Our days are now longer, and the Nonahood is venturing outside to enjoy the weather. People are training for triathlons, marathons, or half marathons, leisurely biking the trails, or walking their dogs, and Nonahood parents and kids are riding their bicycles together.

I had the pleasure of interviewing my neighbor, Officer Brian West, who works for the Kissimmee Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit. He is a Traffic Homicide Investigator; when people get injured or killed in a car crash, he goes out and reconstructs the scene.

What does the law say regarding bicycle safety?

Florida Statute 316.130 covers most bicycle and pedestrian laws. It’ll tell you, if you are under 16, you have to have a helmet. If you are over 16, a helmet is not required but always a good idea and highly recommended.

When it comes to traveling around the roadways, if you have a bike lane, you are required to use the bike lane if you are riding a bicycle. If you don’t have a bike lane, you need to stay as close to the pedestrian sidewalk as possible.

When bicycles are on the road, they are considered a vehicle, so they have to follow all the motor vehicle laws. Bicycles have to stop at red lights, and they should be using the left-turn lane or right turn-only lanes, whichever they are doing. They always have to go with traffic. Traffic is, whenever possible, required to give bicycles three feet of space when going around them. It’s not always possible, but whenever possible, give them three feet.

There are two sets of laws to follow, bicycle and motor vehicle laws.

Can bikes ride side by side or in a straight line on a bike lane?

If they can fit two together inside the lane, they can ride side by side as long as they are inside the lane. The best practice is to stay in a straight line.

Can bicycles use sidewalks?

They can use sidewalks, but when using sidewalks, they are now following pedestrian laws. This means, every driver, every road, every intersection they come up to is technically a stop or yield for them. They have to stop or yield, and they are actually required to signal. If they are coming up behind someone, they have to use a horn, bell, or at least say, “Hey, I’m coming!”

Who has the right of way when the bicycles are riding on the sidewalk?

The pedestrians have right of way. They always have the right of way over bicycles. Bicycles always have to yield to pedestrians no matter what side they are coming from. If they are approaching driveways, they have to stop – it’s a stop sign for the bikes. They cannot proceed until they are safe. In most of the crashes I deal with involving bicycles, it’s almost always the bicycle that is at fault because they think they can go straight on through, and it hurts a lot to do that.

Regarding helmets, there are a lot of triathletes in our area. As you know, this is a very active community. Almost all are wearing helmets, but there are always one or two I see down Narcoossee Road without a helmet, and that makes me cringe a little. These bikes are going anywhere between 16 mph to 22-25 mph. We understand the law doesn’t require the use of the helmet, but it’s highly recommended. What type of injury can their body withstand if they were to fall off the bike?

When I was training with motorcycles, I was out there training at no more than 2 mph, and the bike and I fell, and when I hit, my feet hit first, then my behind, then my back, then my head hit the ground. I actually took a chunk out of my helmet going at 2 mph. If I hadn’t been wearing my helmet, I would’ve had a very serious injury going just 2 mph. Same thing can happen with a bicycle. Your head is 5-6 feet off the ground, depending how tall you are. Even at a slow speed when you fall, you will have that rotational effect of your head hitting the ground, and it’s going to be greatly accelerated. So, helmets are always a good idea.

Why not enforce the helmet law over the age of 16?

That’s the way the law is written. People will have to write to their congressman to change the law. It makes as much sense as the helmet law for motorcycles. You don’t have to wear a helmet.

Let’s talk about motorcycles, too!

The helmet law for motorcycles provides that basically you have to have $10,000 in health insurance. That’s rather ironic because if you crash your motorcycle without a helmet on, the helicopter ride is $10,000 right there. So, you are done! No more medical costs covered. Your injuries may be covered by your car insurance, but some won’t cover you if you are not wearing a helmet. People need to make sure what their policy says. If you have a discount insurance type of company, you may be out of luck – they may not pay anything. Personal Injury Law in Florida is “No Fault,” so if you are hurt in a crash, your insurance will cover your injuries up to a certain dollar amount. So, if your insurance won’t cover you because you weren’t wearing a helmet, you may not be covered at all even if you are not at fault, and the other driver wouldn’t be responsible for the medical costs, you would be.

What about pedestrian laws and the consequences of breaking them?

Everybody thinks they have right of way, and they step off the curb to cross when they shouldn’t. Laws of physics, as well as state laws, tell you it is a bad idea because it hurts a lot to be hit by a car. The pedestrians have the right of way to crosswalk, which means if you are standing at the curb at the end of the crosswalk, traffic when they can safely stop is required to safely stop and allow you to cross the road. Nobody does it, but if you go to downtown Orlando or downtown St. Cloud, which are areas where it’s enforced strictly, they will give you a ticket. $64.50 in Osceola County, a bit less in Orange County. Our area is so new, we are still not getting the police coverage downtown gets, but we will get there. Especially with all the walking trails they are building in Lake Nona. Common sense tells you to stop and wait until the car stops. The law does the same thing.