Kids riding bikes with no lights on

[Paul Baldwin]

Is it just me or is this increasing massively lately? I know its the summer holidays but something need to be done about it FFS. Lately I've seen loads of them at anything up to 2am. The other day it was 3 riding side by side at the bottom of a national speed limit dual carriageway, pulling wheelies and ****ing about. All dressed in black or dark colours too, one with a hoodie on and a mask so you could only see the daft ***** eyes! They don't even have the brains to ride on the curb

Paul.

[Chameleon]

Its not just kids. There was a time you never saw a bike WITHOUT lights but nowadays you are lucky to even see one with them on! Ive seen so many people on bike, in dark gear n no lights...

[TINTIN]

NO common sense either

[Roozla]

Originally Posted by TINTIN

NO common sense either

Isn't that the route of the problem? That and they don't give a monkeys and no-one seems to enforce the rules now.

[EY]

True, seems like the basic rules aren't being enforced these days. How has it become acceptable to drive around with your fogs and sidelights on at dusk?

[Vectra Dave]

When was the last time you saw cops in a car or on foot, patrolling? Its a chuffing rare thing nowadays.
Speedcamers cant catch a bike without lights, so the riders wont get caught.

IMO this is evolution and survival of the fittest at work. Those with no common sense get squished. No bad thing imo. Unfortunately, it means ruining some poor drivers life after the accident though.

[BigDave1979]

Kids riding bikes with no lights on... anything up to 2am... bottom of a national speed limit dual carriageway... dressed in black or dark colours

Candidates for natural selection. I just feel sorry for the poor git that'll end up flattening them - no doubt the parent of the year nominee that spawned them will be screaming for justice when they do get mowed down.

[Pete_58]

Like Chameleon said, its not just kids. I work shifts and sometimes blokes ride with no lights!!! Great example if they have kids! The police used to enforce it but are to busy dealing with other issues, whatever they may be??!!

Originally Posted by BigDave1979

Candidates for natural selection. I just feel sorry for the poor git that'll end up flattening them - no doubt the parent of the year nominee that spawned them will be screaming for justice when they do get mowed down.

I agree!!

[ANDYRACER]

Originally Posted by Paul Baldwin

They don't even have the brains to ride on the curb

Paul.

On the spot fine if caught.

[cambridge]

correct, in the highway code its against the rules to ride on the pavement (unless its marked as a cyclepath).

I nearly hit some twunt last night on the road. It was purely fluke that I caught a tiny glimpse of white from his ****ing Ipod headphones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd love to have taken him out of the genepool, but I fear I would have wound up punished for his stupidity

[CraigGreen]

Seeing as LED lightsets are about £10 or so for a set, tbh theres no excuse.

If yu have to ride without lights or on the pavement, it makes sense to always give way & be courteous. Its people behaving the opposite that are the nuissance.

[Trevor]

The ones that scare me are the ones with a back light, but no front light. You ovetrake them in an atric, look in the mirror to make sure you have passed them and it is safe to pull back in and where the **** are they?

[astraracer19]

Last year I nearly took a kid straight off his bmx as I went to pull out of a junction. He was wearing black, on a dark bike and the first I saw of him was when he passed within in a couple of inches of my front bumper, just as I lifted the clutch. Scared the shot out of me, even thigh it was his fault.

[nrj]

bet all you lot put lights on all time time, i know i didnt.

[cambridge]

the odd time I do haul my fat ass onto a bike, its in daylight hours only

[Paul Baldwin]

Originally Posted by ANDYRACER

On the spot fine if caught.

I know it is but if any copper does that to someone who's riding on an empty path at 2am they really are taking the piss!
Seems I'm not the only one to come across these cretins then. I'm all for the Darwin theory on this one but like you say its the motorist who would no doubt carry the can too if anything happened.

Paul.

[dj_woodster]

my view on this is that, if they get hit it's natural selection at work!!! they'll learn

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by Paul Baldwin

I know it is but if any copper does that to someone who's riding on an empty path at 2am they really are taking the piss!

I never ever understand that attitude, if it is an offence then it is an offence. So why is it taking the piss? Is it OK to break the law if it is early morning?

[Paul Baldwin]

Well, common sense tells me that that rule is there to stop cyclists from coming in to contact with pedestrians. If there are no pedestrians on the path at all due to the hour of the morning and some dimp hasn't got any lights on their bike then why the hell should they not ride on the path out of harms way?

Paul.

[lethal]

I had this last night after reading this thread.

I was down a local lane going 50 in a 60 limit behind a Saxo maintaining normal safe stopping distance plus some margin for the Saxo spontaneously disintegrating etc.

All of a sudden in the light spill of the Saxo's offside I see the silhouette of something (I thought at first it was a dog) passing between us from the offside to the nearside. The wonders of the human brain told me that at current rate of closure, I'd arrive at the silhouette before it cleared my near side so I applied immediate maximum braking and turned a bit toward the centre of the road (bear in mind, I thought it was a dog so I was prepared to hit it to save myself from losing control).

With the Bavarian Barge down to just walking pace, two wheels flashed inside the cone of my nearside headlight about 5 feet away.

Looking in the mirror, I see a cocky little prick, about 15 or so, in my brakelights staring over his shoulder as if *I* had done something wrong.

I don't go off like I used to but as I pulled away, I had a moment of l'esprit d'escalier thinking how I could have given him a quiet yet epic b0ll0cking. Then I realised that I didn't really want that. If I humiliated him in front of his friend, he might think twice about being so ludicrously stupid in future and I'd hate to deprive him of the Darwin award he must so dearly covet.

I'd just like to thank BMW for making one of the quickest stopping road cars ever, Lemforder for my brakes and suspension, Osram for my Silverstar headlights and Dunlop for making summer tyres which don't completely suck on a wet road.

[Trevor]

And what if someone steps out of a doorway or something?

[Paul Baldwin]

Originally Posted by Trevor

And what if someone steps out of a doorway or something?

Well at that time in the morning the chances are more remote and I'd much rather that to be quite honest than have the idiot in a mangled mess under my car.
Sounds like Lethal knows where we are coming from on this one! A close one by the sounds of it, lucky for the little goon it was you and not many others, I doubt my car would have stopped tbh.

[turbo steve]

I would never let my daughter ride her bike at night without a light, but when I was young I rode my bike all the time without any lights and I'm OK some people need to get a grip as PC has took over the world

[wayne451]

They get right on my tits.

Our road is rife with pricks due to having a Spar at the end of the road where they like to hang out and be 'street' init.

I came out of there about a month back, possibly more, sparked up a fag and some little kid came over and asked if he could borrow a fag, I rather unpolitely advised him that I am not a free cigarette machine and to GTF and buy his own.

So, I am walking up the road back to the house and the little chav bastards start going past on their bikes, the one I wouldn't give a smoke to then turned round, had a run up towards me and dodged at the last second, meaning I stopped walking. I thought to myself that he was a twat. 30 seconds later he has looped around and same thing again. He came around for a third run and as he swerved at the last minute I didn't stop walking, just stepped 1' to my left (as he went to do his uber bunny hop into the road ) and sent the little **** and his bike on it's arse into the road. I just gave him a look as if to say 'Grow up you scrawny little twat!' and carried on walking.

I must have a run in a week with the wankers on my estate on average? Nearly always from little bastards asking me for cigs.

[Nimraynn]

Originally Posted by TINTIN

NO common sense either

Common sense? That went out of fashion years ago, apparently.

Bike + No Lights = Deathwish.