Great, a week after I spend $70 on lights so that my friends can do Critical Mass with me in Sacramento (where front and rear lights are required by law if riding after dark), SFBC and Muni give away free blinky bike lights. The event goes from 6-7pm tonight at various locations throughout the city. The Mission spot is Valencia and Chavez, in front of St. Luke’s. SFist has the details here.
, SFBC and Muni give away free blinky bike lights. The event goes from 6-7pm tonight at various locations throughout the city. […]</p>
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[...] ride on fire. I wholeheartedly approve. (This is definitely an option if you miss out on the free blinky lights [...]
GOD DAMMIT!
If it makes you feel any better they ran out in about 30 minutes.
Front and rear lights (or at least rear reflectors) are required everywhere in California if not the entire US. True, lots of SF idiots ride without them and then yell at the people who they almost run into when they can’t see the dressed-in-black-with-no-helmet-fixie-rider-with-no-lights, but, uh, it’s the bike rider who’s at fault there.
I’m all for lights. I’m just not crazy about the prospect of getting ticketed if you happen to be out after dark without a light.
I got a set of free lights. Probably the first time I ever got somthin’ for nuthin’. May I just say thank you to the SF Bike Coalition for taking the time to pass those out, and for making our roads easier and better for biking.
I was about to write the definitive smart-ass snipe at this post, but, fortunately, “regular sf bike commuter” saved me the trouble. It is true that I have seen bike riders nearly run over by cars, but it happens far more frequently that I am nearly run over, while crossing the street at night, by bike riders who not only cannot be seen, because they have no lights, but are often also running the red (because traffic regulations are irrelevant to the nimble riders of relatively slow TWO-wheeled vehicles, who are clearly capable of instantly assessing any possible hazard and avoiding it nimbly). OH BOY!
And don’t even get me started on PEDESTRIANS who set a bad example by ignoring traffic signals, and the in-line skaters who terrorize both pedestrians and auto traffic on Stockton every Friday night. Assholes!