Kendall County Sheriff’s Office Want to Remind Bicyclists to Obey the Rules of the Road
Bicyclists must obey the same rules that apply to motorized vehicles.
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Editor's Note: Taken from a press release by the Kendall County Sheriff's Office
Recently at a township meeting in Kendall County, the township officials voiced concerns that they had for the bicyclists that are disobeying the rules of the road.
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind bicyclist that they need to obey the same rules of the road that apply to motorized vehicles. This is for the safety of the bicyclists and for the motorized vehicles. At the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office we care about everyone’s safety and well being. We have seen too many crashes involving bicycles in Kendall County and want to eliminate these from happening to anyone else.
Below are some of the more common rules to follow as a bicyclist as provided by the Illinois Secretary of State.
Obey all Traffic Laws and Signals and Remember:
- When riding your bicycle on Illinois roadways, you must obey the same traffic laws, signs and signals that apply to motorists.
- Bicyclists must ride in the same direction as other traffic. Riding in the opposite direction of traffic is both dangerous and against the law
- If riding in the dark, the law requires that your bike have a front white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet and a rear red reflector visible for up to 600 feet.
- You cannot ride more than two bicyclists abreast and you must ride as close to the right edge of the pavement as possible.
Also Motorists Need to Remember:
- Motorists are required by law to allow at least 3 feet of space between them and a bicyclist when passing.
For more information, see the downloadable copy of the Rules of the Road from the Illinois Secretary of State.
Kota
6:57 am on Sunday, September 23, 2012
There are so many bicyclist that should get tickets and major fines.
Jean
8:21 am on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Yes I totally agree with the above comment! We live on the bike path on North Adams Street & there are so many bicyclists riding down the middle of the road & hardly ever riding single file like they should be. It's a challenge just to get home I cannot believe there has not been any serious accidents.
Martin
12:23 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Nice....attack the few bicyclists that break the rules, but ignore all the drivers that ignore the rules.
mike ellison
12:52 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
I'll make a bet with anyone here. I'll direct to to a few roads to ride on with your bicycle and you can follow all of the rules despite the fact that the cars won't. We'll see how long it takes you to get killed.
This is ridiculous advice from a Sheriff's office that refuses to ticket drivers for not obeying the rights of cyclists. If the Sherriff's office would like to do that then there would be hundreds of tickets written every day. They'd then understand why it is necesarry for cyclists to not obey the laws in order to not get killed by motorists.
Also realize that the law says that cyclists should ride as close as they can to the right side of the road unless they have to manuever around an obstacle. Tell me, how is a motorist suppose to know when the cyclist has to do that? So I'm suppose to follow the law which allows me to ride further towards the center line when I have to go around something; is the driver behind me going to use ESP to figure out that I'll be moving in front of him and that he is now suppose to stay 3' away from me?
Al Bezek
1:38 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Nothin more frustrating then bicyclists riding side-by-side who refuse to slide over to let vehicles pass safely.
Dave
1:57 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
I don't care what county it's in, certain situations if you follow the bicycling laws, you will get hit or killed. I'm a cyclist and have been ran off the road by someone sending a text message and I did get injured. MOST cyclist follow bike laws, most drivers do NOT follow the 3 feet rule when passing, so that is the reason you may see some of us taking up a little more space on the side of the road to force the driver to slow down and give us an out instead of the ditch or curb. The fact is this, most accidents occur because people are not paying attention, not because you didn't see someone. And whoevers riding in the middle of the street, knock it off. That's being stupid. Give us the 3 feet we deserve.
Katt
4:38 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
As a driver and cyclist, I'm fine with bikes side-by-side since this conforms with the rules of the road; common sense and awareness at all times is the key.
Amy Miller Jackson
4:53 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
I wasnt aware of the no more than two abreast rule. So a lot of the riders I see on Schlapp rd arent following the law when they are running 3 and 4 wide?
Kibitzer
10:03 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
I was just reading this article and the comments, and was talking to my husband about it. He said that when a school bus was stopped, with lights flashing, to let a student off, (in front of our home which is one of the pickup/drop off points), a cyclist went on through as though there was nothing happening. He said they had on the helmet and all the gear worn by cyclists, so was not just a goofy kid who may not be aware of the rules. I guess they don't have to obey the rules in such a case? Just wondering.
Kate Houlne
5:29 am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
As a cyclist who was recently buzzed by a utility truck driver, twice on two different roads, I can tell you that sometimes it is on purpose. The first incident was on Fox River Rd, where I was in the wide shoulder and the driver came into the shoulder and then the second was on Fraiser, where the driver slowed down, crept up to my back wheel, then sped up really fast about 6 inches to my left. My friend and I were single file the entire ride.
The one thing I want to mention that is in the rules of the road, but not mentioned by the article is that we are allowed to take the lane when traffic condition prove dangerous to us or the drivers. A good example would be on a blind curve, where I can see oncoming traffic but the drivers behind me may not be able to. If they were to pass and collide with oncoming, that would be bad for everyone, so as a cyclist we are allowed to take the lane and slow everyone down to avoid a collision.
If everyone, drivers and cyclists alike, would just learn and follow the rules, this would not be an issue.