Bikes, cars must share roads

Motorists and bicyclists have nearly identical rights to use most roads. But in a pushing contest, bicyclists nearly always lose.

As many as 900 bicyclists are seriously injured and six die each year in Utah because of crashes with cars.

Through July, five Wasatch Front area public safety agencies are teaming up with state health officials and the Department of Transportation to enforce the rules designed to create harmony on the road. And that means both bicyclists and motor vehicle operators who break the laws will be pulled over.

A grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be used to pay overtime for Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and Taylorsville city officers to work high-traffic areas where bike crashes occur. Besides the uniformed officers, undercover officers will also work those areas, the goal being to stop both motorists and bicyclists who speed, don't yield right-of-way, run stoplights and stop signs, make illegal turns, pass improperly and commit other infractions related to bicyclist/motorist safety. Bicyclists will also be ticketed for riding against the flow of traffic, according to Theron Jeppson, the state health department's bicycle and pedestrian safety coordinator.

"We're doing this to reduce the number of motor vehicle-bicycle crashes," he said. "The majority of these are preventable, so we want to target people's behavior so that crashes don't happen."

As roads become more crowded, the importance of having bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers share the road increases, said Mark Panos, deputy director of Public Safety's Highway Safety Office. He said that while "belts and booze" will likely always dominate road safety efforts because of their sheer numbers and deadly impact, the need to teach drivers and riders how to travel together on the same pavement is being seen as increasingly important. Bike and pedestrian crashes combined account for about 10 percent of traffic fatalities.

"In the past, motorists have had the attitude that they really don't need to share the road with the bicyclist, who is more or less intruding on the road," Panos said. "The law clearly says they have equal rights to that roadway. Conversely, bicyclists have some work to do on getting along with motorists better."

Officers will have the option of giving warnings instead of tickets for some of the infractions. And everyone who is pulled over as part of the campaign will be given a "Share the Road" guide that outlines the laws and offers safety tips.