With the rapidly approaching prospect of complete darkness at 4:30pm, we commuting cyclists eagerly anticipate mounting obnoxious flashing lights on our bikes and wrapping our bodies in unfashionable reflective garb. Let's face it - riding a bike at night during the winter does little to enhance our image as normal members of society. However, lights and reflectors are pretty darn helpful tools in every cyclist's never-ending struggle against getting run over by a truck. So wear those lights and reflectors with pride.
Now is a good time to brush up on what the Wisconsin Statutes have to say about how a cyclist should be seen at night (you can also use this as a sleep aid should you be troubled by insomnia):
No person may operate a bicycle, motor bicycle, or electric personal assistive mobility device upon a highway, sidewalk, bicycle lane, or bicycle way during hours of darkness unless the bicycle, motor bicycle, or electric personal assistive mobility device is equipped with or, with respect to a bicycle or motor bicycle, the operator is wearing, a lamp emitting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front of the bicycle, motor bicycle, or electric personal assistive mobility device. A bicycle, motor bicycle, or electric personal assistive mobility device shall also be equipped with a red reflector that has a diameter of at least 2 inches of surface area or, with respect to an electric personal assistive mobility device, that is a strip of reflective tape that has at least 2 square inches of surface area, on the rear so mounted and maintained as to be visible from all distances from 50 to 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red or flashing amber light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear may be used in addition to but not in lieu of the red reflector.
What's surprising is that a 500-foot stream of white light is required for the front of your bike whereas a cruddy little 2-inch reflector is deemed sufficient for the back. I don't know about you, but I worry a lot more about getting mowed down from behind that I do about having a head-on collision with someone. If a car is driving on the wrong side of the road - so far over so as to hit an oncoming cyclist head-on - then the driver is blind or completely drunk, and in either case your front-mounted light isn't going to save you. Sad, but true.
On the other hand, the back of your bike is where you should be mounting a huge flashing neon sign saying, "Caution - crazy person riding a bike at night during the winter. Please, please, please don't hit me!" So here is one of those rare instances where you get extra points for going beyond the letter of the law. Go ahead and get one of those flashing red lights for the back of your bike. Heck, get two of them. However, lest you smugly conclude that you have easily satisfied the requirements of the statute with your new flashing rear light, check the statute once again. Should you elect to mount a rear light, Wisconsin law says you still have to keep your cruddy 2-inch reflector installed on the back.
Oops! I threw that thing out ages ago. Guess I'll be making a trip to the bike shop for a new one.
