STEPHEN LEWIS reports on a York police clampdown on winter menaces - cyclists who ride without lights

IT'S not only motorists who are beginning to get the hump with cyclists who insist on riding without lights these dark nights - now it's the police, too. From today, officers in York have vowed to get tough with anyone caught cycling after dark without lights on their bike and excuses won't be accepted.

After all, points out Acting Sgt Martin Metcalfe, based at York's city centre Clifford Street police station, it's not only their own lives cyclists are endangering by their irresponsible behaviour. They are putting at risk the lives of pedestrians, children and motorists too.

"There are a lot of pedestrians, young children, and elderly people walking through the streets shopping at this time of year," he says. "A cyclist without lights is a danger to them as well. And then there are the motorists. If they see a cyclist only at the last minute, they may have to swerve - which could cause an accident."

Cycling is a great way of getting around, police agree - provided cyclists take the proper precautions. Most cyclists do use lights, says Sgt Metcalfe. But some don't. A bike without lights can't be seen against the dazzle of headlights of passing cars and is an accident waiting to happen.

Statistics for the last three years reveal that accidents involving cyclists, or cyclists and cars, are the most common form of RTAs in the York area.

Winter accidents involving cycles peak in the darkest months as the nights draw in, especially in December and even more so January, when they reach their highest levels.

In December, accidents involving cyclists average about five a week. In January this rises to virtually one every day. Sgt Metcalfe remembers one incident recently where a cyclist without lights was pedalling along a city centre street. "A motorist opened the door of his car. The cyclist went straight into it and over his handlebars," he says.

Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but cyclist and motorist were badly shaken up. "The first thing the driver said was: 'You've got no lights' - and it was true," says Sgt Metcalfe.

The police have had enough.

From today, any cyclist caught without lights could be liable to an on-the-spot fine of £30.

If they don't pay within 28 days, it will be increased to £45 - and if they still don't pay, they could find themselves being arrested and hauled before the courts.

Cyclists' excuses won't wash, says Sgt Metcalfe.. "We are taking this very seriously. To see them cycling through town, with no lights and cars going everywhere, is a recipe for disaster. We have been warning cyclists verbally - and then we see them go around the corner and 80 per cent of the time they get back on their bike and off they go.

"The usual excuse is they say when they went to work it was light. But that is no excuse. We urge people to think ahead. If it is light when you go to work, think about whether it will still be light by the time you go home. If not, then get a set of lights."

The aim of the campaign, Sgt Metcalfe stresses, is not to victimise cyclists - simply to make the roads safer. "All we want is people to put lights on their bikes. But if we do see cyclists without lights, we will take appropriate action."

Nick Blitz, one of City of York Council's two representatives on the North Yorkshire police authority, backs the launch of today's campaign.

"Cyclists without lights endanger pedestrians and car drivers as well as themselves," he says. "If some cyclists in York end up paying fines, that is an acceptable price to pay as far as I am concerned to make sure our streets are safer."

Updated: 11:02 Wednesday, December 12, 2001