I’ve written a few times about bicycle lights. It’s an important topic, especially because I see so many riders on the road at night without lights. Missouri law says you must have white light up front. Common sense says you should light up like the the 4th of July.
Nate, a Carbon Trace reader, sent me e-mail saying he’d recently purchased a nice cruiser-style light for his bicycle. And he sent me a picture of the box.
It’s certainly true that riding at night can be dangerous under certain circumstances (e.g. riding without lights). You might want to check out this list of bicycle statistics for some hard data on the matter.
Obviously this is a CYA maneuver by Nirve that’s good for a mild chuckle. I suppose they must make this warning simply to cover their own hides in case of litigation.
But this bit of bicycle culture detritus also adds to the fear-mongering. Everywhere we see labels, signs, and warnings urging us to be afraid of our bicycles. We should certainly be vigilant in ensuring our individual safety, but the statistics just don’t indicate that fear is a rational response.
Comments 4
The next time you’re in Wal-Mart or Target or any other dept. store that sells bicycles, have a close look. They all have “Don’t ride at night” warnings on them. I agree that it’s a CYA issue. The people who make and sell these bikes definitely understand that their intended customer can’t be expected to outfit the machine properly.
Posted 29 Jul 2009 at 7:43 am ¶Might this be another case of big govt, in the form of the CPSC wanting to protect us “children?”
Scoff if you will, but that’s who regulates ALL bikes. Even ones kids would never come near. Revisit the recent Cannondale recall due to not installing “pie plates” on high end bikes.
Posted 29 Jul 2009 at 8:27 am ¶How funny! I wonder how people would react if they were told it was too dangerous to drive their cars at night.
Of course you’ve got to use lights. If you’ve ever seen someone on a bike at night without one this becomes almost painfully obvious. Maybe you could post some contrasting videos to make the point.
Posted 29 Jul 2009 at 9:00 am ¶Hilarious to read a bicycle light with a warning “never ride at night.”
What, pray tell, is the product for?
Posted 29 Jul 2009 at 9:23 pm ¶