Lighten Up event in Carrboro promotes biker safety

On Nov. 15, the Town of Carrboro hosted its annual Lighten Up event, which promotes the well-being of cyclists and pedestrians.

At both ends of the Libba Cotten Bikeway, a trail that connects Carrboro to Chapel Hill, town staff sat at tables and distributed coupons for free bike inspections, bus route maps and safety gear including reflective lights.

Tina Moon, the Town’s planning and transportation administrator said that as the days shorten, the event reminds people of the importance of safety and the requirement of having lights on bicycles.

According to the N.C. Department of Transportation, state law mandates that when biking at night, bikers must have a lighted front lamp on their bike visible from 300 feet away, a rear red light or reflective clothing visible from 300 feet away and a red rear light reflector on their bike.

Also, North Carolina's contributory negligence law states that if someone contributes any fault to a crash, they cannot receive compensation for their injuries. Tamara Sanders, the manager and co-owner of Back Alley Bikes, said the law means that even if a biker is following all other traffic laws, if they do not have the necessary lights on their bike, they are liable for themself.

“Unfortunately, car-bike interactions happen, crashes happen,” she said. “I would say, most often, it's the person on the bike that is the most harmed. And I think this time of year, those interactions, just because of the time change, is going to be a lot.”

Jonathan Sanchez, a PhD student and Spanish instructor at UNC, was biking through Carrboro when he passed the event table and stopped to get reflective gear. He said he has been needing to replace his bike light.

“I think this is a good initiative because this gear is important to keep me safe in the street,” he said. “I use the bike to go to work every day, to go to the University and come back.”

Shannon Benedetto, a biker who received gear from the event, said she has previously been hit by cars while biking. She said if she had bike lights, then the drivers might have been able to avoid hitting her. At the time, she said she did not know about the state's laws for biking at night.

One goal of the event is to connect people with public transit resources, Duncan Dodson, a Town planner, said. He said the event is also meant to motivate pedestrians to use reflective gear to get home safely at night. 

Becca Eversole, Town transportation planner, said another goal of Lighten Up is to reduce air pollution from vehicles. 

“It is a priority of the Town of Carrboro to address climate change, to use all the tools that we have available to address climate change,” she said. “That especially means advocating [for] alternative forms of transportation, which includes cycling, which includes walking, which includes taking transit [and] carpooling.”

Carrboro was the first town in North Carolina to become a silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. 

"We have a lot of support in the community to improve our bicycle infrastructure, and that silver status — hopefully gold next time — is a testament to how strong of a biking community we are," Eversole said.

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