Hey you! Put some lights on your bike!

Addendum: For actual information, see Get Lit - Use Lights At Night by Steven Vance. For a separate rant about a liberal arts major trying to do biochemistry, see me later.

Fine. I get it. You're not a "cyclist." You're not into sports or fashion, and you're not doing this for your own health or the planet's. You're just a regular Joe/Jo getting around the neighborhood by bike. Great. Wonderful. Splendid. Put some lights on your bike anyway.

Lights are not optional. They aren't a statement or a package deal with the fluorescent fabrics and the extraneous reflective material. They won't make you uncool. You can have lights and still be a regular person who's not a cyclist.

Lights are required by both law and the rules of common decency. Yes, I know, you can see just fine at night without lights. They are not for you. They are for everyone else on and near the road, so they can see you without feeling like you're sneaking up on them out of the orangeness. That's just impolite. Unsafe, but also impolite.