Southfield gears up for bicycle season

SOUTHFIELD — The Southfield Parks and Recreation Department held a Bike Safety Night May 3 in the Southfield Municipal Campus parking lot to get the cycling season rolling.

The event allowed residents to receive free bike checks from Trek Bicycle of Royal Oak, and the first 400 visitors were gifted bicycle helmets by Corewell Health.

The League of Michigan Bicyclists and the Southfield Police Department were on-site to provide safety information for bicyclists and automobile drivers alike. The event also featured a fun-filled educational bike safety course for young cyclists to cruise through.

The Office of Highway Safety Planning identified the cities of Ann Arbor, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Warren to have the highest rates of bicycle-related crashes within a five-year period. Data from the Michigan State Police reveals that between 2017 and 2021, Detroit had 753 crashes, Ann Arbor had 244, Kalamazoo had 155, Lansing had 154 and Warren had 126. Within this five-year span, 132 Michiganders lost their lives due to bicycle-involved crashes. Data reveals that in 2021 alone, 1,260 bicyclists were involved in motor vehicle crashes. The peak hour for bicycle-involved crashes and fatalities was 3-4 p.m.

Jeffrey Carek, the education director of the League of Michigan Bicyclists, is a passionate advocate for bicycle safety.

“You’re in a 3,500-pound rocket ship,” he said of motorists, “and we’re on a 25-pound bicycle. No bicyclist is out there to ruin somebody’s day, but it always seems like we’re the point of agitation on the road.”

Carek said that Michigan bicyclists are allowed to ride in the road, and they are supposed to ride as far right as practicable, which is determined by the bicyclists, not the vehicles on the road — exceptions being if there’s debris in the roadway, if the bicyclist is making a left-hand turn, and if they’re passing and overtaking another bicyclist or motor vehicle. He added that drivers within the state of Michigan must give bicyclists at least 3 feet of distance if approaching them.

Bicyclists are legally allowed to ride two abreast or side by side on the road. When on a long or curvy road, drivers must allow bicyclists to take up a whole lane to keep themselves safe. Additionally, bicyclists must have a white light in front of their bike and a red reflector on the back a half hour after dusk and a half hour before dawn. Carek also emphasized the importance of using hand and arm signals when turning and stopping.

Just a day before the bike safety night in Southfield, Carek was in Lansing with LMB for an advocacy day for bicycling and trails at the Michigan State Capitol.

The LMB asked state representatives and senators they met to support the “hands-free” driving bill package introduced by state Rep. Matt Koleszar to make using mobile devices while driving a civil infraction with a $100 fine and 16 hours of community service. A repeat offense would land the offender a $250 fine and 24 hours of community service. A third offense within three years would get the offender’s license suspended for up to 90 days. The House bills 4250, 4251 and 4252 were passed in the state House and have moved to the Senate.

Carek asks that the motor vehicle drivers “be patient and understand that the people out on a bicycle are brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers; they’re family members; and they’re just trying to get someplace, just like you are in your car.”

To learn more about the League of Michigan Bicyclists and bike safety in Michigan, visit https://lmb.org.