Biking at Night: Danger and Fright

Bicycling at night on Marco Island can be a wonderful experience. For one thing, during the summertime, cyclists enjoy cooler temperatures when riding at night. And lighter traffic at night is certainly a plus for bicyclists. But riding at night can also be fraught with danger - for both cyclists and motorists. 

Let’s start with the responsibilities required by Florida Law for bicyclists. First of all, you are required to equip your bicycle with a white front light that is visible at least 500’ and a red rear light that is visible at least 600’. Lights are required between sunset and sunrise. Flashing lights are permissible.

This means the legions of bicyclists who leave Residents’ Beach after enjoying the sunset are required to use a headlight and taillight. Unfortunately, empirical observation has shown me that very few bicycles leaving Residents’ Beach post-sunset are equipped with front or rear lights.

Unfortunately, twilight riding is particularly perilous because many cars have yet to turn on their headlights. Also, the changing light conditions cause your eyes to constantly adjust, affecting your depth perception and peripheral vision, making it difficult to see clearly. This is true for both cyclists and motorists.

I was bicycling down San Marco Road on the shared-use path one evening this week around 9:30 PM. For the most part, my ride was very pleasant. I was riding more slowly than I do during daylight hours for safety. As I was approaching San Marco Catholic Church, a police cruiser was also approaching with its right blinker on to enter the church parking lot. The cruiser stopped on San Marco, allowing me to pass through the intersection. Suddenly, an e-bike with no lights appears from the shadows, passing through the intersection from the opposite direction at a speed I would estimate at 20 mph.

Once through the intersection, I stopped to watch the officer proceed into the parking lot, and the e-bike disappear down the path.

Minutes later, as I was approaching the intersection of Heathwood Drive and San Marco, I heard the whir of an e-bike motor and simultaneously noticed its bright headlight coming from behind me. The female rider passed me at a safe speed. As I was thinking to myself, ‘Ahh, a safe cyclist,’ she swerved off of the shared-use path and cut across San Marco on a diagonal toward the shared-use path on Bald Eagle Drive. 

A third instance involved a car ride I made across the island one evening, around 10:30 PM. I barely noticed three shadowy figures making unpredictable movements in front of me. It was three bicycle riders; I would guess to be in their teenage years. Two of them darted across San Marco in front of me, the third rode wildly in and out of the in-road bike lane. None of them had headlights or taillights on their bicycles. The scary thought for me was what would have happened if a careless driver was checking an incoming text at the same time the young riders were making their daring moves in the darkness.

As if these instances don’t sound perilous enough, consider that several streetlights on San Marco Road are not working for whatever reason. This makes an already dodgy lighting situation even more challenging.

The 7-Eleven parking lot on Bald Eagle Drive on any given evening is often populated with folks coming and going on e-bikes, many of them with bags of groceries looped over their handlebars. Oftentimes, there are two passengers on the e-bikes. 

So, how do we promote a safer nighttime cycling experience on the island? 

Parents can make sure their children’s bicycles are equipped with adequate front and rear lights and encourage them to use them. Since many of our evening bike riders may be part of our local workforce, I would encourage any employers who have team members who ride bikes at night to encourage them to ride safely. I would also encourage our law enforcement on the island to stop violators and counsel them on bicycle safety. Years ago, a local real estate agent, Dennis MacDonald, used to offer free bicycle lights to riders on the island. Sadly, Dennis passed on June 3. Maybe someone can honor his memory and start a bicycle light campaign on the island.