UVa Bicycling on Grounds & Road Safety

Exit Survey »

Here at UVa, biking is a prominent means for transportation around Grounds. Although biking on grounds is encouraged for everyone, it is essential that certain precautions are taken in order to make it as safe and hassle-free as possible. In this survey you will be asked to read a few small sections about the rules of biking on grounds as well as pedestrian safety and to answer a few short questions about what you have read.

Thank you for taking your time to make UVa a safer community!

In order to make Biking on Grounds a fun and easy alternative means of transporation for everyone in the UVa community, it is essential that the rules of biking on grounds are understood to ensure the safety of all of UVa's community members.

Below are some rules and suggestions issued by the State of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for safe and legal bicycle usage:

-Bicycles are subject to the same laws as motor vehicles
-Stop and look both ways before entering the street
-Bicyclists must obey all traffic devices such as stop signs and traffic lights
-Bicyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic
-Bicyclists must park their bikes in desgnated areas such as bike racks. Failure to do so could lead to loss of biking privledges or fine.
-Bikes can be registered with your local Police Department to ensure that in the case of bike theft, there is a way you can get it back
-Bicyclists must wear either a light or red reflector when driving at night
-Be aware of vehicle blindspots and don't ride to close to any vehicle
-Use proper hand signals when turning
Proper Hand signals:
-Left arm held up in L-shape = Right Turn
-Left arm held our parallel to ground = Left Turn
-Left arm held down in upside-down L-shape = Stop

If you plan on riding a bike on grounds and have not yet registered it with the UVa Police, here is a link that will take you to the site to do so: http://www.virginia.edu/uvapolice/registration.html

True or False: Bikes can be registered with your local Police Department so that in the case that they are stolen, if found, can be returned to their owner.

True

False

What is the correct hand signal for a left turn when on a bike?

Left arm straight out parallel to the ground

Left arm up in a L-shape

Left arm held in an upside-down L-shape

Right arm straight out paralled to the ground

True or False: You must have either a light or a red reflector when biking at night.

True

False

True or False: Bikes are not subject to the same laws as motor vehicles.

True

False

The Rules of the Road also pertain to pedestrians. Here at UVa there is a large population of people walking on the street at any given time of day. The congestion causes some sides of the sidewalks to become too full and pedestrians resort to crossing the street wherever and whenever in order to have more room or to get to their target location faster without the patience to walk with the crowd to a designated crosswalk. A pedestrian has the right of way when:

-He/She is in a clearly marked crosswalk
-He/She is given a walk sign from their designated light
-He/She is crossing an intersection that a vehicle as a green light to TURN into

Pedestrians are not allowed to cross the road with disregard of approaching traffic. It is highly dangerous for a pedestrian to assume that traffic will stop when he/she is in a crosswalk. It is suggested that one should look both ways before crossing the road, even at a desgnated crosswalk with a given signal. It is also prohibited that pedestrians use the road or a bike lane to walk/run in. Pedestrians are to use sidewalks and/or trails.

True or False: Pedestrians are allowed to use the bike lane if the sidewalk is too crowded.

True

False

Where is it permissable to cross the road?

Wherever you want

Where drivers can see you

At a designated crosswalk

True or False:Pedestrians have the right of way to cross at any point of a road.

True

False