Bicycling And The Law - 911law.com

In today’s podcast, Richard L. Duquette discusses Bicycle Light Law at Dark. As the fall leaves change colors and the days get shorter the sun sets earlier. This affects many cyclists who commute during the dark hours.   Determining Sunset and Sunrise   In California, darkness is defined as :30 after sunset and :30 before sunrise. To precisely define that, look on the Navy Meteorological and Oceanography Command website.   Here you find various standards of time. If you look at June 14, 2014, it was the shortest night of the year. There were 14:54 of daylight and sunset was at 8:37pm.   If you were riding without a light at 7:45pm and involved in an accident, you would be considered law abiding. You could not be in violation until after 9:00pm.   Adjusters Chipping Away at Your Claim   Insurance companies do whatever they can to minimize your claim. They use comparative fault principles. The definition of comparative fault as there must be a substantial factor that causes an injury.  If it’s dusk and not dark