Bicycle Traffic School Debuts in Santa Cruz
by Andrew Posner, Rhode Island, USA on 03.24.08
Here at Treehugger we often extoll the virtues of the the bicycle. At the same time, we offer up many tips to ensure that the trips our readers take by bike are both enjoyable and safe. Still, two facts remain: not enough people are riding their bikes, and too many cyclists get injured on the roads. The assumption is that in crashes involving cyclists and motorists, it is usually the motorist's fault. However, at least in Santa Cruz, California, that does not appear to be the case. According to Saskia Lucas, a bicycle commuter and instructor at Santa Cruz's new bike traffic school, "bicyclists are at fault in at least half of all bike vs. vehicle accidents."
The purpose of the traffic school is to allow cyclists that have been ticketed for running through a stop sign or riding at night without lights to "go to traffic school to avoid a hefty fine -- and pick up some safety pointers."
Cyclists can pay anywhere from $100 to $200 per ticket, depending on the infraction. By attending the two-hour bicycle safety class (which costs $35) the cyclist can save money and, potentially, save his or her own life by learning essential safety tips. The need for these types of courses is high: in 2006, Santa Cruz County police recorded 154 bicycle injuries. "'We're a university town with a lot of bikes on the road and a lot of injuries,' said Corinne Hyland of the county health department. 'We want to capture that audience and give them some education.'"
The classes are given once a month, and have been very successful in educating cyclists about basic safety tips and the rules of the road. Saskia Lukas says that "a lot of the people who come to the class are surprised by the information, and they come away with concrete illustrations on how to be a better rider."
These types of programs will help in the 50% of cases where the cyclist is at fault. Now all that's needed is better education for drivers, better signage and more lanes for cyclists, and increased awareness all around that cyclists have the same rights--and obligations--as motorists. What's scary is that 50% of the cases are caused by drivers, and regardless of who is at fault, the fact of the matter is that in a crash the driver will always fare better than the cyclist (well, almost always).
As things stand now, there are a lot of people interested in bicycle commuting that haven't tried it out for fear of riding on the roads. The Santa Cruz program is a baby step toward helping to get them on their bikes.
Via: ::MercuryNews
See Also: ::Toronto's Love/Hate Relationship with Bikes, ::Cycle Commuting, Bike Buses and SUV Accidents, ::Cycle Lanes: Use Them Or Else, ::Helmets--for whom? Cyclists or Motorists?, ::It's More Dangerous NOT To Ride a Bike, ::Winter Tips For Summer Bicycle Trips: Part 1, ::Winter Tips For Summer Bicycle Trips: Part 2, ::Got a SuperComputer? Run it By Bicycle!, ::World's Smallest and Lightest Folding Bicycle, ::Guerrilla Bike Activists and ::Getting Students to Walk it Out
While this sort of thing might seem as if it is discouraging to cycling, I think in the end it is a good thing. Knowledge is an important safety tool. People need to learn that when riding a bicycle the rider has rights and responsibilities. By following the rules of the road you help to keep yourself safer and prevent the negative stereotype about cyclists being rude.
Just this weekend I was almost involved in an accident with a cyclist (This time I was the one in the car). The rider was riding on the wrong side of the street and was not going to yield for traffic when making a left turn. Her actions caught me off guard and left me shaken for most of the day. While I felt a huge weight of guilt (I was the one protected by a metal box), she was the one that put us both at risk.
Please note before flaming me that I am a huge bike fan and encourage everybody to get out and ride. However, as members of the cycling community it is important that when we convince people to start riding we teach them how to ride safely.
Fault is an interesting word.
It is absolutely true that we need rules so very few people get hurt. But, the rules of the road do not completely apply to anyone but automobiles. Any cyclist who has tried to make a left-hand turn knows that the rules of the road do not work well for us.
Yes, if a cyclist is riding on the wrong side of the road, then that is an extreme case. But, I am not certain I have ever seen that before.
I will give one every day example:
You are riding in a bike lane, and a car has blocked the bike lane because they have decided to use it as a parking spot. Do you (a) stop, (b) go out into the street to go around and block car traffic, (c) call the cops .. I have this dilemma ever time I ride, and most of the time I try to safely go out into the road, and usually someone will honk at me because I am not following the rules as they would like. But, simple things like this get very complicated (and ultimately are usually problems caused by cars).
Monty-
If a car is blocking the bike lane or it is otherwise unusable, you have the right to take a portion of the road. I believe TH has had posts in the past that cover such a situation and provide helpful tips for safer and lawful riding. Cars do not have the right to honk at you for doing so (although I would avoid any return gestures to insure your safety).
I think that your confusion or uncertainty demonstrates that these sort of safe riding education classes would be a great benefit to everybody. I wonder if these classes are available to everybody or are they only a "punishment"? If I was in that area I would check it out. Hmmm... maybe I should check my local area for classes.
I commuted 12 miles each way in Santa Cruz about 5 years ago, and I've seen cyclists do some stupid stuff there. Riding on the wrong side of the road is common, not stopping at red lights is common, blowing through stop signs on a down hill slope is common. There are a fair number of 1 way roads, where to go around them would take a lot of extra time (namely Beach St.), but the city has addressed that mostly.
All that being said, the drivers there are pretty idiotic too. It's a bad combination of narrow streets, lots of tourist in the summer, and few freeways so everyone is on surface streets. I don't see a problem with this, as long as cars making the road dangerous for cylcists (right turns in front of a bike, driving in the bike lane, parking in teh bike lane, etc) are also ticketed substantially.