A Bedford borough councillor has bought four sets of bike lights with her own money and placed them at the council’s customer service centre as Christmas “stocking fillers”.
Councillor Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant urged residents to take cycle safety more seriously during the darker winter months.
Speaking during Wednesday night’s Executive Meeting (10 December), the Conservative ward councillor for Great Barford said she had not planned to raise the issue again this year, but felt compelled to after seeing two young people cycling in dark clothing without any lights on her way to Borough Hall.
“They were wearing dark clothes, they looked to be quite young, and I just thought, this is an accident waiting to happen,” she said.
“When it is dark, particularly after the clocks have changed, if you don’t have any lights on your bike, you cannot be seen.
“It puts you at real risk of serious injury or fatality.”
Safety experts say reduced visibility is a major factor in many winter crashes.
A report from Cycling UK, the national cycling charity, found that 19 per cent of cyclists involved in police-recorded collisions were not using lights.
Also, a parliamentary evidence review found that cyclists are significantly more likely to be involved in a collision after dark, despite far fewer people cycling at those times.
Stocking fillers
After seeing the two cyclists, councillor Martin-Moran-Bryant bought four sets of bike lights from a nearby shop.
“They were £10, they weren’t the cheapest, they had some for £5, but I thought these looked better,” she said.
She said that these will be deposited at the council’s Customer Service Centre in Horne Lane, Bedford.
“Any member of the public who would like to come and collect some for their bike, or for the bike of a loved one, is very welcome to have [a set free of charge],” she said.
“They make a nice little stocking filler, although please give them as soon as you can.”
She added that drivers often have “no chance” of spotting an unlit cyclist.
“Please buy lights for your bike or for your loved one if they don’t have any,” she said.
“Light up your bike like your life depends on it.”
She stressed the giveaway was funded personally: “It didn’t cost the council anything.”
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
