Surprising Number of Missoula Bicyclists Pulled Over by Police

Starting Sunday, November 1st, Missoula’s annual Bike Light Initiative Campaign will begin again. Missoula Bicycle Pedestrian Program Manager Ben Weiss explains out it will work.

"What we do is we outfit the traffic patrol officers," said Weiss. "We give 150 light sets to the officers that they can hand out and solve the problems directly when they see cyclists riding unlit and those lights can be handed out with or without a ticket."

Weiss said that all of the one hundred and fifty bike lights will be given away to bicyclists that are pulled over for breaking the law, and says that in past years, they have been given away incredibly fast.

"Some officers really make this a focus within the next couple of weeks, others just keep them on hand," said Weiss. "If it's something they see, they can do what they will. Typically the sets are all handed out by January."

According to Weiss, the two most ticketed offenses are not having lights on at night, and riding against traffic. Though it is rare, he also says some bicyclists have been pulled over for speeding on Gharrett Street and Duncan Drive.
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