BICYCLES

If you are a Bloomington Indiana resident who rides a bicycle, I would like to have your comments on the following issues:

  1. Do you ever ride a bike on a sidewalk?
    • Why or why not?
  2. Do you obey traffic signs, signals, and markings?
    • Why or why not?
  3. Do you ride the wrong way on one-way streets?
    • Why or why not?
  4. Do you make complete stops at STOP signs?
    • Why or why not?
  5. Do you signal continuously for 200 feet before turning?
    • Why or why not?
  6. When slowing down or stopping, do you signal?
    • Why or why not?
  7. Did you know that bike wheels larger than 14 inches in diameter are prohibited from sidewalks?
  8. Were you aware that in Indiana, bicycles, ridden animals, horse drawn vehicles, and automobiles must all obey all the same traffic laws?
  9. Did you know that it's illegal to lock bikes to traffic signs, signals, or fire hydrants?
  10. Were you aware that allowing one's own children to break Indiana bicycle laws is a crime?
  11. If you came from another state or country:
    • Where are you from?
    • What are the bicycle laws there?

I am genuinely interested in why there are so many bicycle violations and accidents. Answers will be kept confidential. Please email to (do not copy the text, and remove spaces):

midimagical@exsbcglobalus. net

BICYCLE SAFETY

  1. Obey the laws for moving vehicles, not pedestrians.
        Bicycles go too fast for pedestrian laws.
        Stay off sidewalks.
        Riding on sidewalks is illegal.
        Riding on sidewalks causes bike-vehicle accidents.
        Vehicle drivers can't see bicycles on sidewalks in time to act.
        Stop when entering streets from sidewalks or driveways.
        Dismount and walk the bike on sidewalks or crosswalks.
  2. Obey ALL of the laws for moving vehicles.
        This includes:
    1. STOP signs
    2. traffic lights
    3. lane markings
    4. one-way streets
  3. You must have a real headlight. It must not flash.
        A reflector does you no good if you are behind a vehicle.
        A steady red taillight or red reflector must be on the back.
        Red lights are illegal on the front of a non-emergency vehicle.
        You may have a flashing yellow light.

MOST FREQUENT CAUSES OF BICYCLE-VEHICLE ACCIDENTS:

  1. Riding on sidewalks and into the paths of vehicles
  2. Expecting traffic to treat a bicycle as a pedestrian
  3. No headlight at night
  4. Passing on the right of a vehicle about to turn right
  5. Wrong way on a one-way street
  6. Disobeying a STOP sign
  7. Disobeying a traffic light
  8. Entering traffic from off the street without stopping
  9. Suddenly entering traffic from a hidden location
  10. Failure to yield to other traffic with the right-of-way

BICYCLE LINKS

  1. WHY BICYCLE LAWBREAKING IS ILLEGAL
  2. RIDING BICYCLES SAFELY AND LEGALLY
  3. MAKING TRAFFIC ACTUATED SIGNALS DETECT A BIKE
  4. MAKING SAFE BICYCLE PATHS AND SIDEPATHS
  5. BIKE LANES vs TURNING DRIVERS
        Giving bikes the right-of-way is the WRONG thing to do.

OTHER LINKS