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Bike lights are far more important safety gear than a helmet is. But not having a helmet attracts more negative attention than not having lights does.

maccard 11y ago
That depends on where you are. I was stopped at 5am one morning cycling across Dublin city (my light died on the way) by the police.
Eric_WVGG 11y ago
I used to consider lights “optional,” but since bicycling has grown in popularity, I have observed more lightless riders — or failed to observe, rather — and now quite agree. I’m amazed that I got away with riding effectively invisible, with no incidents, for as long as I did. Now I’m baffled by the fact that lights aren’t built into the frames of all non-competitive road bikes…
- mcv 11y ago
  They are standard on all Dutch bikes. Is that not true in other countries? Bikes without lights, rear reflectors and reflectors on the wheels or tires are far, far more dangerous than not wearing a helmet.
  - panglott 11y ago
    Reflectors are standard in the US, I think, but not lights. Reflectors are in no way enough.
    - mcv 11y ago
      You are right, just reflectors is not enough (though tire reflectors are amazingly effective for traffic coming from the side). Lights really should be standard.
umanwizard 11y ago
Is this true? I assume anyone riding without lights at night is a gigantic moron. I barely notice people not wearing helmets, which is much more common (sadly, they are both fairly common).
- apendleton 11y ago
  Among cyclists, not having a light gets noticed, but the non-cyclist narrative about crashes in, say, a newspaper, is almost always "X was/was not wearing a helmet" and almost never "X was riding without lights in the dark."
mcv 11y ago
> But not having a helmet attracts more negative attention than not having lights does. Not true. At least not universally. It all depends on how many and what kind of idiots live where you bike.

maccard 11y ago

That depends on where you are. I was stopped at 5am one morning cycling across Dublin city (my light died on the way) by the police.

Eric_WVGG 11y ago

I used to consider lights “optional,” but since bicycling has grown in popularity, I have observed more lightless riders — or failed to observe, rather — and now quite agree. I’m amazed that I got away with riding effectively invisible, with no incidents, for as long as I did. Now I’m baffled by the fact that lights aren’t built into the frames of all non-competitive road bikes…

mcv 11y ago
They are standard on all Dutch bikes. Is that not true in other countries? Bikes without lights, rear reflectors and reflectors on the wheels or tires are far, far more dangerous than not wearing a helmet.
- panglott 11y ago
  Reflectors are standard in the US, I think, but not lights. Reflectors are in no way enough.
  - mcv 11y ago
    You are right, just reflectors is not enough (though tire reflectors are amazingly effective for traffic coming from the side). Lights really should be standard.

umanwizard 11y ago

Is this true? I assume anyone riding without lights at night is a gigantic moron. I barely notice people not wearing helmets, which is much more common (sadly, they are both fairly common).

apendleton 11y ago
Among cyclists, not having a light gets noticed, but the non-cyclist narrative about crashes in, say, a newspaper, is almost always "X was/was not wearing a helmet" and almost never "X was riding without lights in the dark."

mcv 11y ago

> But not having a helmet attracts more negative attention than not having lights does. Not true. At least not universally. It all depends on how many and what kind of idiots live where you bike.