Reflectors
sem69
Posts: 106
Do you have these on your bike? (Front, rear, spokes, and pedals)
My bike has none at all cos I have clipless pedals and it only came with a rear reflector which has since come off. I realise this is illegal which doesn't really bother me, but is it dangerous? I've got good front and rear lights. Should I bother fitting reflectors and if so which are more important? cheers
My bike has none at all cos I have clipless pedals and it only came with a rear reflector which has since come off. I realise this is illegal which doesn't really bother me, but is it dangerous? I've got good front and rear lights. Should I bother fitting reflectors and if so which are more important? cheers
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I was cycling to work in the pitch dark along a country lane a couple of days ago when I spotted a weakly flashing light a way up the road. Needless to say I gave chase
Phekdra
It doesn't matter how much more effective YOU think your gear is than reflectors, you may get stopped and fined regardless and in the event of an accident, the defence lawyer WILL use the fact your bike was not road legal and did not have BS-approved reflectors to slash or totally negate any pay-out you might have been due.
Pedal reflectors are a legal requirement if the bike was made after 1985. A rear reflector is a legal requirement for any bike used at night.
Reflectors cannot run out of battery power and are harder to steal from the bike or be forgotten than most lights, so it makes sense to have them.
Pedal reflectors show up like nobodys buisiness in headlights and so are one of the best safety features you can have, but I'll be buggered if I can find a decent pair of clipless that can be used with them.
So, if....
...my shoes have reflectors and my shoes are fixedly attached to the bicycle, why am I not in compliance with the law? Its the law actually able to make a distinction between a flat platform pedal with reflectors, a peadal with toe clips and reflectors, and a pedal with toe clips so highly adapted that you don't need to bother wearing anything but socks on your feet. You see, I don't think you legally need to have pedal reflectors when you are not riding the bike on the road. For convenience, my toe clips are detatchable. However, they aren't much good as shoes.
the other point I am always curious about is - are there any known cases where this provision has actually been employed to avoid compensation. My admittedly rudimentary understanding of the position with respect to cars is that defects could be contributory factors but are not always. For example, if I drive with bald tyres and someone crashes into me running a red light, does that person get off because I had bald tyres? Well, if it was wet and I skidded because I had bald tyres, maybe. If it was dry, then more likely it would not be relevant. With cyclists, isn't the compensation based upon "did the motorist see the cyclist?", or "could the motorist reasonably have been expected to see the cyclist?" and not, "did the motorist observe that the cyclist had blinkies which did not complly with British standards and thereby become confused into believing that the cyclist was a hallucination?"
took my reflectors off apart from the pedals, but have a rear light on seat tube (can see it reflecting off my front mech so can check if its on easy) reflective strap around waist, one around bag with second light attached incase one fails, front light and clothes always have some form of reflective on, surely in an accident the point should be if i can be seen or not, not if i had reflectors.
remember watching one of the traffic programs and bloke got hit by truck and all they looked into was if he could be seen and if his back light was working. cant see someone getting out of a claim cos i aint got reflectors
I would certainly hope that you're right. The current law smacks of disinterest - yeah, reflectors all round, that's safe enough - and I'd like to think that if struck in the dark whilst lit up like a Christmas tree with lights and reflective clothing common sense would take over, and might even provide some momentum to produce a more reasonable law. Not that I'm volunteering to test that. :oops:
Phekdra
"The pedal reflectors and rear reflector must conform to BS 6102-2.
Lights and reflectors not conforming to the BS, but conforming to a corresponding standard of another EC country and marked accordingly, are considered to comply as long as that standard provides an equivalent level of safety. "
Reflective bits on cycling shoes probably don't comply with the BS requirement.
When that bloke ran into the girl and knocked her over, and she died from the head injuries caused by banging her head on the kerb, it was brought up in court that his very expensive, custom-made bike did not have pedal reflectors. Presumably this was done to emphasize what a reckless person he was, in that he had deliberately had an illegal bike built to his own specifications rather than to suggest that the girl would not have died if he'd had them.
http://cjwoods.com/london2paris
Scott Scale 10
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this thread is like snakes and ladders.
http://cjwoods.com/london2paris
Scott Scale 10
Focus Izalco Team
What hasn't been brought up though is that reflectors are part of road worthiness for all vehicles not just cycles.
The only thing that can touch the roads without lighting and reflectors during the hours of darkenss is livestock.
and even then the Highway codes recomends the front member of a group of livestock carry a white light and the rear member display a rear facing red light.
Well humans are animals, so why not Livestock?
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http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Thor ... R-4092.htm
Commuter: FCN 9
Cheapo Roadie: FCN 5
Off Road: FCN 11
+1 when I don't get round to shaving for x days
With my backpack and jacket having scotchlite strips also, and intending to add some to my helmet, if the buggers can't see me its because their blind or not looking (if there is any difference)
So if i go out with reflective clothing and lights am i still breaking the law for not haveing a rear reflector?
I have a pair of SPD pedals with a black resin cage around them which is designed to allow you to use them with normal shoes. It seems to me that shimano could have easily designed one with BS compliant reflectors - wish they had.
I too would be very interested in any cases in which damages were reduced because a cyclist contributed by not having peda reflectors.
J
Not quite what you were looking for, but you can see here the court did consider that the bike did not have the legal reflectors...
From the case where the cyclist killed the young girl.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1032894/Parents-anguish-killer-cyclist-walks-away-just-fine.html
http://cjwoods.com/london2paris
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Focus Izalco Team
"the court heard" does not necessarily imply a connection with the subsequently awarded damages.
As I said previously, the court may have heard that the guy spent £10k a year on teeth whitening, or that the guy once appeared on Top Gear. What i'm curious about is what the court acted on.
One can imagine however, that if a motorist knocks over a cyclist at night and subsequently found that the bike was not compliant with the law, he would argue that the cyclist was at fault. Would it work? Don't know, but you could make a pretty good case I reckon.
PS... my bike has no rear reflector or pedal reflectors b(as it is SPD) :shock:
http://cjwoods.com/london2paris
Scott Scale 10
Focus Izalco Team
Whats that got to do with the price of fish ? Reflectors are of no use unless there is a light source - did the girl have 100 watt eyes or something ?
I don't think it is illegal not to ride, no matter whether you hve reflectors or not
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As far as I know, and quite bizarrely, there's no requirement for a cyclist to show lights in low visibility.
You are well advised to do so though.
Bob