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Lights not tickets (City of London Police).jpgTrick or treat? City of London Police handing out free bike lights on Monday
City of London Police are to hand cyclists bike lights instead of penalty notices on Monday October 31 and Tuesday November 1. The move is timed to coincide with the clocks going back, a time when many cyclists get caught out having been cycling home in daylight the week before.
The initiative has come about thanks to the Road Danger Reduction Partnership, which comprises the City of London Corporation, City Police, the London Fire Brigade, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.
On the Monday, officers and PCSOs will be placed on the cycle superhighway near Blackfriars Bridge between 4.40pm and 6.30pm.
On the Tuesday, the City of London Cadet Unit will be handing out lights between 5pm and 9pm near the junction of Moorgate and Ropemaker Street.
Chief Inspector McKoy said: “Road safety is a key priority for the City of London Police and this is a great initiative that will aide safer travel for cyclists. As the clocks change and nights draw in, it is imperative that cyclists are seen at night. I would encourage all cyclists to come along on Monday 31 October and Tuesday 1 November."
Chris Hayward, Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation said: "The City of London Corporation is working hard to improve the safety of cycle commuters in the Square Mile. We want to encourage safe cycling and having working lights on a bicycle at night is both a legal requirement and crucial to safety. I hope to see all the City’s cyclists lit up brightly over the coming winter months.”
Similar initiatives are run each year in a number of cities, including Cambridge and Oxford where a number of students return to cycling not having ridden for years. Earlier this month, York police have also announced that they too will be handing out lights where necessary, but added that “if people are failing to act or caught twice, they will be getting a ticket.”
Following the two-day campaign by City of London Police, cyclists who do receive a ticket for riding without lights at night can have it rescinded if they attend a cycling safety lecture as part of Operation Atrium. Lectures will be run monthly.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- David9694 2 hours 15 min ago
I hope you're all checking your insurance policies, helmets, test certificates and road tax, it's the 2024 round-up...
- check12 3 hours 55 min ago
200 people out of a close by population of how many? Just build it and stop being a wuss
- Spangly Shiny 5 hours 28 min ago
To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
- Rendel Harris 7 hours 49 min ago
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
- Rendel Harris 8 hours 37 min ago
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
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They don't make them like they used to
- LongitudeLatitude 12 hours 14 min ago
Thanks for using my picture of chocolate in your opening picture. The original can be found here, chocolate! | LongitudeLatitude | Flickr.
- lesterama 12 hours 41 min ago
Fair comments. I'll put my hands up and say I got the wrong end of the stick with this one. ¡Feliz navidad! Here's a pic for the season of goodwill.
- Mike Holmes 12 hours 45 min ago
A trip down memory lane (or street) for me - Harry Quinn's bike shop was at the top of our Street and I used to spend time staring at the bikes and...
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20 comments
For many young men on bikes in the town area where I live, it would seem that any colour other than grey or black is deeply uncool and lights on a bike even uncooler. Thank goodness not all of them have thought to strip out the reflectives on their pedals as well. I drive as well as cycle so look out for movement - but it's hard to see on these gloomy not-quite-light-yet mornings, evenings worse so ... I just assume it's some kind of bizarre game of chicken.
To require it by law, no. That quickly becomes silly, and even the requirement to fit a bell has been abolished. To require all shops to offer it, possibly, but it would be better if more retailers began to do that without being compelled to.
A problem is that our existing laws are quite oudated, and they weren't very good to begin with. I'm sure the industry would prefer an EU standard, and the Germans get it mostly right (the dynamo part being overtaken by improved battery tech).
Bollocks ! It is no different from having lights on cars.
It is actually very different from having lights on a car for several reasons;
Note that like most people replying on here I've managed to avoid using innappropriate references to bodily parts just because some might disagree....
Stunning argument.
Sounds like a great initiative to me. lights are so cheap these days, the time spent handing out freebies seems like a great idea. quite aside from the tragedy of the situation, the cost of a single road accident runs into thousands.
Would it not be more sensible - by law - to fit a set of working lights on all bikes sold . This law would apply to every bike sold ,whether it be new or second hand , including all private and trade sales. This will eliminate all excuses for not having a set of lights.
It beggars belief that the lack of an adequate set of LED lights that cost sometimes less than a tenner can be an excuse for not being lit up at night.
So the police who haven't the time or resources to deal with texting motons do have time to stop cyclists?
To be fair it'll be PSCOs, and handing out free lights is about the extent of their legal power. Well that and fining people for riding on the pavement.
One proper Police officer of course, to make sure they don't all clear off early.
Lights on cars would seem to be a minor issue at this time of year compared to the problem of drivers not waiting for their windows and mirrors to clear properly before setting off. Strobes, high viz, reflectors and all the rest are far less effective if the driver basically cannot see out of their side window.
From our priviliged position atop a bicycle it can be easy to forget how restricted a drivers view can be. Free bicycle lights and some friendly advice is appreciated but maybe the Police could wait at traffic lights, throw a cup of dirty water over your windscreen and then hand out free ice scrapers and demisting cloths?
I just wish everyone would set their lights up properly. With the dark mornings this week, every bike I've seen seems to be either no lights or something resembling a small sun pointing straight at my eyeballs. If it's got a beam point the damn light at the road, not the horizon.
And for the prat who decided to ride towards me on an unlit path, using the insane strobe setting on an ebay special cree light, go hit a pothole.
The names are not chosen, but are spat out by a computer programme.
Another own goal for the police, how can they be so inept as to use the same operation name for cyclists in London as was used in Bristol for drug dealers?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3109635.stm
extract "more than 1,000 people have been arrested under the long-running police targeting of drug pushers, codenamed Operation Atrium."
I'm not sure totally sure that many people affected by this will instantly call to mind an unrelated police operation 13 years ago in another part of the country. But maybe I'm just forgetful.
Lets see. £75 for Rapha kneewarmers, + £5 delivery.
Say I can get a tenner profit for each set on eBay.
That's just 8 laps and t-shirt changes!
hmmmmm....free lights!!!
Don't tell everyone! It was going to be the only day I rode home without lights...
I reckon I'd class as "well lit up" but what amazes me is the number of the "ninja cyclists" out there that are on expensive kit, and it seems it's a case of they are scared of teh weight of the 2 LED lights or the detrimental effect on their image. There's also a scary number of school kids (the teenage ones, the younger ones tend to be well lit, and in reflective gear) heading to school at dark O'clock with no lights.
Personally I'd rather be seen as "overly visible" than not be seen, and end up as a pizza.
That said, there's also an increasing number of cars running around with no rear lights on in the dark, as they have their LED "daylight running lights" on so they get light in the dashboard, yet forget they are unlit at the rear. Oddly these are usually dark coloured cars.... Ninja in a Prius !
bikelights.jpg
Agree, I often see this, not only around central London (where it's less of an issue because they are generally visible under street lights) but also on the motorway in the pitch black, which is quite alarming. Whilst everyone should be responsible for ensuring they actually have their lights on (DRLs or not), to me it seems a major backward step to design a system which separates the front and rear lights and gives the driver the impression (because they can the road ahead of them) that their lights are on.