Bike safety often takes a back seat

The sun is shining, flowers are blooming and nearly every bicycle rack on campus is jam-packed… The sun is shining, flowers are blooming and nearly every bicycle rack on campus is jam-packed with bikes of all colors and styles — it must be springtime again.

But with the increased number of avid riders around campus comes more than a handful of them who unashamedly fail to follow Pennsylvania’s bicycle laws.

And, considering that 725 bicyclists died in traffic crashes in the United States in 2004, according to www.bhsi.org, safety awareness is essential for all members of the community: pedestrians, drivers and riders themselves.

That statistic doesn’t mention the 540,000 cyclists who visit emergency rooms every year.

Pitt Police Officer Ron Bennett admits that, nevertheless, students do get away with riding on sidewalks and not wearing helmets.

“It’s pretty lenient,” Bennett said of bicycle citations. “It would be a mess if we did that. We’d do it so much that it would start causing some controversy, and there’s a good possibility we may be recommended to not do it anymore.”

Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney said the main problem is cyclists riding on sidewalks, but he added that it’s also an issue of ignorance.

He said that numerous times he’s asked cyclists to stop riding on sidewalks and they simply comply.

Sophomore Matt Prentice rides his bike to and from class just about every day and came clean about not knowing Pennsylvania’s bicycle laws. Prentice rides on the sidewalks, but only around campus.

And, unworried of the possible injuries, he doesn’t wear a helmet.

“A bike’s faster,” he said. “I can get to class in five minutes on my bike.”

Delaney added that riding on the sidewalk doesn’t just affect the average pedestrian.

“We also have the school for the blind in the area, so there should be a conscious effort to stay off the sidewalks with bicycles,” Delaney said.

The current Pennsylvania bicycle laws require all cyclists to follow the same traffic laws as vehicles — therefore, they are restricted from riding on sidewalks — and wear a helmet if under 12 years old, although it is encouraged even after that age.

However, Pitt Police Officer Brian Kopp, who rides his police bicycle throughout the day, says he occasionally stops a cyclist and asks him to put on a helmet.

But Kopp joked that it’s like underage drinking: He tells an underage student to put down a beer, but the second he turns his back, the student is reaching for a fresh one.

“I’m probably the only one in the world who wears a helmet anymore,” Kopp laughed while he was taking a break from his usual ride around Oakland.

Daniel Doan, president of the Panthers Cycling Club at Pitt, said that he’s noticed students aren’t wearing helmets as often as they should, yet helmets have saved his life multiple times.

“Most students I see don’t wear helmets, ‘Cause it doesn’t look cool or whatever,'” Doan said. “Most riders don’t know what it’s like to crash and land on your head. For those of us who ride bikes all the time, we know what it’s like.”

An estimated 45 to 88 percent of cyclists’ brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute’s Web site.

However, Bennett said that the number of bicycle accidents around Oakland has decreased.

From Bennett’s recollection, there have only been about three or four bicycle-related vehicle accidents this year.

He added that he’s surprised by this, “mainly because of the way people ride their bikes. People ride their bikes down one-way roads, in the bus lanes and on sidewalks. There are laws that say you’re not supposed to do that.”

Delaney said that he takes the kind of rider into consideration because there are different degrees of bicycle riding, such as the basic commuter or the BMX rider.

“Two wheels is two wheels,” he said. “Obviously, if we’re enforcing something, it’s the person that’s doing property damage or risking injury we need to look at.”

Jeff Blood, owner of Iron City Bikes on Bouquet Street, said he’s had about three accident repairs this year.

He added that most of his repairs are for the basic commuter.

The potholes and broken glass in Oakland, as well as being run off the road or hit by cars, result in popped tires or worse damage.

Blood, who said business is growing with spring in bloom, agreed that around Pitt’s campus it’s not uncommon for the police to be relaxed toward cycling laws.

“Because college students are riding on sidewalks around campus, they don’t really look at it,” he said. “If it was Downtown Pittsburgh, it would be a problem.”

Blood referred to an incident a week and a half ago of cyclists not obeying traffic laws during Critical Mass, a monthly, celebratory bicycle ride throughout the city.

During the ride, some cyclists were cited at the intersection of Penn and Negley avenues for failure to disperse — as it was a large group of bicycles — and blocking traffic.

But Critical Mass rider Jessi Berkelhammer said that the group does follow bicycle laws.

She added that the group sticks together; so, if half of the group goes through a yellow light, the rest will follow.

While some people may see this as dangerous, she said, it actually causes less traffic if the riders travel in a pack.

She added that accusing Critical Mass of being unsafe is silly.

“People biking slowly together, there’s nothing dangerous about that,” Berkelhammer said.

Even with all the vehicles and chaos of an urban area, PennDOT’s community relations coordinator Jim Struzzi said that it’s not necessarily less safe to ride a bicycle in the city.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s more dangerous,” Struzzi said. “People need to be more aware, cognizant of traffic and follow basic safety rules.”

Doan agreed.

“It’s almost safer now to ride in Oakland than in the suburbs or other places because people are used to it,” Doan said. “People are used to seeing bicycles around.”