TORCHES MAY NOT BE USED

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22424, 10 June 1938, Page 19

TORCHES MAY NOT BE USED

LIGHTING FOR BICYCLES

LAMP MUST BE FIXED TO

MACHINE

“The decision of a Magistrate that the carrying of a torch by a cyclist does not comply with_ the law is a point worthy of the notice of the many cyclists in Christchurch and suburbs and in the country towns who think it safe or clever to use makeshift means of providing a front light,” says the latest safety message of the Automobile Association, Canterbury. “The regulation is very clear _ and definite on the subject of bicycle lighting. Here it is:— “ ‘No person shall ride any bicycle during hours of darkness unless it has attached at the front a lamp throwing in a forward direction a light substantially white in colour of sufficient brilliance to be visible under normal atmospheric conditions for a distance of at least 300 feet.’ “It will be noted that a lamp must be attached to the bicycle. It, is not unusual to observe cyclists making intermittent use of a torch as they cycle along. Obviously a front lamp on a bicycle has two purposes—one to reveal to the cyclist any obstacle or road irregularity ahead; the other to give warning of approach for the guidance of other traffic. Torches, particularly those of the smaller type, perform neither function satisfactorily. Any cyclist, and there are many of them, who thinks that he is acting safely by displaying a lighted torch only when he thinks it necessary is toying with chance and making himself and his machine a danger on the road. Efforts of Police “For years efforts have been made by police and inspectors, as well as by automobile associations, to impress all cyclists, particularly the young ones, with the need for extreme care

over the lighting laws. Every type of road-using vehicle is bound by lighting regulations, and the bicycle is not the least important for various reasons, not overlooking its large numbers, and its vulnerability when considered, with its rider, in relation to the weight, size, and speed of fourwheeled vehicles.

“Recent experience makes it fairly obvious that the position so far as unlighted bicycles is concerned is far from satisfactory, and cyclists who take heed will be helping themselves and others on the road. “Many cyclists are unaware, too, that pedestrians who may be crossing thoroughfares, at or away from intersections, are entitled to be warned not only by the front lamp but by bell of the approach of bicycles."