Good discussion about lights at night with some good ideas- thanks for bringing up the topic.
The bike monitor, bike cop) program has been long gone. If Madison and/or UW PD were interested in doing stepped up enforcement I think they would have to find extra money either in their overtime budget or with an outside grant. I have no idea if this is a possibility nor do I know if the increased staffing next year would change any of this. For the statistical minded folks out there. About 1/5 bicycle crashes in Madison happen in times of darkness It's estimated that 5% of all trips happen during times of darkness. Fewer than 20% of cyclists use lights at night- This count was done in September when the casual cyclist was still out. That percentage should be higher this time of year when just the hardcore rider is out there. The profile of the cyclist who gets hit at night in Madison is pretty similar to the profile of all bicycles who are involved in crashes. 40% happen to cyclists in their 20's 70% are male The most common crash involves a motorist who turns left into an oncoming cyclist. If motorists can't see you at 10 a.m. they certainly can't see you at 10 p.m. I don't have any hard data about crashes outside of Madison. But I can tell you that 4 of the 10 cyclists killed in Wisconsin this year were riding in the dark. All were in unlit areas- all were hit from behind. Getting hit from behind is pretty rare in urban areas. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eric Westhagen Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 11:24 AM To: -john martin; BikiesSubmissions Subject: Re: [Bikies] Re: Getting More Cyclists to Use Lights at Night Dear John Martin, (stolen lights) The new Catye I described in my last post comes off in a flash and can be put in any shirt pocket. Why would someone have to leave their $30.00 "flashlight" on the bike. And being at night, such a small flashlight is handy anywhere. And the led red light, --for all the years I have had that, I have used the "back pocket clip" rather than fastening it to the seat post. EW -john martin wrote: > The problem casual bikers and bike lights, as I see it, is that they > often park outside and have their lights stolen. Bike light makers > seem to rely on theft to keep up revenue streams, and in way of thanks > to thieves, they make the bike lights easier and easier to steal (I'd > reckon that most light thefts are not for the vast used bike light > market, but are by drunks and hooligans who like bright blinky > things). I'd love to see a simple LED light that semi- permanently > affixes to the handlebars, and requires at least a screwdriver to take > off, and breaks if removed incorrectly. > > And, this may be controversial, and indeed I would have argued against > it earlier in my life (pre-LED), but I'd like to see citations issued > for lightless bikes at dark. > > -john > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
