The lights and reflectors were completed in minutes

On Monday night, the Cyclists of Lahti shared the lights donated by the Finnish Cycling Association and the reflectors donated by the City of Lahti at the corner of Vesijärvenkatu and Hämeenkatu. According to the counter, there are about a thousand cyclists a day at the nearby Harjukatu underpass.

On the scene, several cyclists stopped in their reflective vests to drink a cup of hot mulled wine, obtained from the cafe station manager. There was a consensus on this point: not enough pedestrians, cyclists, and dogs. This was also the view of the parking guards who were present.

What is so difficult about using lights and reflectors?

Lahti stolen a lot of bikes, from me has been exported to almost every bike that I have acquired. The same goes for bicycle light. There should be a removable light that you should always remember to bring with you, otherwise, it will no longer be when you return to the bike, says Kristiina Juvonen, who lives in downtown Lahti.

In the bay, saddles are all over, everything that comes off. Therefore, it is not worth buying a new bike.

According to the Police Polytechnic's Result Information System, more bikes and bike equipment are stolen in Lahti than in other cities of the same size. Last year, over 1,500 bike thefts were reported in the Häme Police Department. At the end of August, 672 bicycle thefts had come to the attention of the police in the Päijät-Häme area.

Juvonen and Mika Junttila, who was filling in with him, both got lights from their cycling event for their traveling games.

"This is an important event. Light is nice to take with you when you put your bike in the park," says Juvonen, who cycles all year round.

A reflective jacket or other reflective garment is a good life insurance policy

Tuulikki Mäkinen, who distributed reflectors at the event, says she is a passionate cyclist, and many "dark cyclists", ie those who don't have reflectors or lights on their bikes, will face the dark season.

"Many people who took a reflector or lamp said that the previous lamp was pollinated. Everything is taken away from what we get," Mäkinen says.

According to Juha Auvinen, a cyclist activist in Lahti, traveling without reflectors and lights is also associated with thoughtlessness in some people.

"It's a bit like a bicycle helmet. Not everyone uses it, even if it makes sense," he says.

Another cycling activist, Erkki Kontiainen, fills daily commutes to downtown Lahti and back. He says he started the most active cycling exercise in 2012 with a weight loss mindset of about twenty pounds, but utility biking remained the norm.

"I ordered this reflective fabric jacket from the British, and since then motorists have been able to look at me much better than before. They will notice me a longer distance than before. The light on the bike alone is not enough, reflectors are also important when cycling so that a cyclist can be detected in the car," Kontiainen says.

Police: "Pedestrians rely too much on being seen"

Superintendent Petri Molander of Häme police says his findings show that pedestrians have too much confidence in being seen by cars in street-lit areas.

"If the clothing does not have reflector surfaces added by the manufacturer, the use of bulk reflectors is necessary. In my experience, they are underused," Molander says.

He has no judgment on the visibility of cyclists in the dark, because "there is so little traffic on winter cyclists".

"I would think that outside of the city center and the street-lit areas, people who are cycling are just forced to use the light because otherwise, they can't see it. According to the law, there must be light on the bike anyway, otherwise, you may be fined."