Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
The Goleta Police Department will step up bicycle safety enforcement operations today, February 27th, with focused enforcement on collision-causing factors involving motorists and bike riders. Special patrols will be deployed to crack down on drivers and bicyclists who violate traffic laws meant to protect all roadway users.
The department has mapped out locations from over the past 3 years where bicycle involved collisions have occurred and noted the violations that led to those crashes. Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers and bike riders alike that can lead to life changing injuries.
Bicycle fatalities are rising in California as more people use bicycling for commuting, exercise and recreation. During the past three (3) years, the Goleta Police Department has not had a fatal collision, but have investigated 61 injury collisions involving bike riders.
California witnessed 147 bicyclist deaths in 2016, accounting for over four percent of all traffic fatalities, much higher than the national average of over two percent. Nationally, 70 percent of all bicyclists who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2015 died in urban area crashes. Over a 10-year period (2006 to 2015), the average age of cyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes has steadily increased from 41 to 45.
The following safety tips can save lives and stop a tragedy from happening in Goleta:
Drivers:
– ‘Share the road’ with bicyclists
– Be courteous; California law now mandates at least three feet of clearance when passing a bike riders
– Look for cyclists before opening a car door or pulling out from a parking space
– Yield to cyclists at intersections and as directed by signs and signals
– Be especially watchful for riders when making turns, either left or right
Bicyclists:
– Wear properly fitted bicycle helmets every time they ride. If under 18 years of age, it’s the law
– A helmet is the single most effective way to prevent head injury resulting from a bicycle crash
– Riders are considered vehicle operators; they are required to obey the same rules of the road as other vehicle operators, including obeying traffic signs, signals, and lane markings.
– When cycling in the street, cyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic.
– Bicyclists should increase their visibility to drivers by wearing fluorescent or brightly colored clothing during the day, and at dawn and dusk
– To be noticed when riding at night, the law requires a front light and a red reflector to the rear
– For additional safety, use a flashing rear light, and use retro-reflective tape or markings on equipment or clothing
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The City of Goleta contracts with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for police services.
Please enforce the laws about bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. I’ve been hit twice in the last year.
Also the ones about STOPPING at stop lights and stop signs! Almost every morning I see cyclists in spandex blast through stop signs near my kids’ school. Kids are walking in the cross walks and the moron cyclists barely even slow down. I gave my kids permission to pelt them with rocks if they ever get forced off the road by one of those idiots! Hitting a little kid on your bike can seriously injure them! STOP!
No you haven’t.
So you gave your kids permission to commit a crime? You are an evil thug with an irrational hatred of cyclists.