Law Enforcement Information

Florida Bicycle Association promotes a statewide education campaign for law enforcement professionals focused on bicycling traffic law offenders as it relates to injuries and fatalities. This program is an ongoing commitment to educate law enforcement officers and help them be a positive force in crash and injury reduction.

The Problem

  • Too many injuries and deaths given the numbers of riders
  • No standardized materials for education or reference being used presently by law enforcement personnel
  • No perceived need for enforcement practices given due to limited information

The Solution

Awareness of the problem—Ride on By I and Ride on By II video programs (view online)

Tools of enforcement—Understanding Bicycle Law Enforcement video program, Florida Bicycle/Pedestrian Law Enforcement Guide, Group Riding: A Cycling Public Awareness video program

  • FBA develops and provides standardized bicycle related print materials to enforcement agencies
  • FBA begins awareness campaign for the public and officers on bicyclist risks and rules of the road
  • FBA provides educational workshops for officers
  • FBA develops phase one of a training program to foster effective and consistent law enforcement and education concerning the laws associated with bicycling – Curriculum Development (completed 9/06)
  • FBA develops phase two of the program to be a two-hour, interactive DVD and web-based program that will give law enforcement officials the tools they need to implement training for their officers and conduct effective education and enforcement operations – Program Development (pending funding)

The trend of Florida having one of the worst bicycle crash rates has continued especially regarding fatalities. The number of bicyclists killed and injured in traffic crashes is usually caused by cyclist error. Because there is no protection for the cyclist, the rate of serious injury or death is very high. The largest class of crashes was wrong way riding facing traffic resulting in 17% of all car/bike crashes. Overall, about 50% of bicycle/car crashes were the fault of the cyclist.

Bicycle crash experience over the past six years
(given the amount of activity, the rate of collisions is very high)

Source: Traffic Crash Statistics Report

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Fatal
Injury
Fatal
Injury
Fatal
Injury
Fatal
Injury
Fatal
Injury
Fatal
Injury
107
4475
108
4970
95
4991
119
4820
119
4515
124
4227

Bicycle law enforcement training will improve voluntary compliance with Florida’s traffic laws. Another incentive for officers to enforce laws for bicyclists is that they may catch criminal offenders with warrants during routine traffic stops.

Efforts to demonstrate why enforcement is important:

  • promoting safety (crash avoidance)
  • crash investigation
  • and most important, if bicycle laws are enforced now, time spent investigating a crash scene involving a fatality may be prevented.

Educating the judicial system will reinforce enforcement as cases are brought into the courtroom.
   
   

Florida Bicycle Association | P.O. Box 718 | Waldo, FL 32694

The Florida Bicycle Association (FBA) was incorporated in 1997 for educational and charitable purposes.
FBA is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Donations, including membership dues, are tax-deductible.
A copy of the current financial statements may be obtained by contacting
FBA, P.O. Box 718, Waldo, FL 32694.