Full Notification

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release/Broadcast
Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Police Focus on Bicycle and
Pedestrian Safety this Wednesday
Recent Survey Shows Bicycle Helmet Compliance Up to 56%

Petaluma CA – Petaluma Police announced that a recent survey shows helmet compliance by bicycle riders between the ages of 5 and 18 has increased from 31% in October 2011 to 56% in March of 2012. The enforcement and education campaign began in October 2011 thanks to a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to reduce bicycle and pedestrian collisions.

Two previous Petaluma Police Department grant funded bicycle and pedestrian special operations have raised the awareness around the importance of wearing a helmet properly while riding a bicycle. During the first operation on Friday January 27th, traffic officers issued warnings to bicyclists and pedestrians. During the second operation on February 24th, traffic officers made 75 traffic stops and issued 56 citations, including riding without a helmet.

Another special enforcement operation will be conducted tomorrow, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, between 7am and 5pm. Traffic Officers will be on the lookout for bicycle and pedestrian violations to try and reduce collisions between bicyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles. They will pay special attention to bicycle riders and issue citation to anyone under the age of 18 not wearing a helmet or wearing it improperly.

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) 2009 Bicycle Collision Rankings for the City of Petaluma show Petaluma ranked 8th out of 104 cities by daily miles traveled and population. These rankings are the most up to date rankings available from OTS. 1st out of 104 is the worst ranking and 104 out of 104 is the best ranking. For bicyclists under 15 years of age, Petaluma is ranked the 2nd worst city by daily miles traveled and 3rd worst by population. Although bicycle collisions have been on a downward trend, the rankings indicate we still have a significant bicycle collision problem.

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) 2009 Pedestrian Collision Rankings for the City of Petaluma show Petaluma ranked 30th out of 104 cities by daily miles traveled and population. For pedestrians under 15 years of age, Petaluma is ranked the 45th worst city by daily miles traveled and 58th worst by population out of 104 comparable cities. For Pedestrians 65 years of age and older Petaluma is ranked 54th out of 104 by daily miles traveled, and 58th out of 104 by population. Although pedestrian collisions have been on a downward trend, the rankings indicate we still have a significant pedestrian collision problem.

For additional information on bicycle and pedestrian safety, please refer to the City of Petaluma Police Department website at http://www.cityofpetaluma.net/police/traffic.html . Funding for this traffic safety operation has been made possible by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.






Prepared By: Sergeant Ken Savano
Petaluma Police Department
Special Operations – Traffic Team
707.481.3567 mobile
707.778.4596 office
OTS Projects PT20748 and AL20749

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