As the days get shorter, people who bike to work from home in the morning and back in the evening, often ride in the dark or twilight. As an emigrant from Holland, we are used to bike riders on the road although in most cases, on bike paths.
We are also used to the fact that all bikes must have lights on the rear and front. You could risk a ticket if it was not in order. This is so much safer for both parties, the biker who can see in front of him/her and for the car driver who is also on the road. The driver can actually see that there is something on the road and can reduce speed and pass safely!
Here in B.C. it is unsafe for bike riders to be on the road in the dark! It happened to me a couple of times where there is a bike rider on the road; you eventually see when he/she is in the light circle of the car lights. These bikers wore dark clothes and had no lights on the bikes themselves. I find this very alarming.
I think that bike riders should be safe and wear reflective clothes and lights attached on their arm or on the bike, especially on roads with no light poles, like Hot Springs Road. Bikers: it is not only you that will be scarred or maimed in the worst case scenario but the driver of the vehicle who hits you will also be damaged for life.
Please make yourselves visible!
Henny deJong