CBS 3 Rides Along With Philadelphia Bike Police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The daily bike ride keeps Captain Alan Clark and his fellow bike officers out on the road for hours. And with summer weather approaching, the roads are packed with traffic of all kinds.
"We're trying to make sure people have the right attitude when biking, walking or driving," says Captain Clark.
Two blocks into an exclusive Eyewitness News ride along with the bike officers, they stop a Mini Cooper driver for talking on her phone.
"A lot of drivers are just not paying attention," laments Clark.
Drivers are not the only one to blame. Police say many bikers do not know they also have to follow the rules of the road. A few minutes into the ride, police stop a biker for running a red light. Each mistake makes the roads less safe for bikers like Riley Murphy.
"It's a little harder to stop, but people look out for you," says Murphy, riding a tandem bicycle.
Most victims of bike accidents are not little kids riding into the streets. AAA says the average age of a bicycle fatality is about 41 years old.
Watch the video...
On their routine patrols, police will look for anything that makes the road unsafe, from running red lights to clogging bike lanes. Police stopped one woman for running a red light while on a cell phone.
For drivers, it may be a momentary lapse of judgment. But for police, it is a mistake that impacts the safety of city streets.
Reported by Oren Liebermann, CBS 3
