i would never naturally assume any circuitry to be "reverse polarity" by default even if they are. since this can fry a lot of IC, and micro controllers.
there are several options to adding a reverse polarity protection circuit to your project
you can find three easy to implement circuits here:
http://provideyourown.com/2012/reverse-polarity-protection-circuits/
I just stopped using the LM3914, and now use a quad comparator (LM339) with a simple voltage divider. It's a little bulkier but at least it works.