The Sacramento Police Department and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) are encouraging drivers and bicycle riders to look out for one another during National Bicycle Safety Month. Traffic safety is a shared responsibility. Motorists and bicyclists must take extra precautions when they travel together. Riders often share the road with vehicles, which creates a host of hazards, and injuries can happen even on a designated path. Unfortunately, deaths in bicycle related collisions are on the rise. In 2016, 138 bicycle riders were killed on California roads, a nearly 25 percent increase from 2011. Among the primary factors in these collisions were failing to yield right of way, speeding, improper turning, using the wrong side of the road and not following traffic signs or signals.

“Bicycle safety remains a key concern in our community,” Officer Corey Johnson. “It is why this month and really every month, we are committed to educating and informing the public on safe ways to go, whether on two wheels or four.”

The Sacramento Police Department offers a few tips to help provide safety for everyone on the road:

•           Drivers should look behind them before making a turn at an intersection, especially if crossing into a designated bike lane.

•           Drivers should use extra caution backing up or leaving a parking space.

•           Bicyclists should go with the flow of traffic and let faster traffic pass.

•           Bicyclists should make themselves visible and wear brightly colored clothing.

•           Bicyclists are advised to use lights from dusk to dawn (front white light and rear red flashing light or reflectors).

•           Bicyclists should always wear a helmet and use hand signals when turning or stopping.

•           Both drivers and bicyclists should avoid distractions like using their cell phone.

To learn more about safe ways to get around visit website and www.sacpd.org.

The Sacramento Police Departments traffic education and enforcement campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Please direct any inquiries to Officer Corey Johnson via email at cmjohnson@pd.cityofsacramento.org or by telephone at (916) 808-1898.