![\"\u2018Don\u2019t](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dont-be-dim-be-bright-cyclist-lights-campaign-spalding.jpg\" "\\"\u2018Don\u2019t")
\u2018Don\u2019t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist\u2019 lights campaign, Spalding (credit: Rightside Trust and Ella\u2019s Project)<\/p>\nA Reform UK councillor has told cyclists to \u201ctake their own responsibility\u201d for their safety on the roads, as a campaign was launched in Lincolnshire, featuring support from Halfords and the local police, urging people on bikes to wear hi-vis clothing and use front and rear lights.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Don’t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist\u2019 campaign was launched in Spalding, South Holland this week by Mark Le Sage, the founder of the Rightside Trust and Ella\u2019s Project, a community group which collect and distributes children\u2019s clothing in the area.<\/p>\n
The campaign, which runs between 21 January and 21 February, aims to \u201craise awareness about keeping cyclists safe on our roads\u201d by emphasising that \u201cvisibility can save lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Don\u2019t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist\u2019 lights campaign, Spalding (credit: Rightside Trust and Ella\u2019s Project)<\/p>\n
In a social media post, the group encouraged local cyclists to \u201cuse bike lights \u2013 front and rear\u201d and \u201cwear high-visibility or reflecting clothing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re commuting, training, or cycling for fun, making yourself visible helps drivers see you sooner and react faster,\u201d the group said. \u201cLet\u2019s work together to keep every cyclist safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group is collaborating with Lincolnshire Police and Halfords during the month-long \u2018Don\u2019t Be Dim\u2019 campaign, with Halfords offering 15 per cent off all lights in its Spalding branch until 21 February.<\/p>\n
>\u00a0Police stop cyclists without lights, and issue \u201clights and hi-vis rucksack instead of a fine\u201d so they can \u201cget home safely and legally\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Discussing the campaign at a meeting of Spalding Town Forum, Le Sage \u2013 a local independent councillor \u2013 said that the drive to improve the visibility of cyclists on the roads was sparked by a collision between a motorist and a woman riding a bike in \u201cdark clothing\u201d, the Spalding Voice<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all started after I promised a local resident, Jackie Stanberry, that I would do something after her she and her vehicle were involved in an incident with a female cyclist wearing dark clothing as well as not having lights on her bike,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week in a two-hour period I counted 27 cyclists without any lights at all and only five of those were wearing hi-vis jackets.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very grateful for the support and encouragement I\u2019ve had from the Deputy Chief Constable Chris Davison and local Inspector Matt Dickinson.<\/p>\n \u201cI must also say a big thank you to Spalding Halfords\u2019 deputy manager Leanne Boswell who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get the special discount arranged, and local cycling group Pedals are also very pleased to hear we are doing our bit to help make South Holland\u2019s roads that bit safer, and are fully supportive of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n In January 2024, Le Sage was injured in a road traffic collision<\/a> after his car was struck by Casualty and Holby City actress Amanda Mealing, who pleaded guilty last year to driving while under the influence of cocaine and was banned from driving for 22 months.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, South Holland Neighbourhood Policing inspector Matt Dickinson also told the meeting: \u201cIt\u2019s not a new issue, it\u2019s been around for years. I got told off for having no lights on my bike when I was young.<\/p>\n \u201cThe boundaries have changed and we maybe struggle to enforce this as we\u2019d like. All these offences, while they could have a significant impact in a collision, in the eyes of the law they\u2019re minor in terms of if we prosecute what the outcome could be.\u201d<\/p>\n >\u00a0Police stop 50 cyclists for riding without lights in \u201ceducational event\u201d\u2026 and get blasted for \u201cnamby pamby approach\u201d and \u201ctwo-tier policing\u201d by social media users<\/a><\/p>\n Le Sage then asked Dickinson about the police\u2019s capacity to deal with the number of people riding bikes \u201cillegally\u201d in Spalding, to which the officer replied: \u201cI regularly see what you see, but I haven\u2019t got the capacity or resources to those times every day and I\u2019d be lying to you if I say I could.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to look a bit wider. We have the town centre hot spot patrols, but we\u2019re looking to negotiate with them and continue funding and ask that to be part of the patrols.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole point of that funding is that they concentrate on what the community want them to. We could task them that. It wouldn\u2019t be too difficult to ask them to enforce it as the same time as they\u2019re out and about.\u201d<\/p>\n Le Sage\u2019s fellow independent councillor, Aaron Spencer, also called for better education for young people when it comes to safe cycling, arguing that the town forum itself should aim to fund protective equipment which could be handed out in local schools.<\/p>\n Reform UK councillor Ingrid Sheard agreed that the responsibility for ensuring cyclists wear lights and ride safely is \u201cnot just down to police\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also down to parents to ensure their kids have lights on their bikes and everybody to take responsibility,\u201d she said, before describing an encounter with a young cyclist she had told to \u201cget off\u201d his bike in Spalding town centre.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in town and when a young person has cycled past me I\u2019ve said, \u2018please get off your bike\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey biked away, came back and gave me a mouthful. I had a conversation with them. I asked them why they felt the need to ride through and they said, \u2018because everyone else does it\u2019. So I said, \u2018why does that make it right?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s the opportunity I need to spin. Also, people need to take their own responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n >\u00a0Pro cyclist-led lights campaign, endorsed by Tadej Poga\u010dar, \u201cfeeds into victim-blaming culture\u201d, says road safety expert<\/a><\/p>\n Lights campaigns like the one in Spalding, despite their stated aim to improve safety for people on bikes, have often attracted criticism from road safety campaigners, who feel they \u201cfeed into a victim-blaming culture\u201d which places the onus for safety onto the most vulnerable road users.<\/p>\n For example, the \u2018Be Bright Wear a Light\u2019 campaign, launched in 2023 by pro rider Rachel Neylan and endorsed by four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> and former world champion Elisa Balsamo, was described by Dr Robert Davis, the chair of the chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, as \u201cwell-intentioned\u201d but lacking awareness of \u201cwhat\u2019s required to not being hit by drivers\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dont-be-dim-be-bright-cyclist-campaign-and-halfords-offer.jpg\" "\\"Mark")
Mark Le Sage promoting \u2018Don\u2019t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist\u2019 campaign and Halfords offer (credit: Rightside Trust and Ella\u2019s Project)<\/p>\n