— A white front bicycle light and a red rear light are a legal requirement.
Dublin Cycling Campaign volunteers are to hand out free bicycle lights today, Wednesday, November 8th, and on Friday, November 10th, while campaigners in Waterford will hand out free lights tomorrow, Thursday, 9th.
The South Dublin Cycling branch of the campaign will be handing out lights today at Rathfarnham Bridge from 5-6pm and on Friday in Tallaght Village near Lidl from 5-6pm.
Closer to Dublin City Centre, volunteers will be handing the lights out on Friday at 5pm beside Portobello Bridge.
Meanwhile Waterford Bicycle Users Group tomorrow are to hand out free lights at the Waterford Regional Sports Centre tomorrow from 6-7.30pm.
Campaigners say to watch out on the social media channels of your local cycle campaign for more details of when bicycle lights will be handed out.
Dublin ‘Light up your Bike’ campaign launched by Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, recently launched the Dublin Cycling Campaign’s ‘Light up your Bike’ initiative.
Cllr de Róiste said, “I am delighted to support this important initiative by the Dublin Cycling Campaign. As the clocks go back and the days get shorter, remembering to light up our bikes becomes increasingly important to ensure the visibility and safety of cyclists on our roads.”
Siobhán McNamara, a spokesperson for Dublin Cycling Campaign, said, “Cycling is a reliable and cheap way of getting from A to B, and also has the added bonuses of being quiet, emissions-free and a way of building gentle physical activity into your day. With the nights drawing in, the Dublin Cycling Campaign wants to remind everyone who cycles that it is essential to light up their bike. Working lights are a legal requirement during lighting-up hours and a key part of staying safe on the road.”
Ailish Lally, walking and cycling officer with Dublin City Council, said, “Dublin City Council is keen to promote cycling as a year-round option for people to travel to school, work and for leisure. We encourage everyone to light up their bikes to improve their visibility to other road users and increase their safety on the roads during the darker mornings and evenings.”
Galway switches to rechargeable bicycle lights
The Galway Cycling Campaign said that they started years ago handing out less powerful lights to stronger ones, both powered by coin batteries, to this year switching to rechargeable lights. It handed out 100 lights on Monday last.
The group tweeted: “From basic lights supplied by the Road Safety Authority to stronger ones by the National Transport Authority and now quality rechargeable ones supplied by Galway City Council and Galway Sports Partnership.”
