Enforcement Training

By increasing knowledge of the rules of the road for bicyclists and for motorists relating to bicyclists, law enforcement officers can better serve the community and potentially save a life. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides numerous instructor-led courses on community bicycle safety for law enforcement officers.

Community Bicycle Safety for Law Enforcement
A two-day instructor-led course for law enforcement officers who are interested in learning to work with various groups, organizations and individuals in their communities that are working to improve bicycle safety.

Topics covered include:

1. Why and where people bicycle, the highway safety triangle, engineering for bicycle safety, education for bicycle safety, enforcement for bicycle safety, bicycle handling skills, your roll in bicycle safety.
2. Problem identification, bicycle safety self-assessment, department bicycle safety assessment, characteristics of good bicycle safety programs, creating a community bicycle safety program, building community partnerships, and promoting your bicycle safety program.

A Law Officer's Good Practices Guide to Bicycle Safety and Enforcement
This 2-3 hour multi-media training combines a PowerPoint presentation and video clips that can be administered in a variety of ways. The presentation is usually taught by law enforcement (training officer) to law enforcement (without need for any bicycle safety background or special training). It may be offered in one of three ways: divided into six separate roll-call trainings; one training; or delivered and reviewed by an individual via a personal computer. This training tool will give police officers a solid basis for understanding the laws pertaining to cyclists and can be easily adapted according to the varying state laws.

Topics covered include:

1. Overview
2. Crash data and statistics
3. Specific traffic safety laws
4. Real world situations
5. Enforcement suggestions
6. Crash investigations
7. The basics of bicycling
8. Community outreach ideas.

Enforcement for Bicycle Safety
A two-day, instructor led course is designed to give law enforcement officers the basic bicycle safety information that they need to manage traffic and provide a safe bicycling environment in their communities. This course teaches officers which laws to enforce and how to enforce them to improve bicycle safety.
 
Topics covered include:

1. Bicycle history
2. Bicycle types
3. Why and where people bicycle
4. The highway safety triangle, engineering
5. Bicycle crashes
6. Enforcement and laws
7. Crash investigation and reporting
8. Education