Latest Oxford crackdown on unlit riders sees 97 FPNs issued

Thames Valley Police's latest cycle lights operation in Oxford saw Special Constables issue fixed penalty notices (FPN) to 97 riders after stopping 110.

They can avoid the £50 fine by buying a set of front and rear lights and then presenting the receipt, along with the FPN, at any Thames Valley Police station within seven days of receiving the fine. The receipt must prove they bought the lights after the offence.

In the most recent previous police operation, on October 27, officers issued fined to 276 cyclists who did not have lights.

The objective is not to levy fines, according to Special Inspector Oscar Hayward. He said: "The operation is aimed at educating cyclists about how important it is that they are fully visible to all other road users.

“It is vital for cyclists to understand that just because they can see where they are going on a well lit street; it does not necessarily mean that they are fully visible to motorists approaching with their headlights on."

He said that cyclists must have front and rear lights and were advised to wear either some fluorescent or high visibility clothing.

He added: “The operation was a success and we will be carrying out further checks during the coming months."

Oxfordshire cycling campaign group Cyclox said it welcomed the operation.

Vice-chairman Dr Alison Hills told Matt Oliver of the Oxford Times: “We strongly support this initiative and applaud the police for undertaking it.

“We do not have our own education programme for this, but we are very supportive of anything that promotes greater visibility.

“Another key part of visibility at night comes from wearing high-visibility clothing, it is important and does have an impact with drivers.

“As a group we also feel that it is also important for car drivers to be aware of cyclists however.

“Driver behaviour plays a large role in safety, it must be a two-sided process.”