ROAD SAFETY BICYCLIST AND PEDESTRIANS
With the reopening of the Dayton Bridge and the open flow of traffic once again within the Village I feel it is time to remind residents of certain state guidelines that we tend to forget, ignore or are just not aware of. I can place all of the traffic laws here that apply but it would make for a lengthy complicated reading. Instead I am going to hit the high lights of violations that are most commonly misunderstood. There are traffic safety laws that relate to persons on bicycles and pedestrians alike. The state FINE for pedestrian / bicycle violations is $67.50 civil penalty and add another $52.50 if a cited person takes it to court and is found guilty as court costs.
316.2065 Bicycle regulations.--
(1) Every person propelling a vehicle by human power has all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle under this chapter, except as to special regulations in this chapter, and except as to provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.
What the above means is that every bicyclist must obey the traffic laws that apply to the driver of a motor vehicle. Stop at stop signs, stay to the right of the center of the road, yield to pedestrians etc. There are additionally more laws that are bicycle specific some of which are copied below.
(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
(6) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two abreast may not impede traffic when traveling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing and shall ride within a single lane.
(7) Every bicycle in use between sunset and sunrise shall be equipped with a lamp on the front exhibiting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and a lamp and reflector on the rear each exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of 600 feet to the rear.
316.130 Pedestrians; traffic regulations
(4) Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway in relation to the pedestrian’s direction of travel, facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.
(10) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
I have just provided excerpts from the bicycle / pedestrian laws that are the frequently misunderstood or overlooked. There are of coarse many more laws concerning juveniles and helmets, crossing roads at intersections or at right angles to name a few. I hope that the information that I have provided will help in understanding the laws as they are applied and help people to understand when they are stopped in the Village by the Police officers when the laws are ignored.
Chief of Police
Gary Loos
With the reopening of the Dayton Bridge and the open flow of traffic once again within the Village I feel it is time to remind residents of certain state guidelines that we tend to forget, ignore or are just not aware of. I can place all of the traffic laws here that apply but it would make for a lengthy complicated reading. Instead I am going to hit the high lights of violations that are most commonly misunderstood. There are traffic safety laws that relate to persons on bicycles and pedestrians alike. The state FINE for pedestrian / bicycle violations is $67.50 civil penalty and add another $52.50 if a cited person takes it to court and is found guilty as court costs.
316.2065 Bicycle regulations.--
(1) Every person propelling a vehicle by human power has all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle under this chapter, except as to special regulations in this chapter, and except as to provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.
What the above means is that every bicyclist must obey the traffic laws that apply to the driver of a motor vehicle. Stop at stop signs, stay to the right of the center of the road, yield to pedestrians etc. There are additionally more laws that are bicycle specific some of which are copied below.
(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
(6) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two abreast may not impede traffic when traveling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing and shall ride within a single lane.
(7) Every bicycle in use between sunset and sunrise shall be equipped with a lamp on the front exhibiting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and a lamp and reflector on the rear each exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of 600 feet to the rear.
316.130 Pedestrians; traffic regulations
(4) Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway in relation to the pedestrian’s direction of travel, facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.
(10) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
I have just provided excerpts from the bicycle / pedestrian laws that are the frequently misunderstood or overlooked. There are of coarse many more laws concerning juveniles and helmets, crossing roads at intersections or at right angles to name a few. I hope that the information that I have provided will help in understanding the laws as they are applied and help people to understand when they are stopped in the Village by the Police officers when the laws are ignored.
Chief of Police
Gary Loos