Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
This is an unfair fine, these cyclists cannot continually check whether they have lits or not, looking down at the handle bars and seat post takes your concentration off the road in front. ;-)
Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
This is an unfair fine, these cyclists cannot continually check whether they have lits or not, looking down at the handle bars and seat post takes your concentration off the road in front. ;-)
Martin, you need to set up an organisation, Safe Dark to campaign against this iniquitous Government tax on poor hard done by cyclists ;-)
-- Tony
" I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong." Bertrand Russell
Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in
just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
This is an unfair fine, these cyclists cannot continually check whether they have lits or not, looking down at the handle bars and seat post takes your concentration off the road in front. ;-)
When out on my bike, I frequently give friendly advice to stopped motorists when I see that they have a faulty tail light. Motorists find it harder to check their tail lights than cyclists who, sadly, in many cases just don't bother to fit the things.
Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
This is an unfair fine, these cyclists cannot continually check whether they have lits or not, looking down at the handle bars and seat post takes your concentration off the road in front. ;-)
I think 130 quid would be a more suitable fine.(30 for Plod, 100 to buy lights that they have to show at a local nick) You will probably find that most of the 55 caught were riding unsafe, under - maintained cheapo Sterling House - style bikes anyway. Why would anybody prepared to ride crappy bikes like these bother with the small detail of actually forking out money to be seen on them. Sorry, I have my "Holier than thou" head on this morning :-)
Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
That could only be evaluated if they also said how many people had lights on their bike at the time.
The following Press Release was released on The Feast Of All Saints at 08.36.
SAFEDARK AND ITS FOUNDER, INTERNATIONAL ROAD SAFETY EXPERT AND LORD TOP BOSS MAN SMALL PITH CONFIRMED WHAT EXTENSIVE RESEARCH SCRIBBLED ON THE BACK OF BEER MATS HAD EARLIER SUGGESTED.
Pith, referring to himself in the 3rd person in an attempt to portray Safedark as a legitimate enterprise, said today:
"I am a qualified engineer, just don't ask me about my qualifications. The actions of the NAZI police officers in Oxford just shows the contempt the filth have for cyclists. Why don't they go and catch real criminals? It's so unfair, I've been cycling without lights for years and I've only died twice."
My comments on this: Tough. If you are cycling after dark without lights both front and rear, then you deserve to get fined. Lights are there for your own protection and not using them makes it easier for the motorists to complain against us.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
My comments on this: Tough. If you are cycling after dark without lights both front and rear, then you deserve to get fined. Lights are there for your own protection and not using them makes it easier for the motorists to complain against us.
Although to be fair, a bit like many other cycling safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate after dark despite many cyclists not using lights. I use them but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent.
-- Tony
" I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong." Bertrand Russell
"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
Although to be fair, a bit like many other cycling safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate after dark despite many cyclists not using lights. I use them but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent.
Obviously you only ride on well lit roads at night then!
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
My comments on this: Tough. If you are cycling after dark without lights both front and rear, then you deserve to get fined. Lights are there for your own protection and not using them makes it easier for the motorists to complain against us.
Although to be fair, a bit like many other cycling safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate after dark despite many cyclists not using lights. I use them but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent.
<PSmith mode=loony> Although to be fair, a bit like many other road safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate due to speed despite many road users not obeying the limits. I observe the limits but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent. </PSmith>
Its a dangerous area to tread. A set of barely legal lights costs under £15 and frequently under £5 (front and rear flashing markers).
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
My comments on this: Tough. If you are cycling after dark without lights both front and rear, then you deserve to get fined. Lights are there for your own protection and not using them makes it easier for the motorists to complain against us.
Quoted message said:
Although to be fair, a bit like many other cycling safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate after dark despite many cyclists not using lights. I use them but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent.
How many times have I seen a Stealth Cyclist, declared them to be an invisible eejit, and not seen the inherent contradiction in there? "Several", if I'm diplomatic to myself...
Though it is indeed the case that not using them is handing folk a stick to beat us with, and I'm not a great fan of being beaten.
Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
Obviously you only ride on well lit roads at night then!
Folk will generally limit speeds to what they can safely negotiate with the available light. If it's pitch dark on a rural back road very few people would even try to ride, because they couldn't see anything. It's not like people climb on board, zoom off at 20 and then act all surprised that the local hedgerow has themselves embedded in it. If it's dusky, or there's enough moon to see, you can get by if you don't get too adventurous. The fact of being a person shaped thing on a bike will get you picked out in headlights, usually helped by pedal reflectors etc. so you'll get seen. If someone cones off a stretch of road but it isn't lit, people don't typically drive in to the cordon as a rule, because they're looking where they're going.
I'm not saying it's a good idea, but it's not impossible and it doesn't actually appear to amount to signing your own death warrant either.
Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
Pc Mark Pilling, from Thames Vallley Police, said: "To stop 55 people in just two hours shows what a problem there is in Oxford with people cycling without lights and this campaign is intended to improve road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.
This is an unfair fine, these cyclists cannot continually check whether they have lits or not, looking down at the handle bars and seat post takes your concentration off the road in front. ;-)
Just a thought..... Would you need lights on a designated cycle path or heaven forbid on a footpath at night? Fred
In article <[email hidden]>, Kevin Harper [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
Although to be fair, a bit like many other cycling safety strategies, there is no evidence of an excess accident rate after dark despite many cyclists not using lights. I use them but the evidence for any safety benefit beyond the common sense we are all wary of, is absent.
Obviously you only ride on well lit roads at night then!
A) That's a non-sequitur.
B) Is there any concrete evidence to show that minimal legal lighting is significantly safer than the standard reflectors that all road bikes must be sold with?
On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:43:53 -0000, Kevin <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:
Lights are there for your own protection and not using them makes it easier for the motorists to complain against us.
Sticking rigidly to the letter and spirit of the law in hopes that motorists will stop their complaints is a complete waste of time. You'll find that cyclists get verbal abuse in any event, even if they are obeying the law ("Get onto the cycle path!"; "Don't ride two abreast!"; "Don't endanger your kids by letting them on the road!"; yada yada). Cyclists are subject to aggression for other, much more tribal and ingrained reasons.
By all means, obey the HC and encourage others to follow suit; just don't imagine it'll make any difference to the bigots who have already made up their minds about lycra louts.
Would the Thames Valley Police care to visit there colleagues in Cleveland then? I spotted 2 policemen on duty in Middlesborough town centre after the Proms in the Park concert there at about 10pm in September.
They were both riding bikes with illegal lights (looked like those miniscule 3 led back lights which flash dimly, but also have a fixed mode and are therefore do not meet the requirements of the regs). However, one didn't even have his switched on!. I was unable to note numbers etc. because I was too busy jumping out of their way when they swooped past me in the dark.
On second thoughts - they probably weren't illegal - they were riding on the pavement...
