The clocks have gone back, and so, while it was getting dark before when I returned home, we’re now in guaranteed darkness – at least if you finish work after 5.30pm or so. And as ever, it appears a lot of fellow cyclists really haven’t thought about their lights for a long time.

Yesterday, as I was riding a longer than usual route home, I was disappointed to see so many fellow cyclists not having lights.

One woman had a little rear light on her bike yesterday, but it wasn’t properly attached, meaning that most of the light was pointing forward. I tried to tell her at a set of traffic lights, but she just nodded and ignored me rather than spend two seconds righting the light.

I would actually have no problem if the police targeted days like yesterday along common cycling routes and gave warnings/fines to cyclists who weren’t illuminated. I believe that some police forces in the past have issued such tickets, with cyclists able to avoid the fine if they prove they’ve been out and got a light. It’s not as though lights are expensive either, with sets of lights available for less than £10.