BTV Police Step Up Enforcement for Bike-Ped Safety
Posted by Jason on Nov 22 2011
Tags: Burlington, Share the Road, Transportation
When the Burlington Police Department announced in October that it was starting to issue tickets and warnings to bicyclists and pedestrians who violate traffic laws, Local Motion’s phone started ringing within days. Irate bicyclists who had been issued tickets or warnings wanted to know what was going on — and why they were being singled out.
The fact is, bike riders aren’t the only ones getting tickets. Local Motion been working closely with the police to monitor how many tickets and how many warnings are given out to each mode — pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists — so as to ensure that this enforcement initiative is fair and even-handed. Here is a summary of tickets and warnings issued during the first two enforcement details (October 21 and November 7):
Motorists: 8 tickets and warnings
Bicyclists: 4 tickets and warnings
Pedestrians: 16 tickets and warnings
Across the board, police officers focused on the kinds of violations that are most likely to result in pedestrian and bicyclist crashes and injuries. For motorists, this means that most of the citations were for running red lights, speeding, failing to yield, or the like. For bike riders, most of the citations were for running red lights or riding without lights at night. And for pedestrians, most citations were for crossing against the signal or not at a crosswalk.
The reality is, people on foot and on bike get hurt not only because cars are big and heavy and fast, but also because people do dumb and/or illegal things. Sometimes the people doing those things are in cars. Sometimes they are bicycling. And sometimes they are out on foot. Regardless, a little enforcement can go a long way towards making sure people play by the rules.
Please give us a call or send an email if you have thoughts you’d like to share about the best role of enforcement in making our streets safer: jason@localmotion.org or 861-2700 x109. This is an evolving project, and we’re always looking for good ideas.
Many thanks to the Vermont Governor’s Highway Safety Program for funding our safe streets work, the Burlington Police Department for putting time and resources into bike-ped safety, and our many other partners for making the Safe Streets Collaborative possible. For more info, visit www.safestreetsVT.org.
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5 Responses to “BTV Police Step Up Enforcement for Bike-Ped Safety”
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on 22 Nov 2011 at 1:28 pm 1.meg said …
I think that we aren't at the point where equal enforcement makes sense except maybe in the case of lights on your bike. Not all bikers should follow the same rules as vehicles, especially when the infrastructure (South Winooski Ave) is no where near safe enough for all bikes/cars to share the road. Using the bike lane on Union in the wrong way is often the safest and wisest choice. Not stopping at a stop sign to maintain momentum with a load on the back of your bike (when the coast is obviously clear) also makes sense. It feels like concessions are being made before needs are being met to make the city really bike safe and conscious. A lot of great work has been done to get some lanes marked here and there. Unlike cars, bikes tend to come in a spectrum of users that need to be treated differently: commuter high speed bikers, families, kids riding to school, tourists etc. I am not sure the transportation rules or planning take this into consideration.
on 22 Nov 2011 at 6:27 pm 2.Guest said …
I can't count how many close calls I've had from motorists during the last seven years. I've been in the cross walk at Church and Cherry,College, or Bank, had a motorists barrell right at me, or roll at me instead of stopping…. while three cops stand in a group and chit-chat, totally oblivious. It happens a 100 times a day. Or how about motorists who just hit the accelorater when pulling out of parking garages or lots, without a care for bikes or pedestrians, even though they see them? Only 8 motorists cited and 16 pedestrians? How about a few dipshit skateboarders who purposely buzz pedestrians on the sidewalk?
on 23 Nov 2011 at 12:19 pm 3.patricia said …
barnstable bike cops in massachusetts are some of the guiltiest when it comes to violating traffic laws! drives us crazy!
on 23 Nov 2011 at 3:26 pm 4.Jonathan slason said …
See this on-going debate. http://www.aktnz.co.nz/2011/11/20/should-cyclists…
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This as a post I put on my facebook page:
I completely agree that cyclists should be able to treat the facilities like 'yields' of 'give ways' since it is only them who will pay the consequences of a ill-faited decision. (obviously if they collide with someone then they are to blame, be it a Pedestrian or a vehicle).
I feel much safer trying to jump ahead of a light or at a stop sign to maintain momentum and my place in the general traf…fic stream vs. stopping and then starting slowly getting up to speed and then being passed again my all the vehicles behind me.
Like a recent crash I have had and the quote from my insurance broker… the cycle is an odd thing neither a vehicle-vehicle crash and neither a vehicle-pedestrian incident. They didn't know how to code it in their system showing both personal property damage and personal body damage.
The cycle is a mixture of the two modes and needs to have a separate set of laws and traffic behaviours associated with it.See More
on 27 Nov 2011 at 7:12 pm 5.Krista said …
I applaud this new initiative, and think ALL offenders should be ticketed, regardless of mode of transportation. It’s simple – no matter who you are, you need to follow the rules, no matter how inconvenient they may be. This is just common sense and self preservation. It is rare that the cyclist is blamed when an incident with a vehicle occurs, even though it is often a result of their ignorance or disregard of even the most basic safety and traffic standards. I am all of the above (cyclist, pedestrian and motorist) and have seen more than my fair share of idiots out there who ignore traffic laws, but lately fellow cyclists and especially pedestrians on cell phones seem to be the worst offenders, while it is usually the vehicular offenses that are targeted. About time things got evened out a bit!