The majority of bicycles sold in Chicago are not legal to ride at night. Unless a bike is equipped with a light you may not ride it at night. By my observation, very few bikes sold in the city come with a light. Reflectors are not enough, and having them does not place the rider in compliance with the law. Specifically, Chicago Municipal Code requires bicycles to have a white light on the front that can be seen from at least 500 feet. On the back a red light or reflector is required. Recently, the City of Chicago created a good (though slightly weird) video that demonstrates why it is so important to ride with a light at night:
Before you leave the bike store with your new ride, buy a light. If you don't have a light on your current ride, get one. Hell, go ahead and buy two, one for the front and one for the back. If you don't know what kind of light to buy here's a suggestion.
Too bad they are blocking a bike lane in order to make this video (there is a disclaimer at the end, still...).
ReplyDeleteI like Momentum Magazine's uber-campy Get Visible music video.
ReplyDeleteI did note that the makers were positioned in the bike lane during filming. . . Oops.
ReplyDeleteYokota:
ReplyDeleteWow. . . I mean, wow! I couldn't make it to the end of that video. Funny though.
Great video. I figure it's smartest to follow the same rule for cars: to turn on your lights at dusk and other low light conditions (raining etc).
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how many people ride without lights, even as a pedestrian I cannot see them and have almost had my clock cleaned by bikers without lights who I didn't see at night even when looking right at them.
Also anyone riding in the loop even during the day, the shadows make it so dark there it a smart idea I think, esp if you ride under one of the L tracks, I turn on my back light on wells when I get close to the Merc for that reason.
You make a good point about riding in the Loop, especially under the L tracks. I often fear that even in the light of day I am hard to see given the shadows and other distractions that confront motorists.
ReplyDelete