee, it was already dark.  I was counting the bicyclists I saw, in both directions.  For a 20 minute ride in a car I counted 8 cyclists total.  Only one had lights on his/her bike.  The other 7 had no lights, none whatsoever.

I don't know how to get the message out.  We all know that we need lights in order to be seen.  It's very difficult to see a bike in the dark when it has no lights on, even when the driver is paying attention, let alone distracted.  The Chicago vehicle code requires a headlight, and a rear reflector, but for all practical reasons, on a city street, one really needs a tail light above all else.  

I really think the majority of those not using lights are not aware of Chainlink and do not communicate with other cyclists regarding bike safety.  I regularly ride down Lawrence at the end of the day, and rarely see anyone else with lights on.  

Just frustrated.

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Permalink Reply by Marc-Paul Lee on July 7, 2016 at 5:09pm

Thanks, Trump.  

(meant to be an ironic echo of "Thanks, Obama", not to accuse you being Trump-like). 

Permalink Reply by Maurice on July 6, 2016 at 6:46am

Riding home last night, I only saw one other bike with lights and 20 bikes without lights.

 

There probably were even more than that, but it's hard to see these damn ninjas.

 

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on July 6, 2016 at 10:10am

One ninja at a time...
Continuing to educate, continuing to spread the word, building the cycling community and make safety the norm. I used to think helmets look silly and now I can't imagine jumping on my bike without one. I love my Kask helmet. Lights? High-vis? All part of what my friends do and what I learned to do by their example. Back when I did the LATE ride in the 90s, I didn't own lights. Now I have quite a few pairs of USB rechargeable lights (and use a rear light during the day). Let's continue the fight. We've come a long way and we'll keep going. 

I can't wait to see everyone at TdF. We have a pretty great community of cyclists and every year we grow. And to see the photos from the recent Working Bikes 500 bike give-away to children in North Lawndale? I'm proud to say I'm part of the global community of cyclists. So many great, thoughtful, caring people. When one of us is hurt, we all care and come to the aid of others. Definitely don't give up hope on us. We're not a lost cause. 

Permalink Reply by XndeX on July 6, 2016 at 3:37pm

When I do ride at night I'm lit up like a Christmas tree!
I have a 1200 lumen headlight and a blinking tail light. 
Then I also have wheel lights! (Looks like a dog chasing a cat when I'm moving) 
I don't take chances with cars! 

Permalink Reply by Marc-Paul Lee on July 7, 2016 at 5:11pm

I saw the light, so to speak, when I was biking one night without lights and almost ran into another cyclist, also without lights.  Two bike ninjas definitely don't mix!  Now I wouldn't ride without one.  (Or fenders, for that matter).  

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