We have a lot of heavy, pedestrian, foot traffic.
You also have several lanes of traffic in both directions.
And what makes it unique is you've got an above ground train system that runs in between the traffic,
up and down some of the main streets around here: Commonwealth Ave., Beacon St.
There are cars everywhere and some of these intersections, like at the BU Bridge, are crazy.
So not only do you have to have your head on a swivel looking for cars, trains, but
also pedestrians stepping off of the sidewalk into the street, so it makes for a very dangerous
environment for cyclists.
People don't necessarily follow the rules in cars, or on foot, or on bikes.
I think the biggest thing that bad bikers do is blowing through red lights.
BUPD, Boston PD, and Brookline PD have been out there heavily campaigning for safety and awareness.
You know, stopping people, giving them informative information on pamphlets, instructing them
to wear helmets.
We've given bike helmets away free of charge.
You are all set partner. Be safe. Thank you very much.
And also we have signage on the street to educate the pedestrians.
Look both ways before you step off the sidewalk.
Look to your left is painted in stencils on the lines in the bike lanes.
The most important thing about riding in any traffic situation is to be aware of your surroundings.
We as cyclists have to respect that pedestrians have right of way as well,
but it's even more important to respect that the cars have their right of way
because if you get hit by a car, you, as a cyclist, are the one who is going to lose.
It is not the law in Massachusetts that an individual over 16 years of age needs to wear a helmet.
Children need to wear helmets, but adults don't.
But it's important that we do.
I've seen a number of accidents along Comm. Ave. 9 times out of 10 it involves a head injury.
If that helmet was on their head, you know, maybe, just maybe, it would have prevented
a serious injury.
I think it's very important to maintain your bike to keep it in safe, working condition.
Welcome to the bicycle playground.
The number one thing, and the easiest thing you can do, is make sure that your tires are inflated.
The second thing you can do is keep a well lubricated chain.
You can see this chain started to rust, sort of sounds rickety, rickety, rackety.
These cables are starting to fray. You want to avoid that.
You can also check how wobbly your wheel is, whether it is rubbing on your brakes.
You can also keep a lock on your bike to keep the pesky thieves away.
And also you are going to want to keep a set of lights on the bicycle
and let pedestrians know that you are coming up.
Right now if you go on MassBikes, BU Bikes, or Boston Bikes, any of those webpages,
there's specific rules, regulations, and instructions on how to ride.
Some of them even offer ride-along programs where they can actually take you out, ride
with a group.
We do social rides.
We get together, we go out, and we ride, learn how to follow the traffic laws and ride defensively
so you can be safe in the street with cars.
So basic signals that we look for when we're on the bicycles: if its a right turn, we ask
that you turn your hand up, signaling that you are going right.
Extend your arm if you are going to go left.
And we also ask that you put your hand down if you are going to stop.
Everybody has their own version of what they interpret the signals to be,
but if we could get cyclists to use any kind of signal that is going to help prevent accidents or injuries,
that's going to go a long way.
Cyclists need to remember that they are cyclists,
and they have their own rules that they have to follow.
If they follow those things and stay aware of the surroundings,
they will stay safe.
We ourselves are cyclists. We're cops on bikes and we're out there cycling like any other cyclist would.
We want to lead by example and show them that we're safe, and hope that they learn something from us,
and maybe, just maybe, we learn something from somebody else. And really, that's what
we're looking for.