COURTESY OF YARMOUTH POLICE
Bike safety poster indicates several laws in the state.
YARMOUTH – The Proactive Anti-Crime Unit of the Yarmouth Police Department made 53 bicycle safety stops Thursday night. This is the second night this summer for a special deployment in which police sought to educate bikers about the dangers of safety infractions.
The stops were made on Route 28 between 8 and 11 p.m.
All bicyclists were given educational warnings and bicycle safety light kits provided as needed through a collective effort of the Yarmouth Police Department—the Yarmouth Restaurant Association—and the Dennis Cycle Center. With the financial support of all three organizations, 75 Bike Safety Light Kits were purchased at cost and distributed to those in need.
The common infractions were riding at night without headlights or taillights; riding on the wrong side of the road against traffic; and riding while carrying objects by hand instead of in a basket, rack or trailer.
Massachusetts law requires bicyclists to have a white light in front, red light or reflector on the rear and side reflectors on the bike or operator.
Additionally, those 16 and under are required to wear a helmet at all times.
Police are also advising bicyclists to use the right side of the road with traffic flow.
Bike safety kits were distributed to some of those stopped by police this week. The kits included the reflectors needed for legal riding.
According to police, all of the people stopped this week were foreign workers commuting from a variety of jobs and unaware of the bike safety laws in Massachusetts. Among the countries that riders were from were Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia, Jamaica, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Romania, and Haiti.
And, we chose to do this at the END of the season why? And, the police should have access to the records who who is hiring whom from where and insist the employer address the issue and pay for it.