The parks and recreation department in Midland, Texas, is distributing free reflector lights to bicyclists and pedestrians in an effort to cut down on local fatalities. "We've had a couple of bicycle fatalities, we've had a couple of motorcycle fatalities and the first one this year was a pedestrian accident," Midland Police Lt. Brian Bogart told NewsWest9.com, the website for KWES-TV. "We've had very few car-on-car crashes so far this year."
Bikers, joggers and walkers can easily attach the reflector lights to their clothing, making it easy for motorists to see them in the dark morning or evening hours - especially as the days get shorter and the nights get longer. "Some streets in Midland are not lit very well, so there's nothing to reflect light off of them, and that makes it difficult for vehicles to see them, and we don't want to have any more incidents than we have already had this year," Midland recreation superintendent Ben Telesca added. "We'll be driving around, trying to catch some of those folks who are less than appropriately lighted and visible, and try to get them to utilize these."
