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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