In March, the Sacramento Police Department secured a $400,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to “reduce the number of persons killed and injured in crashes.” Now, they say they are going to spend $33,660 of that money to issue citations to cyclists and pedestrians .
According to Sacramento Police Department Public Information Officer Allison Smith, the department isn’t trying to discourage biking, walking or scooter use. Instead, she says the department sees the citations as an opportunity to educate people about the laws and how to travel more safely.
Opinion
But what are the main causes of deaths and injuries on our streets? Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates and other local organizations believe that the main contributors to crashes are street design and unsafe driving — not the behavior of cyclists and pedestrians.
John Pucher and Ralph Buehler at the National Institutes of Health looked at data from cities that have improved bicycle infrastructure. The data showed that as bikeway networks expanded, bicycle trips increased; but crashes, fatalities and injuries decreased, anywhere from 43% to 79%. Infrastructure changes included reducing speed limits, implementing traffic calming and separating bike lanes from traffic lanes, particularly on busy roads…