The LSU Police Department recently announced greater focus on bicycle traffic violations and plans to educate students about bike safety laws throughout Bike Week on campus through Oct. 29.
LSUPD is increasing efforts to better patrol bikes on the road and educate bike riders after the department saw an increase in bike accidents this semester, according to an LSUPD news release sent out last week.
While there are no compiled statistics of accident numbers yet, LSUPD officers have noticed not only accidents between bikes and motor vehicles, but have also observed incidents that have not involved collisions, said Capt. Cory Lalonde, LSUPD spokesman.
“We’re trying to educate bike riders and change habits,” Lalonde said.
Lalonde said LSUPD is reaching out to both bicyclists and motorists to promote better knowledge of laws concerning bikes and vehicles sharing the road.
The news release reminded cyclists that bikes are considered vehicles by police, and bikes are expected to follow the same traffic laws as vehicles. Motorists were reminded that bikes have a right to the road and were encouraged to be patient and cautionary when sharing the road.
LSUPD officers began the crackdown on bike violations late last week, but citations have yet to increase, Lalonde said.
He said many comments have appeared on LSUPD and University Facebook pages expressing gratitude for promoting knowledge of bike laws to the community. While reaction was mostly positive, Lalonde said some negative responses have come from people against bikes on roads.
Patrick Carson, interdisciplinary studies senior, said he’s seen many bike riders exercising bad judgment on roads and not properly signaling when they are turning.
Carson said both bikers and drivers should be cautious of each other so everyone can feel safe on the road.
But bikes should be allowed to ride on sidewalks to decrease chances of collisions with motor vehicles, he said.
Rebecca Anderson, biochemistry freshman, said she has noticed problems on Highland Road where bikers sharing small roads have shown anger toward drivers.
Bikes are not a big problem on campus, Anderson said.
“Not many people ride their bikes to campus,” she said. “Most students just drive or take the