Tues, Nov. 4 – Free Bike Lights

The City’s Department of Transportation; Human Services and Recreation Department; Police Department; Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, Day One and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will be providing free bicycle headlights and taillights to bicyclists who are riding without lights.

11/04/2014
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Location:
Intersection of Marengo Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard.

City staff and volunteers will outfit the bicycles with the new lights while educating bicyclists about bicycle safety.  Similar bicycle light distribution events will continue throughout various Pasadena locations during the next several months until spring 2015.

 In Pasadena, there were 98 reported collisions involving bicyclists in 2013, including 91 injuries and 2 fatalities.  This grant funding will provide an opportunity to make bicycling safer by providing more visibility to bicyclists at night, providing properly fitting bicycle helmets to bicyclists and educating both bicyclists and motorists about bicycle safety.

When riding at night in California, a white front light and reflectors are required by law (CVC21201). More importantly, riding without lights and reflectors may be hazardous, since the bicyclist is less visible to motorists who are sharing the road.  About 69% of bicyclist fatalities in 2012 in the U.S. were in urban areas, and 48% of the bicyclist fatalities occurred between 4 p.m. and midnight, according to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA “Traffic Safety Facts” April 2014 DOT HS 812018).

“California’s roadways are still among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft.  “But to meet future mobility, safety, and sustainability objectives, we must create safer roadways for all users.  The City of Pasadena Department of Transportation will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share – Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”