Fed up of cyclists not wearing hi viz clothing and no lights on bikes

[Jdot]

Yesterday about this time I saw about this time 10 cyclists including food couriers on bikes with no lights and no hi viz clothing. Black clothing

This really makes me cross. If car drivers hit cyclists that are not visible, drivers should not be punished for this

This cyclist wore bright orange markings, had lights flashing, was cycling on a clear sunny summer day on a straight road with fantastic visibility, and was still killed: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2d9n9np9no.amp

All the lights and high vis clothing in the world won't save you if a driver makes a dangerous manoeuvre.

The most difficult thing about back lights I find is noticing when the battery is running low. I use two lights and try to stagger the charging cycles but sometimes still get caught out.

I remember 40 years ago being stopped in Ireland for not having a light on the bike I was riding (I was visiting my BF and it was a borrowed bike). Even my keen cyclist son moans about no lights or hi viz vests. I hate it when they don’t stop at lights or go through temporary lights.

I am more concerned about the cost of living, TBH.

Are you on the right thread? 😂

Agree! I always put my rear light on flashing because I always find when I’m driving that flashing lights are much more visible.

i live in a city where deliveroo cyclists are a real curse. They ‘cycle’ their illegal e-bikes everywhere, never once pedalling so they’re not legal. They go really high speeds, on pavement, off pavements, everywhere. Dressed in black, no lights. I’m not sure how the police can stop them unfortunately as a large number are surely illegal immigrants so they’re not going to hang around if police try to stop them.

OMG, I was driving home from the city last night and it was raining, so glare everywhere. This is in Canada.

A couple of bikes, all in black though some had a light. But the pedestrians! Also in black, and so hard to see!

We now have these green metal deliniators where I live, they are like metal sticks, about three inches wide. They are all along the bike lanes and also bump outs at intersections. But the effect in the dark and glare is to create more shiny, vertical surfaces, and interrupt the eye in the places where pedestrians are popping out of the sidewalk into the road.

The street lights and car headlights are also now LED and brighter and that makes the glare even worse.

Why people think it's a good idea to go out in the night totally in black blows my mind. It seems like 90% of the heavy coats are black and the sun is going down before 5 pm, where something light coloured people!

The food delivery guys are the worst in Manchester, always in dark clothing, balaclavas, caps, huge bikes with no lights on whatsoever. It’s only a matter of time before one gets killed or seriously injured. Same goes for the pedestrians at risk as they speed by on pavements or roads ignoring traffic lights and crossings. I dread to think how many deaths it will take before something is done.

@Springtimehere You are well behaved then. There are cycle paths along some main roads where I live. Are they used? Of course not. They require the cyclist to dismount occasionally. The vast majority are on the roads. The towns don’t have cycle lanes here. In London they are used where they have been installed but generally there are very unsafe practices in many areas where the lanes are not possible. This includes going down one way streets the wrong way, dodging between cars for fun on large roundabouts and being aggressive at crossings where they don’t stop for pedestrians.

No: high viz in not a legal requirement, very few laws apply to cyclists.

The stats exist but can be hard to find. You can get some idea of what is happening in your local area by following the court reports in your local press. It’s a shame that the BBC don’t cover road collisions in the same way that they do the (very rare) rail ones.

In my local area, cyclists are frequently complained about but don’t seem to cause collisions (although they can be victims). There’s also doesn’t seem to be much doubt about driver guilt in collisions due to the frequent references to speeding / being under the influence of drink or drugs etc.

I’ve voted YABU as I don’t think this type of post helps road safety - whereas joining your local road safety campaign or researching Vision Zero does.

Cyclists can just cycle better then as well when they hit pedestrians. Which has happened plenty of times by the way. Nearly happened to me on a path shared with cyclists when an asshole shouted at me for not automatically getting out his way because he rang his bell. I reminded him that as a pedestrian I had priority but he didn’t like that. Pisses me off when cyclists complain about being vulnerable on roads but then still expect pedestrians to move out of their way on shared paths. No you can bloody well stop and wait. Cyclists should face the same potential consequences for injuring pedestrians as motorists do to cyclists.

I despair at poor examples of cycle lane design. Often where cycle lanes are physically separated from the main carriageway they are full of litter, debris and are more dangerous than the main road.

Cycle paths are also often not on tarmac, which means you can get to your destination caked in dirt.

one of the most irritating paths near me goes twice the distance of the road. Ok if you are on a family trip at the weekend. Useless for commuting.

Then there’s the separate cycle paths which have endless side roads coming in where you have to wait to cross with the green man / bike, but if you’d stuck to the main carriageway you wouldn’t.

Worse of all is the ‘shared use’ paths, with endless kids / prams / dogs milling around. Council can’t be bothered building proper infrastructure for cycling? Just stick up a shared use sign and wipe your hands of it!

Since when did pedestrians have priority? As a cyclist on a shared path I’m far more vulnerable due to the dogs. Shared path means SHARE! Take up more than half of the path and you’re being an arsehole.

Some of these e-bikes may well class as motorbikes. It’s difficult for the police, but they can do stuff although there seems to be some variation between forces. It would be good to have better reporting on what best practice is as it is an issue of concern for lots of people.

You say yourself that you saw them. Which negates your point that a driver shouldn’t be punished if they hit one.

Pretty stupid for anyone to go out in the dark in black clothing. Cyclist, scooter, walker, runner.

Whats with all of the idiots cycling/scooting in the road towards oncoming traffic, lately?

I'm a runner- and got clipped by an Ebike last week.

I was running on the pavement, wearing a high-viz yellow running jacket, and reflective headband, alongside the main road/dual carriage way. He came quickly out of side path onto the pavement, from the back of the golf course, as I was running past he clipped my shoulder- I shouted at him, but he never stopped, he then joined the main road. He was dressed head to foot in black, no lights (it was early morning), the Ebike was quick enough to be keeping up with the traffic & he had no helmet on.

In fairness it has made me more cautious on that route.

However, i'm robust and fit and can shake it off, but there are a couple of retirement apartment blocks nearby, if he had done the same to an older frail person he could have caused some real damage. Not to mention if he had come off his bike he could have landed in the road. Surely this is about us all making a bit of effort in shared spaces.

@Snailslide On dirt? Not here. £millions spent on road standard tarmac! Some are shared and little evidence of use by dog walkers either. Most people prefer a good walk on footpaths, as do the dogs. There’s no excuse for cyclists to be on the main roads. My view is, if there’s a beautiful cycle way, fine if you aren’t on it. No police though so the cyclists just carry on holding everyone up and wearing dark clothing. Plus cyclists here wear Lycra. I believe they get changed at work. If they don’t - yuk!!!

Flashing lights are useful for attracting attention, then a steady one makes it easier to track a path and anticipate movements.

Shared spaces are not good street design though. Standards for safe cycle routes can be found in Local Highway Note 1/20, which is very clear that cyclists should be treated as vehicles and separated both from pedestrians and high volume motor traffic. If the e-bike classes as a motorbike, then it should be on the road.

A lot of the problems complained about here could be prevented by local councils adhering to the national engineering standards.

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As a horse rider who never leaves the yard without high viz, it shocks me how many cyclists feel brave enough to ride without high viz or lights - I know how vulnerable I feel on the roads and they must be the same?

I agree! It’s awful - especially this time of year when it gets dark so early and the light just goes. Mind you some car drivers who don’t have their lights on when it’s gloomy is also awful.
There should be a campaign on it

As someone who doesn’t drive I agree - cyclists near me are generally either going down the road the wrong way or on the pavement annoying pedestrians.

And scooters and e bikes are just as bad.