By Stephanie Schaerr
Last Tuesday morning, Tarmy Lunt was on her way to campus when a bicyclist darted in front of her car to cross the street from the sidewalk on a pedestrian crosswalk. Her light was green and the pedestrian signal said ?Do Not Walk,? but the bicyclist crossed anyway. Annoyed, Lunt honked her horn and wondered if the biker knew what he had just done was illegal.
?I think it is great that people are riding bikes,? said Lunt, a Registered Nurse and BYU graduate. ?But I feel that they should ? either obey the car laws or obey the pedestrian laws ? not choose the most convenient at the time and impede traffic flow.?
With 1,200 to 1,500 bicycles licensed each year at the BYU Traffic Office alone, bike traffic on the roads and sidewalks near campus is thick. Like Tarmy, some drivers think that bicyclists need to be reminded of the rules for riding in Utah.
In Utah, bicycles on the road are considered vehicles, meaning bikers are required to follow the same laws as car drivers. They must move in the same direction as vehicle traffic, signal before turning or stopping, and alert pedestrians when they pass them. They are allowed to ride on sidewalks, but they are required to get off their bikes and walk across the street if they choose to use a pedestrian crosswalk.
On campus, bicyclists must follow all state laws and a few others. They are not allowed to ride through campus between class breaks and are expected to obey the 8 mph speed limit on sidewalks, according to BYU Police Lt. Greg Barber. Also, students must register their bikes with the Traffic Office for $1.
Lt. Aaron Rhoades said the most common violation on campus is riding during class breaks, which is punishable by a $10 citation. He said the problem is bicycles are quiet and pedestrians do not hear them coming the way they would hear a car, and may move into their paths. This has caused several severe accidents on campus in the past and is the reasoning behind the rule.
Rhoades and his colleagues are also the ones who wait at the bottom of the hill south of campus to catch bicyclists who don?t obey the stop sign there. That violation is more expensive ? the same $50 citation that drivers receive.
But Rhoades said he does not think BYU students are bad bicyclists.
?The majority of bicyclists we have on campus are responsible riders,? Rhoades said.
Statewide, bicyclists riding against the flow of traffic caused 122 crashes in 2004, the second most common cause for that year. They received the most violations for failure to yield right-of-way in 2004, comprising 49.2 percent of all violations given.
If drivers and bicyclists do not obey the laws and watch out for each other, the results can be dangerous, even fatal. Last year, 673 collisions occurred between bicyclists and motor vehicles, said Amy Lightfoot, a research analyst at the Utah Department of Public Safety. Of those, five crashes were fatal, and six bicyclists died.
But bicyclists are not the only people who need to be careful on the road. Jeffrey Krebs, a senior from Kentucky majoring in communications who rides his bike to class everyday, said motorists are more likely to stop for pedestrians than for bikers.
?I think they should be cautious of us and respect us just as they would anyone else,? he said.
According to the law, bicyclists are not required to wear helmets. However, Provo City Police Officer Bryan Soule knows what happens when they don?t. Last week, he saw an accident where a driver ran a red light and struck a young boy on a bicycle. His head was split open because he was not wearing a helmet.
?As far as head wounds, is the best thing that?s going to save you from having a stay in the hospital,? Soule said.
Basic Summary of Bike Laws:
-Bicyclists must follow the same laws as drivers, including obeying traffic signals, stop and yield signs.
-Bicyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic
-Bicyclists must ride as far to the right as possible except when passing, preparing to turn left, or avoiding unsafe conditions
-Bicyclists must signal their intentions to turn left or right, change lanes, or stop at least three seconds before doing so
-Hand signals are:
-Left turn ? left hand and arm extended horizontally
-Right turn ? left hand and arm extended upward or right hand and arm extended horizontally
-Stop/Decrease speed ? left hand and arm extended downward
-Bicyclists must yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal when overtaking them
-Bicyclists are forbidden from attaching themselves or their bike to any vehicles moving on the highway
-Bicyclists are forbidden from carrying packages that prevent them from using both hands to control the bike
-Bicyclists are required to have a white headlight, red taillight or reflector, and side reflectors visible for 500 feet
-Bicycles must have brakes capable of stopping within 25 feet from a speed of 10 mph