Flashing rear lights ? (IL law?)
 

I believe I read a comment in a thread here that in many states a flashing red rear light may be illegal.

Does anyone know what the status of that is in Illinois?

Also, is it the general consensus that a solid light is better than flashing? I read that it helps to gauge distance, but I would think flashing would be a better attention getter.

Most of my commute is on low traffic routes or bike path (at least until winter), but if I keep it up through winter I will have to be on busier roads and want to know what would be safest.

Thanks!
Steve

I've never been to IL, much less know the laws, but the laws usually require a rear, red reflector. Supplementing that is probably legal.

You can get the best of both types by using at least one of each. It's not redundant to have more than one taillight. Any bit of extra protection might help and probably doesn't hurt, except for cost.

Thanks! I had seen that elsewhere, but I find it vague with regard to flashing or solid. I suppose one would have to look into the regular motor vehicle code to see if there is a problem here or not. I also had read the Illinois bike "rules of the road" and found nothing specifically about it.

And, outside of "legalities", the question as to which is safer for the cyclist is always important. :) I guess one of each is best.

Indiana code requires a front lamp and and rear lamp or rear reflector. No mention of flashing or continuous.

How confusing the code is...

(625 ILCS 5/11‑1502) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11‑1502)
Sec. 11‑1502. Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles. Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this Code, except as to special regulations in this Article XV and except as to those provisions of this Code which by their nature can have no application.

So, that would tell me that all applicable laws for sec 625 would apply, right?

So, does this apply?

(625 ILCS 5/12‑212) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12‑212)
Sec. 12‑212. Special restrictions on lamps. (a) No person shall drive or move any vehicle or equipment upon any highway with any lamp or device on the vehicle or equipment displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the vehicle or equipment except as otherwise provided in this Act.
(b) Subject to the restrictions of this Act, flashing lights are prohibited on motor vehicles except as a means for indicating a right or left turn as provided in Section 12‑208 or the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care as expressly provided in Sections 11‑804 or 12‑215.
(c) Unless otherwise expressly authorized by this Code, all other lighting or combination of lighting on any vehicle shall be prohibited.
(Source: P.A. 86‑664.)

A bicycle is not a "motor vehicle", but I just wondered if it was subject to the whole of section 625. Like many things, I guess you don't find out for sure until someone arrests you or sues you. :)

Since 625 ILCS 5/11 does spell out lighting specifically for bicycles, I suppose this is the full scope of the law for bicycles and overrides 625 ILCS5/12.

The problem is that while the bicycle laws quoted above tell you that you need a light, they neither allow nor proscribe flashing lights. Rules on when flashing lights can be used are probably found elsewhere, probably the motor vehicle code. The Illinois Rules of the Road is a severe condensation of the code, it may discuss the use of four way flashers and it might mention other flashing lights. Or not. On the other hand quite a few of your fellow Illinois cyclists use rear flashers without any complaints from the police as far as I know. I have used a flashing front light as well all summer long, passing a couple of police cruisers a week without any complaints about that either. I think that either flashing lights are ok here, or else in the grand scheme of things they are not considered a big enough infraction on a bicycle to warrant enforcement.

I am pretty sure bicycles are not considered to be motor vehicles in Illinois, so the portion of the code quoted above is also ambiguous with respect to bicycles. If you can find language discussing horse drawn vehicles and flashing lights it may be broad enough to cover bicycles too.

Ken

There is like one state that does not allow a blinkie (do not remember which). But who cares, when you are talking about your safety.

A solid light does make it easier for motorist to judge their distance to you. And the blinkie is more distinctive of a cyclist ahead.

With that knowledge, at night I run a solid red light on the seatpost, a blinking red light on my left ankle and a flashing blue light on my left wrist.

Yes, I know many states outlaw blue lights for other than police, BUT a federal court found that a blue light was OK for use as a safety measure and as long as you do not use it for pulling people over, then it is legal regardless of state laws.

Must be a lot of illegal bikes in Illinois

The barcode stickers they use these days are illegal.

I'd think a serial number would satisfy that rule.

The law is often stupid.

For the longest time, ( maybe still, i don't know ) LED flashers were illegal in the UK, not so much because they flashed, as such, but because they didn't meet the British Standard for bicycle lights. The critical piece? "An incandescent bulb" as part of the requirement. Technology obsoletes law, again.

Never heard of anyone who got a ticket for it, but there's always one "Shiny Buttons" constable out there.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/...r-in-the-clear

It only matters if the police choose to stop you for having one. I would expect that most officers would be happy to see that you are so visible...

I generally ignore what is legal, and go with what is safe. When riding in the city, where there are street lights, I'll go with one or two rear flashers. If I go outside the city where there are no street lights, I'll make sure that I have at least one solid light and preferably also a flasher.

As mentioned above, the solid light is useful so that people can judge your distance/location, but this is not needed on a well lit street, where there are lots of other cues to communicate distance/location, so attention-getting then becomes the primary purpose of all lights, and the flashers are better at doing that.

If I was ever pulled over by a cop who thought that my rear flasher was illegal then I would apologize for trying to be as safe as possible (maybe he'll then realize that he shouldn't pursue it any further), but I would pay the fine if it is indeed deemed to be illegal, but would afterwards continue to use the flasher, still not caring what the law says and only caring about my safety.

Legal or not, I've been riding all over the Nw 'burbs and in Chicago proper. Lots of cops have seen me with blinking front and rear lights, some of they wave at me, I suppose it's supporting a well lit bike. Never been stopped, plenty of other riders have blinkies with no hassles. I say ride with blinkies and don't worry.

I’ve searched through Illinois vehicle code in the recent past and found nothing that prohibits flashing lights on bicycles. Most motor vehicles are not allowed to have them (there are exceptions) and nobody is allowed to have any red light, flashing or not, facing forward.

Most LEOs probably won't know the VC section (if there is one) prohibiting flashing lights. They can't cite you without the code and I doubt they'll want to spend the time looking it up unless they really are out to get you.

But aren't there catch-all offenses they can cite? I hear cops, when they don't have a specific law, use "improper equipment" or "reckless driving" or "disorderly conduct."

Tom

i've been commuting in chicago for going on 4 years now with front and rear blinkies and have never had a cop question my lighting rig. i think the CPD has much, MUCH bigger fish to fry (gangs, murder, shootings, etc.) than to worry about bicycle lighting legal technicalities. i think the fact that i make the effort to make myself visible is all that they'd ever really be capable of caring about.

it might be different out in the burbs where you get those overly uptight suburban cop types who are bored out of their minds because there's no real crime to fight, but i don't do a lot of night riding in the burbs.

I'm sure there are but they'd have to be somewhat applicable or they would not hold up in court if you were to fight it. From my experience, if a LEO has to go to the VC to figure the appropriate section number for a cite, it is because they are really determined to teach you a lesson and will come up with something regardless.

Anyone have information about any cyclists ticketed for blinking front (white) or rear (red or amber) lights?
Anyone? Anywhere? I've used various flashing lights in Indiana for 24 years without problems of a police variety.

Flashing red lights are for emergency vehicle here only... however, i've never once heard of a constable citing a cyclist... i think maybe if you had some insane 300 lumen light strobing they would cite you.

One thing to keep in mind about the law. It is not just a question of whether or not the police will enforce the law but also a question of your liability if you are in an accident. If you get hit by a car while you are using a flashing light on your bicycle and that is illegal in your jurisdiction you run the risk that some lawyer will use this as an excuse to find you are at fault. The lawyer will claim his client was confused by the bicycle who was riding with illegal equipment. This is why I got the law changed here in Hawaii to permit (but not require) bicycles to ride on the shoulder. No policeman ever ticketed a bicyclist for doing so but it could have been used against the cyclist if there was an accident. Same is true of a lot of laws. If you signal a right turn with your right arm instead of you raised left arm and get hit what will the lawyers say - you were improperly signaling your turn ... an so forth. You may say, well safety first, I'm going to use my strobe blinkie no matter what the law says because it makes me more visible. Well, hope you don't get hit, but if you will notice the number of threads where the moving Christmas trees got hit anyway it should be obvious the strategy doesn't always work. This is why it is a good idea to get the law changed even if the police are not ticketing for it.

The duck comes down, he wins $20.

Now there is the heart of the matter. I know we have to draw lines somewhere in the sand, but I will use a flashing red light because motorists notice flashing red lights, behind, ahead or anywhere around them.

Marc

I haven't heard of a flashing light being problematic in North America. I know they're not ok in Germany and some other places in Europe. But then they don't tend to sell them there... If they're selling them in shops where you live I figure they're probably not illegal to use.