Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Operation Planned for September 16

The Pasadena Police Department will conduct a traffic safety  operation Friday, September 16. The operation will focus on dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk. 

These violations include speeding, making illegal turns, failing to yield or provide right of  way to bicyclists or pedestrians, or failing to stop for signs and signals. 

“We all have places to be and not everyone gets there by car,” Lieutenant Anthony  Russo said. “Bicyclists and pedestrians have the same rights to the road but face even  more risk without the protections vehicles have. We should all be looking out for one  another.”

 Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety,  through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  

The Pasadena Police Department offers steps drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists can  take to greatly reduce the risk of getting injured or in a crash: 

Pedestrians 

• Be predictable. Use crosswalks, when available.
• Take notice of approaching vehicles and practice due care.
•  Do not walk or run into the path of a vehicle. At 30 mph, a driver needs at least  90 feet to stop.
•  Be visible. Make it easy for drivers to see you – wear light colors, reflective  material and carry a flashlight, particularly at dawn, dusk or at night. 
•  Be extra careful crossing streets or entering crosswalks at night when?it is?harder  to see, or when crossing busier streets with more lanes and higher speed limits. 

Drivers 

• Follow the speed limit and slow down at intersections. Be prepared to stop for  pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks. 
• Avoid blocking crosswalks while waiting to make a right-hand turn. ? Never drive impaired. 

Bicyclists 

• Obey traffic laws, use hand signals, use lights at night (front white light and  rear red reflector), and wear a helmet. 
• Bicyclists must travel in the same direction of traffic and have the same  requirements as any slow-moving vehicle.
•  Avoid the door zone: do not ride too closely to parked cars. 
• If there’s a bike lane, use it, unless making a left turn, passing, or approaching a  place where a right turn is allowed.
•  Yield to pedestrians. Bicyclists must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians within  marked crosswalks or within unmarked crosswalks at intersections.?