(COLUMBIA, MO) -
As Daylight Saving Time ends, commuters cycling to and from home now experience an earlier sunset and sunrise. In an effort to encourage the use of bike lights, the Columbia Police Department, in partnership with GetAbout Columbia and Columbia Parks and Recreation, will distribute free lights as part of "Lighten Up Columbia," a bicycle safety awareness campaign.
Patrol cars will be equipped with prepackaged kits including a front light, rear taillight and a flyer summarizing Missouri laws and City traffic ordinances related to safe cycling. During evening, routine traffic patrol, officers will provide light sets to cyclists riding without adequate lights or reflective materials attached to their bikes. The campaign kickoff date was planned to coincide with the end of Daylight Saving Time.
"The Lighten Up Columbia safety campaign will assist in making nighttime travel in Columbia safer for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians," said Columbia Police Sgt. Robert Dochler.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data from 2012 indicates that 69 percent of bicycle fatalities in the United States occurred in urban areas, and 48 percent of the fatalities happened between 4 p.m. and midnight. The Columbia Police Department would like to remind cyclists that it's not just an extremely good idea to have lights on your bike; it's actually the law in regards to a front-facing white light and rear-facing red reflector. Use of both a front light and taillight allows the cyclist to see and also improves their visibility to drivers of motor vehicles. GetAbout Columbia recommends also wearing high visibility clothing.
"Cyclists riding on City streets at night or early morning hours without adequate lighting, are not only subject to a $49 fine," said Janet Godon, GetAbout Columbia Outreach Coordinator, "they're also putting themselves as well as drivers and pedestrians in a perilous position."
Summary of City Ordinances Related to Bike Lights as Required Equipment on Cycles
Sec. 14-508. -Required equipment.
…(b)
Lights. Each person operating a cycle on a street or highway during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise shall have his cycle equipped with the following:
(1) A front-facing lamp on the front or carried by the rider which shall emit a white light visible at night under normal atmospheric conditions on a straight, level, unlighted roadway at five hundred (500) feet.
(2) A rear-facing red reflector, at least two (2) square inches in reflective surface area, on the rear which shall be visible at night under normal atmospheric conditions on a straight, level, unlighted roadway when viewed by a vehicle driver under the lower beams of vehicle headlights at six hundred (600) feet…
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About GetAbout Columbia (getaboutcolumbia.com): Funding for GetAbout Columbia is provided by the Federal Highway Administration's Non-Motorized Transportation Program. Education and encouragement programs are administered by the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department.
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