Dark night and cycle lights

[Manxman]

Please please with those of you out there with youngsters who cycle ensure they have working lights on their bikes.

Driving into Thurso a couple of nights ago I passed two youngsters on bikes, one of the bikes had a passenger standing on the back wheel hubs, there were no lights to be seen, not even a red reflector on the back mud guard. They were wearing dark clothing and it really is a small miracle they were not hurt by passing traffic.

So light up your bikes before there is a tragedy.

[Bobinovich]

Very good advice - I cringe anytime I see kids cruising around without lights, especially as it darkens off quite quickly as we approach the winter.

With Argos doing a set from just £6.97 (http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500000701&langId=-1&searchTerms=3332452) there's really no excuse.

[footie chick]

The cost of bike lights is a VERY small price to pay.

[Stargazer]

Also it would be useful if car drivers turn on dipped lights at dusk instead of driving round with dim sidelights.

[lassieinfife]

I have never understood why parents buy cycles without buying lights etc at same time:roll:

[BRIE]

bet they were'nt wearing helmets either!
You hardly ever see a child with a helmet on anymore, my daughter says everyone laughs at her when she has hers on. I have to point out to her who would come out better off in an accident.

[rhino]

before we moved here, our neighbours told us that their son had fallen off his bike and hit his head of the edge of the kerb. He caused serious damage to his head and was flown to hospital. He was immediately flown to Aberdeen head injuries hospital were he was in a serious condition for ages.

He survived, but he was only just playing in his street as any small child does, BUT he didn't have a helmet, if he had would it have been so serious.

[George Brims]

I used to cycle a lot (up to 5,000 miles a year) about 25 years ago, and never wore a helmet. Few did in those days. However any odd time I do cycle now I do wear one, based on reading the following statistic. 95% of people who die in a bicycle accident would not have died if they had been wearing a helmet. In other words you can fall on yer bum all you like, but if you fall on your heid you better have a helmet on it.

As far as lights go, the ones you can buy now are so much better than the junk they used to sell then. Remember those ones that took the flat shaped battery with the two brass tabs? You had to look straight in the front to see if they were lit, since the pool of light they put on the road was so dim.

[rhino]

yeah, or the ones that ran of your tyres (dynamo, or something like that).

The faster you cycled the brighter the light got and if you slowed down the light would dim and go off if you went to slow!!!

:lol:

[emb123]

when I was a kid I didn't have lights because I couldn't afford batteries - mainly because my pocket money was spent within 15 minutes (once I got to the sweet shop) - and it wouldn't run to a set of batteries, not like I would have considered it remotely worth bothering about anyway.

I also urge parents to prompt their kids veryb regularly about if their lights are ok when they go out 'cause kids don't bother about that sort of thing so it needs the adults to think for them. Better safe than sorry