URBANA – Police officers from the University of Illinois Police Department will be particularly watchful during the next week for traffic violations that put bicyclists at risk.

Special traffic enforcement details will be conducted on Thursday, Sept. 13, and Tuesday, Sept. 18. Officers will be conducting the enforcement details at the intersections of Green and Wright streets and of Goodwin Avenue and Illinois Street.

The enforcement details are being conducted in partnership with Ride Illinois and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Officers will be watching for bicyclists who put their own and others’ safety at risk by disobeying traffic laws and motorists who disobey traffic laws and put bicyclists at risk.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 840 bicyclists were killed in traffic crashes throughout the country in 2016. Most of those deaths (71 percent) occurred in urban areas.

As always, the goal of the enforcement campaign is not simply to ticket violators – officers will be talking to travelers about the laws and the behaviors that put their own or others’ safety at risk.

Police will be reminding travelers of these laws:

For motorists:

• Slow down, and don’t drive distracted. To do so is extremely dangerous, especially in high-traffic areas.
• Yield to bicyclists in the roadway. Bicycles are not required to use bike lanes, nor are they required to move to the side of the road for a vehicle. Treat them like you would any other vehicle.
• Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Pedestrians who have safely established themselves in a crosswalk have the right of way

For bicyclists:

• Obey all traffic signals. Whether you are in the roadway or on the sidewalk, you must abide by all traffic signs and signals, like stop signs. Failing to do so is dangerous to yourself and others.
• Yield to pedestrians when required. Bicycle-pedestrian accidents are common on campus and may result in injury. Slow down in high-traffic areas.