Why bicyclists need lights--at dusk, at night, in front, in back

Jay Henning, a Kansas City area bicyclist, was kind enough to share his story about why bicyclists need lights front AND rear:

Hey all, thought I'd share this in light of Ben's posting.

I was almost taken out by a pickup truck when pedaling home from the Moose Thursday about 10 pm. I was pedaling up Delmar behind SM East and the PV pool. The truck was the second of three vehicles in the opposing lane as I neared 77th Street and he suddenly turned left in front of me.

We didn't make contact, but a few inches more and I would have gone through his passenger window. The street is well lit there, but he apparently didn't see me. And honestly, it was as much my fault as my headlight batteries were dead. He was also nice enough to stop and make sure I was ok before taking off. I guess not all drivers of big pickups are jerks.

The point of my rambling is that even though we can see in front of us, we're practically invisible to cars and need lights at BOTH ends of our bikes to get their attention. This is especially true at dusk, not just when it's totally dark. Now that daylight is getting shorter, break out your lights sooner than later, even if it's just a little flasher on the front. That should tide you over until Mike Mullen lights up the roadways....