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Posted: Saturday, 15 July 2006 1:04PM

Police, Non-Profit Group Aim For Bicycle - Vehicle Cooperation

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. (KCBS)  -- The day after police arrested a driver suspected in a hit-and-run accident that injured a Mill Valley bicyclist, a Marin County bicycle group teamed up with law enforcement to set up an informational checkpoint.

The incident that prompted authorities to set up the "Share the Roads" checkpoint in San Anselmo happened Tuesday night in southern Marin County, when a bicyclist veered out of control on Shoreline Highway and was struck by a car.

The bicyclist may be paralyzed.

While the bicyclist may have been at fault for the accident, the driver was arrested Friday, and charged with felony hit-and-run.

At the checkpoint, officers and volunteers stopped both cars and bicyclists, handing out literature asking everyone to share the road.

Fairfax Police Department Corp. Jim O'Callahan told KCBS Reporter Henry Mulak that there needs to be better understanding and cooperation with both sets of vehicles, because there's no alternative to sharing the roads, and neither group is going to disappear.

"When the motorists see the cyclists ignoring the rules and blowing stop signs and clogging the roads up and so on, it creates a problem," O'Callahan said. "So we're trying to get the cyclists to ride in a way that doesn't perpetuate that animosity, so we can develop mutual respect and courtesy, so we don't have those types of incidents."

Also assisting in the effort is the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, and coalition volunteer Brian Unwick told KCBS's Mulak that disseminating knowledge is a simple but key part of their effort.

"We're just trying to increase the awareness and information level, the coexistence between bicycles and vehicles on the road," he said. "Part of it is with water bottles for the bike riders, and information for the drivers just to understand what to watch for and how to help be safe in sharing the road."

The coalition is a nonprofit group founded in 1998, promoting safe riding for recreation and transportation. Last July, they also implemented several checkpoints. This year, the evidence of their necessity coincided with Saturday's action, due to Tuesday's unfortunate accident.

"Most of these incidents that do involve cars and bicyclists, the bicyclist always loses," O'Callahan said.

"We're both using the road, we're both legal vehicles on the road, and both need to basically follow the rules of the road and accept a certain amount of responsibility," Unwick said.

(pha)


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