MassBike Hands Out Free Lights for the Long Nights

In an annual late-fall tradition, volunteers for MassBike will be staking themselves out on popular bike routes across the Commonwealth to hand out free bike lights to riders who need them.

MassBike's "lights brigade" program sends boxes of bike lights to teams of volunteers to help make bike riders more visible during the long winter nights.

"MassBike will send out a set of lights to volunteers and ask that they post up somewhere along a bike route and flag down people who don’t have lights," says MassBike executive director Galen Mook. "It's immediate biker-to-biker support to provide lights for bikers who need them in the moment while they’re riding at night, to make them safer and comply with the laws."

Current state law in Massachusetts states that bikes operated at night must have a front-facing white light, plus a rear-facing “lamp emitting a red light, or a red reflector.”

"The purpose of the law should not be to give someone a ticket, but to make them safer. So don’t give them a ticket: give them a set of lights," says Mook.

MassBike is looking for lights brigade volunteers this winter, and also fundraising to buy and give away at least 100 sets of lights in 7 regions all across the Commonwealth. To sign up or make a donation, visit massbike.org/lightsbrigade.

Additionally, the City of Cambridge's Community Development Department (CDD) will be roaming the city throughout the winter to give out bike lights. You'll be able to find them between 4 and 6 p.m. at the following locations this month:

• Monday, November 8: Porter Square near the Target
• Monday, November 15: Kendall Square near the T station
• Sunday, November 21: Inman Square near 1369 Coffee House