Cycle Law Scotland is delighted to be working once again with Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit for the Highlands and Islands to reignite the #LIGHTUP campaign at this important time of year when the clocks have gone back.
Many who cycle to and from work will soon find that they will lose precious daylight hours and it’s easy to get caught out cycling in darkness without lights.
The #LIGHTUP campaign provides an opportunity to educate ALL road users and make them aware of their respective safety responsibilities.
Whatever your chosen mode of transport, you owe a duty of care to others when sharing road space.
It's important to understand your rights and responsibilities when on the road.
From a cycling perspective, the law states that when on your bicycle between sunset and sunrise, it must be fitted with the following;
- White front light
- Red rear light
- Red rear reflector
Failure to comply with these regulations, can result in a Fixed Penalty Notice for £50. It’s considered in the same category as cycling the wrong way down a one-way street or jumping a red light.
The #LIGHTUP campaign will enable Road Traffic Officers to offer cyclists free lights rather than a fixed penalty notice if stopped for failure to display lights during the hours of darkness. The campaign is not designed to blame those cycling without lights, but instead, to make sure they understand why they must comply with the law for their own safety and the safety of others. Cyclists are vulnerable to sustaining injury in any collision with a faster moving vehicle and, as such, must ensure they are there to be seen.
Pedestrians are vulnerable too and cyclists must ensure they are lit up so as not to pose a risk to others on the road.
The reasoning behind the campaign name “#LightUp” is that it is also an opportunity for drivers to ensure they too are ‘lit up’ with fully functional lights ensuring their vehicles are clearly visible on the road. Any campaign, road safety or otherwise, can only be effective if the general public as a whole is engaged. If you segregate out a particular group of road user, we will not achieve the common objective of making Scotland’s roads safer and more user friendly.
Jodi Gordon, Partner at Cycle Law Scotland, is really pleased to be able to endorse this annual campaign,
“We’re delighted to support this important road safety campaign as we see on a daily basis the consequences of road traffic collisions between vulnerable road users and vehicles. Anything we can do to help educate all road users and promote the legal requirement to #lightup in order to see and be seen should be encouraged.”
Donnie MacKinnon from Police Scotland's Road Policing unit in the Highlands and Islands said:
“This campaign provides us with an excellent opportunity to speak to members of the public who use the road network and highlight our respective responsibilities as road users. We again welcome the opportunity to be involved this year. Being clearly visible and constantly alert to other road users, whether you are a cyclist, pedestrian or driver, goes a long way to improving road safety. The majority of us will use several different modes of transport and so it is important we work together to make our roads safer for all."