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What
roles can Law Enforcement Play in Bicycle Safety?
- Most crashes can be avoided if both bicyclists and motorists
follow the rules of the road. Heightened awareness among law
officers of these rules, can lead to: enforcing of laws, modeling
of good behavoirs and recognizing and taking advantage of teachable
moments with both bicycles and motorists. The ultimate goal
is to prevent crashes and enhance traffic safety.
- Bicycles are legal vehicles and, unless specifically prohibited,
can be expected on all roadways. Law enforcement officers come
in contact with bicyclists on a daily basis and are expected
to be experts on bicycle safety.
- Law enforcement officers are the only ones who can enforce
laws, both for bicyclists and motorists to improve bicycle safety
- Law enforcement officers are in a unique position to assist
with and add credibility to community efforts to encourage bicycling
and improve bicycle safety. However, most officers do not possess
the bicycle safety knowledge or the community assessment skills
necessary to do this job.
What is the value of Law Enforcement Training?
- Most officers have never received any bicycle specific training.
How do police officers know which laws to enforce, both for
bicyclists and motorists, to improve bicycle safety if they
do not know about the leading causes of bicycle crashes?
- By increasing knowledge of the rules of the road for bicyclists
and for motorists relating to bicyclists, law enforcement officers
can better serve the community and potentiallly save a life.
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