Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) is increasing its efforts to promote campus bike safety and reduce traffic violations and collisions by offering more bike safety classes and expanding law enforcement on cyclists.
Stanford Transportation, SUDPS and the Office of Risk Management introduced a new online bike safety class last month aimed at educating cyclists on how to safely navigate campus, follow the rules of the road and be courteous to others on the road.
SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson wrote in an email to The Daily that the increased emphasis on bike safety education comes in response “to numerous complaints from community members and others about traffic violations by bicyclists, scooters, and skateboarders, in addition to our observations and reported collisions.”
To combat this, SUDPS has also increased bike safety law enforcement at intersections and roundabouts, with officers writing more citations and warnings to those violating bike laws.
“As we were coming out of the pandemic, we held off for a little while [on enforcement], at least for about a couple of years,” SUDPS officer Pete Posada said. “Then, again, the issues started arising with the increase in bicyclists getting injured on the roadway, either due to a crash or falling off their bicycles.”
The online class, which is primarily designed for new students or those unfamiliar with Stanford’s campus, covers essential biking skills, including navigating roundabouts, proper helmet use, stopping and yielding rules, cycling at night and riding safely around Marguerite buses.
A key focus of the bike safety class is to introduce a more interactive and immersive educational approach. The course incorporates drone footage to help provide “a temporal, sensory experience of navigating roundabouts and to anticipate and search for other vehicles, pedestrians, along with potential impacts.” Its online format also allows for 24/7 availability of mentoring for students taking the class.
Alongside more stringent enforcement, SUDPS is encouraging students to participate in their Bike Safety Diversion Program, which allows cyclists to attend a meeting in place of a citation they have received, waiving all fees or consequences.
The program, which hosts weekly one-hour classes taught by police officers, covers proper bicycle safety practices to avoid the violations that apply to cyclists on the road. Any individual with a violation may attend the class within 30 days to have their citation waived, so long as it is their first citation within 18 months.
Although SUDPS introduced the program 18 years ago, officers are now increasing its promotion as their enforcement offers more alternatives to paying a ticket.
“If you happen to get stopped and you’re cited for a bicycle violation, you are afforded the opportunity to come attend a class in lieu of dealing with the traffic court,” said Posada, an instructor for the diversion program.
When Price Schaffer ’28 attended one of the diversion program’s classes after receiving a citation, he didn’t expect much from it. “I thought that it would just be someone there scolding you,” Schaffer said.
But Schaffer found the class stuck with him and appreciated the engagement the officers and participants fostered. “A lot of people asked a lot of really intriguing questions, including myself. And so I was able to learn the ins and outs of a lot of things,” he said.
The program serves as a more laid-back discussion, with officers sharing personal stories and experiences as first responders and cyclists themselves.
“We try to keep it upbeat,” Posada said. “We try to keep it personable and not so strict, not like a detention if you will, but rather more educational.”