As the driver of a Ford truck took his foot off of the brakes at the stop sign on a recent afternoon at Cal Poly, a young man on a blue bike blew right through the stop, narrowly escaping impact with the truck that was turning right. With no police in sight, the bicyclist went on his way without a reprimand and seemingly oblivious to the accident he almost caused.
Scenes like this occur on a daily basis on Cal Poly’s campus and around the city and some people are trying to change this. May is when San Luis Obispo holds its annual celebration of Bike Month, and it raises the question of whether or not bicyclists in San Luis Obispo County and on Cal Poly’s campus are well educated in bike safety.
As part of San Luis Obispo’s Bike Month, The San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition will put on a Bicycle Confidence Workshop May 16 at Cal Poly’s University Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in room 219. The workshop is aimed at showing bicyclists how to ride with confidence, understand traffic psychology and ride safely among cars. While organizations and community groups encourage biking instead of driving, some community members continue to worry about bicycle safety.
“I think that most riders still believe that bike riding is a fun activity that they did growing up, and now are doing it for transportation means,” said Barry Lewis, a law librarian and member of San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition and League of American Cyclists. Although biking is an activity associated with fun for most people he said, when it’s used to commute instead of for leisure there is more involved then getting on the bike and pedaling.
Even after the introduction of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Coalition’s free bike education workshops that teach bicyclists how to be safe and confident, the number of bicycle citations in San Luis Obispo County in the past year did not drop. The workshops teach bicyclists things such as how to avoid crashes, where to ride on the road, bicycle riding skills and traffic laws that affect bicycling.
Cal Poly offers bicycle diversion classes similar to the workshops for those who receive citations. “While the number of cited cyclists might appear high, I personally see violations repeatedly throughout the day, every day,” said Lewis. “I have tried my own means of instructing them about the rules like shouting at cyclists as they blatantly blaze through a a stop sign, but don’t feel this is the best approach.”
Chief of University Police William Watton takes the same stance as Lewis and says that many people don’t realize that riding a bike is just like driving a car.
The University Police Department says it tries to educate students and incoming freshman about the rules of the road with pamphlets in the dorms and brief presentations during WOW Week. However students, especially freshmen, are overwhelmed with a plethora of informational pamphlets and presentations, which makes the issue of bicycle safety an easily looked-over subject, said Watton.
Many bicycle-riding students don’t seem to realize that they are breaking laws.
“I was never given any information about this that I can remember when I first came to Cal Poly as a freshman. The only reason I know anything about the rules is because my roommate got a ticket,” journalism senior Natalie Pavich said. “I witness bikers coming close to accidents on a daily basis.”
Campus police reports show there have been six accidents this year, one or two of which were injury accidents. While this is good news for student bikers, the issue still remains frustrating for other motorists.
Wine and viticulture senior Allie Frazier finds it difficult and “sometimes scary” to drive to class during peak hours because bikers are often reckless and appear out of nowhere. “I like what Bike Month is trying to promote and am glad that some organizations try to educate bikers,” said Frazier.
“I don’t think a lot of people take into account that they are sharing the road and it is much harder to quickly maneuver a car than it is a bike.”