The Drumheller RCMP is requesting assistance:
During every year there are always incidents/conflicts occurring between motor vehicles and pedestrians. Many of these conflicts occur at intersections within crosswalks.
Upon investigating many of these incidents, it is learned that one of the involved persons was riding a bike in the cross walk and was struck or nearly struck by a vehicle.
Present legislation states that when a person, no matter what age is riding a bike, the laws associated to its operation is the same as a motor vehicle. The operator of the bike must obey all road signs etc., and must yield to vehicles that have the right of way.
A motorist is not required to “yield “ to someone riding a bicycle unless the bicyclist has the right of way. If a bicyclist does not dismount the bicycle at a cross walk, he/she is not a pedestrian. If the cyclist rides the bike in the crosswalk and gets hit, in most instances it will be deemed to be the cyclist’s fault by not yielding the right of way to the car.
In other words in order to be deemed a “pedestrian” you must be on foot.
I continually see children as well as adults riding their bikes on sidewalks and in cross walks. I see cyclists failing to obey street signs and riding on the wrong side of the road. School is just starting and there will be a drastic increase in the use of many of these cross walks by our children.
What I would like assistance in completing, is for adults to modify their riding habits and set the proper example. I would further like parents to personally instruct their children in the proper manner to cross these roads.
Some of these roads have crossing lights that need to be engaged, but many parents have not formally showed their children how to use these lights properly or discussed why they must dismount their bikes in order to cross safely.
Residents are required to dismount from their bicycles whenever using a pedestrian crosswalk. Should a cyclist not, they are still considered a vehicle and, in most cases, would therefore be at fault should a collision occur, because they are not yielding the right of way to the car. RCMP are asking residents to use crosswalks correctly to set an example for and keep Drumheller children safe.