CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, this article incorrectly stated the University Police’s plans to promote pedestrian safety. It will participate in one of the state Highway Safety Office’s Street Smart campaigns, which hands out safety literature. The story has been changed to reflect this correction.
Due to several recent incidents of vehicles colliding with pedestrians and cyclists, including last week, University Police is teaming up with the state’s Highway and Safety Office to help prevent such incidents on the campus.
University Police will participate in one of the state Highway Safety Office’s Street Smart campaigns, which hands out safety literature, on Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Book Exchange to teach pedestrians and motorists how to properly use crosswalks, follow the statewide rules and teach the right-of-way laws, according to University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky.
The event is scheduled for a week after a silver pickup truck hit a freshman student who was riding his bicycle southbound in the crosswalk on the “M” traffic circle at about 2 p.m., Limansky said. The student was transported to the hospital with injuries, and police cited him for the incident, he said. As of last night, Limansky said he did not know the student’s condition.
Although University Police sponsored a similar discussion a few years ago, Limansky said recent pedestrian incidents spurred the two departments to address the issue again.
“The university is taking steps to create an environment for safe bike riding, but we’re not quite there yet,” Limansky said. “I don’t think crossing has ever really been a major problem, but of course, one time someone is injured, it’s too much.”
In several other incidents this school year, vehicles collided with pedestrians on and around the campus. Last month, a black pickup truck struck two students near the 7-Eleven on Knox Road while they were crossing the street outside of a crosswalk, Limansky said; one was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
In October, two female university students were crossing the street in a crosswalk near the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center when a 19-year-old driving a car struck them at around 8:15 p.m. One student was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other was evaluated at the scene.
“It’s really a shared responsibility when you’re either in a car or you’re walking,” Limansky said. “You have to be vigilant about your surroundings. You have to be cognizant of people crossing the street and aware of approaching cars. Courtesy is contagious.”
Wednesday’s forum will communicate such courtesies to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in hopes of preventing future accidents, Limansky said.
Limansky said people must operate bicycles as if they are motor vehicles when they are in roadways.
“If a bicyclist wants to cross the street, they need to dismount and walk the bike across. Otherwise, they should be riding in the roadway, on the right side of the road, like a car.”
On the campus, however, Limansky said University Police does not actively enforce this state’s law prohibiting riding bikes in crosswalks and on sidewalks.
“Our community members use bicycles all the time, so we’re not going to go after that,” he said. “It’s when the behavior impacts life safety or creates a risk of personal injury that we take action, such as this case, when the cyclist moved in front of a car.”
egan@umdbk.com
