Cycle lights

What are the legal requirements?

You must have approved front and rear lights that are lit, clean, and working properly when cycling between sunset and sunrise. It’s no defense to say that it was just sunset but not yet dark. The legal lighting obligations for cyclists are determined by sunset and sunrise times – not the ‘hours of darkness,’ which start 30 minutes after the former and end 30 minutes before the latter to aid dilution when motorists must switch from sidelights to headlights.

Cycling UK’s guide to cycling regulations explains the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations in detail, but in summary, you need a white light at the front and a red light at the rear, visible from the front and rear respectively, and fixed to your bike. A light obscured by a saddlebag isn’t legal and neither is a torch on your head, though there’s nothing to stop you using a head-torch as an additional light.

The regulations also now allow flashing lights, provided they flash between 60 and 240 times per minute. The legal requirements for reflectors include a red rear reflector and four amber pedal reflectors, one at the front and rear of each pedal. Common sense might suggest that a reflective heel strip or ankle band could replace an amber pedal reflector, but unfortunately, these do not meet the legal requirements. This is an annoying problem for riders who use bikes where the feet are attached to the pedals and cannot slip. These pedals are not designed with enough space to accommodate reflectors and make this an area of legislation in need of change.

Unlike with other vehicles, lights are not a legal requirement for cyclists when there is seriously reduced visibility during the daytime, although we wouldn’t recommend cycling through dense fog without lighting up.

Under health and safety law, you must ensure that the working environment meets certain minimum requirements

Workstation furniture

The work desk or work surface should be big enough to allow the user to arrange the screen, keyboard, and documents, etc., in a flexible way. It should be stable and positioned so that it’s comfortable when an employee uses a document holder, but also big enough to let the user work comfortably and alter their position.

The working environment

You need to assess noise levels. The equipment shouldn’t be so noisy that it distracts the user. If you can’t use quieter equipment, consider soundproofing or moving the equipment. You could use partitions between noisy equipment and the rest of the workstation as an alternative.

Lighting is also an important consideration. Surrounding windows must have curtains or blinds which users can adjust to prevent reflected glare. If needed, provide users with lighting appropriate to their tasks and particular workstation. Users should have control over their lighting to prevent reflected glare.

Temperature-wise, the equipment should not give out so much heat that the user becomes uncomfortable, so monitor this. It’s also important that you maintain ventilation, and you control humidity so that it is at a level which keeps the user comfortable.

Task design and rest breaks

Good design of the task can be as important as the right choice of furniture and equipment. Where practical, work routines should design so that employees have a mix of activities and some control over which tasks they perform and when. You should match staffing levels to workloads to make sure no one is either overworked or underworked and give employees some say in how the work is carried out and the planning that goes into it.

An employee’s need for rest breaks will vary depending on the type of work they do and how intensely they have to work. As a general rule, however, short, frequent breaks are better than longer, less frequent ones. A 5- to 10-minute break after 50–60 minutes’ work is better than a 15-minute break every two hours. Where possible, allow users to do different tasks during their break, like reading a document, to vary their posture and work activities.

Test 2

Read the text below and answer Questions 21–27.

Using portable ladders

Workers use portable ladders for a variety of jobs outside, such as first- and second-floor window cleaning and building repairs.

Employees need to oversee all ladders that are owned by their company. Detailed visual inspections should be carried out on a regular basis, and they should have an up-to-date record of these. Before starting a job, employers are also responsible for ensuring any ladder is the right length to meet the needs of the task; reaching out from the very top of a ladder is highly dangerous. Once you get a ladder, you, as the user of the ladder, should conduct a pre-use check each working day. Conducting pre-use checks should have been part of your training and should be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. When doing a check, it is important to focus on the steps and make sure they are not loose as this could cause an accident. Similarly, a cracked joint in the ladder could cause it to fail.

Almost all falls from ladders happen because the ladder moves unexpectedly. The key factor in preventing falls from ladders is to ensure your ladder is stable whilst being used. First, make sure that you choose level ground on which to set up your ladder. There are specially designed tools you can use to ensure this—don’t just use a piece of wood. Second, check the ground surface is dirt-free and solid, so the feet can grip and the ladder doesn’t sink.

Before you go up your ladder, look at the surrounding environment. Make sure the ladder cannot be struck by vehicles. If necessary, safeguard the area by placing red cones around it. Ensure it will not be pushed over by other hazards such as opening doors. Doors and windows may need to be secured where possible. Finally, think about the hazards to the general public and make sure they cannot walk underneath it or get too near to it. A "danger" sign at the base is often the best way of doing this.

To secure the ladder, tie it to a suitable point, such as a window or railing, making sure both sides are attached. Where this is not practical, secure it to the wall near the base as best with ties; avoid using sandbags to wedge the ladder in place as they can easily move.

SECTION 3

Questions 28–40

Read the text below and answer Questions 28–40.

The story of the Fosbury Flop

On October 20, 1968, a 21-year-old university student from the USA called Dick Fosbury completely transformed the sport of high jumping with a gold-medal and Olympic-record jump of 2.24 meters at the Mexico City Games. Fosbury accomplished this fabulous feat by going over the crossbar head first and backward! As colorfully described that day by the Los Angeles Times, “Fosbury goes over the bar like a guy being pushed out of a 30-story window.”

A

At first, when asked about his unorthodox, but successful jumping technique, Fosbury struggled to find words to describe it. But in an interview the following year, he revealed that he had originally designed the Flop on the basis of a childhood miscalculation. He had first attempted the Flop when he once tripped on his takeoff back in high school. However, in later reflections he would state, “I knew I had to change my technique or I wouldn’t be competing at all.” His ‘flop’ had been instinctive rather than intentional, but with some practice and refinements, he developed it into a winning formula in the high jump.

B

Fosbury explained how he had first learnt to high jump at the age of 10 or 11. He tried using the standard ‘scissors’ technique, but was unable to clear the bar with it. His breakthrough came when he was 16 and was trying to adjust his run-up. “I kept experimenting with lifting my hips and back,” he said, “until I found the most comfortable and effective way to go over the bar.” Soon, coaches and fellow athletes noticed his unusual ‘flop’ action, but since it was working, they let him continue using it.

C

Fosbury’s technique won him a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, and it was clear that the technique had changed the high jump forever. Within a few years, the ‘Fosbury Flop’ was widely adopted by other jumpers, replacing the older straddle and scissors techniques.

D

The new approach was far from elegant but it was a trial-and-error process that ultimately led to major refinements. Most modifications of Fosbury’s jumping style were about adjusting the angle of takeoff, improving arm movements, and perfecting body timing. Good athletes worked with their coaches to refine the elements of Fosbury’s technique. Soon, almost every high jumper in the world was using some version of the Flop, with only a few exceptions. The older styles were gradually eliminated as the technique evolved.

E

What did Fosbury think of the seeming awkwardness of his Flop? “I believe that the Flop was a natural style,” he said, “And I was just the first to find it. I can say that because the Canadian jumper Debbie Brill was a few years younger than me and developed almost the same technique, only a few years after me and without ever having seen me.”

A striking coincidence? Yes, indeed. But, perhaps not as striking as the fact that a high school student called Brua Quandt was photographed on May 24, 1963, flopping backward over the crossbar. This was the same month that Fosbury recalls having first flopped for the first time in the competition when he was at high school.

F

But completing the Flop successfully was only half the battle; the return to earth still had to be negotiated. Few world venues had such an engineering horror – they’d have to land on their necks. When Fosbury was a sophomore, high school athletes in his town first had thin wooden boards to land on. At another one location, Fosbury hit his head on the wooden border of the pit. Another time, he landed not only on his feet but flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. The next year, Fosbury’s high school enhanced the facilities for high jumpers with rubber in its high jump pit, which softened the jumper’s fall and reduced injuries. As the sport grew, high schools across the world soon followed in making landing surfaces much softer and safer.

G

Fosbury explains how he came to name the Flop. “I was very proud that I received the gold medal, but at the time, the media wanted a word and a phrase to call it overnight. I told them that I was there to jump, not to name my style. What should I call it? I used my background in the analytical side and I asked what it looked like. The first thing that popped into my mind was: ‘It looks like a fish flopping in a boat!’ That’s the best description – and when everyone wrote it down, it was then that it became the ‘Fosbury Flop’.”

He continues, “One of the first comments was from a journalist who said, ‘It looks like you’re flopping around in the air.’ The comment was not meant to be complimentary, but it was very descriptive. The great coach and Olympic official Bill Bowerman, who was also a great fisherman, said, ‘Oh, that’s a perfect description, just like a fish in the boat, it’s flopping. That’s the action, and so it’s a good description by a journalist, and I remembered it.’”