As students return to campus this semester, ASU and Tempe police are collaborating to notify students, faculty and staff about traffic laws.
During this first week of the semester, officers will concentrate on informing the ASU community about traffic laws by issuing educational warnings.
Starting next week, police will also issue citations to traffic law violators.
ASU Officer Anthony Kinsey patrolled the Tempe campus Monday to inform students about bike-safety laws and traffic guidelines.
Kinsey distributed fliers to bicyclists on the corner of one of the Tempe campus “hot spots” — Apache Boulevard and College Avenue.
This southern border of campus is one of the most traffic-heavy and dangerous areas for pedestrians and students on bicycles, he said.
According to the handout created by the Tempe Police Department, 57 percent of bicyclists involved in collisions are between the ages of 16 and 29. Additionally, 77 percent of collisions occur during daylight hours.
The flier also details state bicycling laws: Bicyclists must ride with the flow of traffic, always yield to traffic before entering the street from a sidewalk and use a white headlight and red reflector at night.
Tickets for disobeying these laws include fines ranging from $118 to $152.
ASU Cmdr. James Hardina said he hopes to inform as many students as possible about traffic laws during phase one of this safety campaign before officers begin to heavily issue tickets in the coming weeks.
“The number one offense we see is students riding bicycles the wrong direction, the second is jaywalking and the third is crossing streets against the ‘Don’t Walk’ signal,” he said.
Also, 75 percent of bicycle-car accidents are the bicyclist’s fault, he said.
Hardina said police are emphasizing safety now because new hazards have arisen since last semester.
“There is new parking south of Apache [Boulevard] so more students are crossing the street to get to campus, and the student population is larger so all traffic concerns have increased,” Hardina said.
ASU opened a new student and visitor parking lot on the southeast corner of Apache Boulevard and Normal Avenue this semester.
Two main roads crossing the Tempe campus, University Drive and Apache Boulevard, will continue to be the most intensively enforced traffic zones throughout the semester for bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians, Hardina said.
“Jaywalking is a very common offense and it’s a big safety issue,” Hardina said.
Students are the most common jaywalkers among the ASU community, and many don’t expect to be ticketed, he said.
Photography freshman Carter Harris said he jaywalks about four times a week.
Harris said he makes a practice of jaywalking because he doesn’t think it’s dangerous.
“I don’t think ticketing jaywalkers will increase safety. People jaywalk when it’s safe,” he said. “I think college students can be trusted not to walk out in front of moving traffic.”
Whether done safely or not, the price of a jaywalking citation is $136.
Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.
