Bicycle Safety in Tempe AZ
Tempe is a bicycle friendly community. We have bike lanes on many of our streets and they are normally very easily defined.
I had to be out and about at around 4 AM this morning and had a bit of a scare.
Due to recent resurfacing on a major road here in Tempe, some of the lane lines are still missing. A large portion of this street was replaced recently and while the auto lane traffic lines have been repainted, the bicycle lane lines are not yet in place.
I was traveling below the speed limit and still missed seeing the rider until the last second. Even though I managed to swerve quickly to put some distance between us, it was still too close for comfort.
The rider was wearing dark clothing and had no lights on his bicycle, his pack, his person, none, nada, zip, zero. Not even a reflector. I don’t know if he knows how close he came to being hit…
A helmet would have been a good idea, too. (it probably would have had some type of reflector on it, too.)
I did not see him. The lanes are not marked at the moment, so I’m not sure if he was in the right place or not. None of that really matters now.
My point is, if he had a light or at least a reflector, I would have seen him in enough time to change lanes and give him lots of space.
Please be careful out there on the road. 
Also see http://www.bikesafetyinstitute.com/
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somewhere, there must be a really good excuse to be riding a bike at 4am but I doubt I will find it any time soon. :-)
maybe he was going to or from work? Lots of people in that area bike to work or the bus stops. I just know it shook me up. I did not see him, it must have been a shadowing stretch of road. (Rural) I have no doubt I would have seen him sooner if he had a light or reflector.
Yikes. Glad you missed him. That would have been a very bad start to you day... as if 4AM isn't bad enough. :) Folks really need to think about making themselves visible when they get on the road.
Yes, on foot or a bike.
I love living in Tempe because of the constant upkeep on roads. I'm surprised someone would be out riding without a light or at least a flashing rear light. At least you were able to avoid a tough way to start a weekend.
Hi Mark, I am thankful nothing happened. Yes, there are a number of people biking at night with out lights. Foolish in my opinion.
That would have been a really bad way to start out the day. Usually cops are pretty strict on bicycling laws in Tempe, surprised he wasn't cited.
Josh
Your Tempe Real Estate Broker
Hi Josh, No cops around then.
Please remove the link in your comment. Thanks.