There needs to be a crackdown on cyclists riding at night with no lights
I write with the utmost annoyance at the amount of cyclists on the road at night with NO LIGHTS!
Why anyone should want to ride through town, in and out of unlit areas, beats me but this is so dangerous to both the cyclist and more worryingly, the driver on the road who is not able to see the unlit cyclist.
I have heard stories of near misses where drivers have had to swerve as a cyclist riding with no lights, no reflectors and dark clothes, is invisible until the last minute.
If a person in a car hit a cyclist, with or without lights, I wonder whether the driver would be prosecuted with driving without due care and attention. If it was fatal ... well, I wouldn’t like to think of the outcome.
The fact of the matter is, riding a bike in the dark is illegal and there needs to be a crackdown. No warnings this time, but fines.
Maybe police should try what their Cambridge colleagues used earlier this winter. The officers there used a special scheme in which offenders had a chance to avoid paying up under the lights instead of tickets project.
Those caught are given seven days to buy lights and fix them to their bike – and have their £30 fixed penalty notice scrapped.
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Then hopefully we will have visible cyclists on the road (riding safely I hope).
RACHEL ELLIOTT
Via e-mail
