Make Yourself Visible To Motorists At Night

A dozen bicyclists were killed in Hillsborough County in 2010 and I recall anecdotally that the majority occurred when it was dark or when light was faint. That's why I urge anyone out before sunrise or after dusk to wear reflective gear and use lights.

Bike advocate Jose Menendez checked out the times of day of the bicyclist deaths and he showed that, indeed, the majority of bicyclists were killed by motorists very early when it's dark or faint light or after sunset.

I also recall the restaurant employee in St. Petersburg who was killed in 2010 while bicycling home from his dishwashing job was killed by a hit-and-run motorist late at night.

Jose compiled a list of the bicyclists and time of day when killed.

DATE NAME AGE CRASH TIME SUNRISE/SUNSET

1/26 Mitchell Bowers 12 6:45 PM EST 6:06 PM EST
1/27 Bryan Lebron Jr. 11 1:05 PM EST 6:07 PM EST
2/10 Theodore Sloan 61 6:10 AM EST 7:12 AM EST
3/19 Patrick Statam 50 6:50 AM EDT 7:36 AM EDT
6/7 Michael Jurgens 20 5:20 PM EDT 8:25 PM EDT
7/26 Francisco Guante-Ramirez 70 1:06 PM EDT 8:24 PM EDT
7/29 LeRoy Collins Jr. 75 6:01 AM EDT 6:52 AM EDT
9/9 Joseph Dyals 46 7:13 AM EDT 7:13 AM EDT
9/25 Kayoko Ishizuka 30 1:40 AM EDT 7:20 AM EDT
10/1 Diane Vega 53 7:30 AM EDT 7:23 AM EDT
11/1 Anthony Weeks 33 4:35 PM EDT 6:46 PM EDT
11/16 Edward Weber 63 5:00 AM EST 6:52 AM EST

Please, make yourself as visible as possible to motorists when it's dark or light is faint. I suggest wearing reflective gear, or at least bright clothing, and use front and rear lights in compliance with law.