Campus police have become stricter about bike safety and traffic laws over the past few weeks, patrolling bike hotspots like Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, outside Stern and Roble Hall.
According to a 2020 Daily analysis of Stanford Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) data, over 300 bike accidents were reported on campus between January 2014 and December 2018.
The increased monitoring of bike safety is “to ensure we are ALL safe during our travels on campus,” wrote SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson in a statement to the Daily.
When a student is stopped for violating traffic laws, a deputy will explain the violation, and then issue them either a warning or citation. According to Stanford Transportation’s bike safety flyer, the following actions may result in a citation:
- Not stopping at stop signs
- Riding on the wrong side of the road
- Not having at least one ear uncovered while riding
- Not having working brakes on your bike
- Not having front white lights, rear red reflectors, and pedal and side reflectors at night
- Not yielding to pedestrians
- Not wearing a helmet if under 18 years old
- Restricting access for pedestrians and/or mobility impaired when parking a bike
- Riding a bike under the influence of drugs or alcohol
“Individuals who are issued a traffic citation for a bike violation can have their citation dismissed after attending a 1-hour bike safety class hosted by DPS,” Larson wrote. However, the opportunity to seek dismissal through the class will only be permitted for individuals who have not attended the class within the past 18 months.
Otherwise, the citation will be processed through the Palo Alto Traffic Court, where the penalties are not determined by SUDPS.
Some students criticized the increased enforcement as inconsistent or a misdirection in SUDPS resources.
Lauren Tapper ’27 has been stopped twice by the police while biking recently. The first time, she was given a pamphlet about safe biking practices and then issued a warning the second time. Both incidents took place near a stop sign.
“I don’t see a lot of people following bike laws here on campus. I see a lot of people going through stop signs, and there’s not a lot of bike lights or bike helmets being worn,” Tapper said. “When I was getting the ticket, two people right behind me blew past the stop sign, even though the police officer was right there.”
Zach Benton ’25 said that while he doesn’t like the idea of people getting in trouble, the enforcement of bike laws is beneficial.
However, Benton said that it seemed “a little bit weird” that SUDPS was using their resources to issue warnings and citations, when bike theft still remains a prevalent issue on campus. “I feel like that should also be a priority, but I feel like they haven’t really done anything about that.”
Benton was living in Yost House his sophomore year when his bike was stolen with only the remains of his half-sawed through Kryptonite U-Lock. His experience is not unique: In 2023, excluding the months of July and August, a total of 188 bike thefts were reported.
After his second bike was stolen only two weeks after the first incident, he decided to walk to his classes instead.
“As I’ve become more of a pedestrian, I’ve noticed that people don’t know how to ride bikes at all on campus. I feel like every day, I’ve seen something that could almost be a bike crash, or I would see an actual bike crash,” Benton said.
Tapper, who enjoys biking on campus, also acknowledged the dangerous behavior by bikers.
“I really appreciate the biking culture at Stanford,” Tapper said. “But I definitely think that it can get a bit dangerous, especially around things like the roundabouts or biking in the rain.”