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Posted by Saan at 01-26-2009 08:00 PM
Does anyone know if a white headlight needs to be placed on a bicycle or if its legal to have a headlight attached directly on a helmet, when riding a bike in the dark on a road.
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Posts: 1

 • Re:

Posted by markhollinger at 02-05-2009 08:56 AM

Virginia Bicycle Riding Laws - http://www.bikewalkvirginia.org/resources/documents/VirginiaBicycleRules2004.pdf
(From Code of Virginia On-line)
ยง 46.2-1015. Lights on bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric powerassisted
bicycles, and mopeds.
Every bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, and
moped when in use between sunset and sunrise shall be equipped with a white light on the front
emitting a white light visible in clear weather from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and
a red reflector visible from a distance of at least 600 feet to the rear when directly in front of
lawful lower beams of headlights on a motor vehicle. Such lights and reflector shall be of types
approved by the Superintendent.
In addition to the foregoing provisions of this section, a bicycle or its rider may be equipped with
lights or reflectors. These lights may be steady burning or blinking.
Manager
Posts: 6

 • Re: VA bike laws

Posted by edrobichaud at 02-11-2009 02:46 AM
Check out our summary & links to state and local bike laws right here on the club site.  As I read the VDOT law excerpt, the bicycle must have a headlight and tail reflector/light.  The rider may also have a tail light.
Manager
Posts: 3

 • Re:

Posted by khhass at 04-19-2009 08:40 AM

I commute year round so I ride in the dark a lot, and from my experience you can't have too many lights! The more you have, the more visible you are to motorists. The advantage of the helmet light is that if you turn your head towards a car, the driver can't help but see you - saved me from getting run into from a driver on a side road one time. I'd recommend a bright white light on the front of your bike as well as the helmet light. You can position the bike light so that it provides good illumination on the road directly in front of you and the light on your helmet extends the range further out ahead of you. And as I already mentioned, the helmet light lets you illuminate things to your side as necessary. In addition, if the batteries on one light go out you still have the other light. Good lights are expensive, true, but considering the cost savings over driving your car, they pay for themselves pretty quickly - and the cost is nothing compared to the value of your life!
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Posts: 2

 
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