Tag the chief at @dpdchief

Local Dallas Bike Friendly advocates are organizing and looking for quick wins to help make Dallas a safer place to bicycle.  BFOC recently met with the Chief of the Dallas Police Department and several issues were discussed.  One very important issue that came out of that meeting was how the DPD and Bike Friendly groups can work together to make Dallas a safer city to ride a bicycle.  Chief Brown was very supportive, and wants to help educate his officers and the general public about the safe passing law recently approved by the city, as well as other issues related to city cycling.  He even wants to setup a team challenge of some kind this Fall between locals and his bicycle patrol members!  We’re ready, Chief Brown!

#DPDSafeCycle

This initiative has been conceived by local bicycle advocacy groups as a quick and easy way to work together with the Dallas Police Department and other city departments to report unsafe cycling issues you may see while riding your bicycle.  Here’s a brief list of the types of issues you may want to report using your smartphone, a picture and your Twitter account:

*Note:  If you are involved in an accident with a motor vehicle, please call 911 first and seek medical attention if needed.

• Bicycle Infrastructure Issues
  • Cars parking in a non-shared, separate bike lane
  • People walking in a bike lane
  • Debris in the bike lane
  • Problems with existing bike lanes
  • Places new bike lanes might be placed
  • Inaccurate or incorrect signs, or need of signage
• Unsafe Driving by Motorists
  • Unsafe passing by a motorist
    • Defined as passing with less than 3′ feet of space between you and the motor vehicle
  • Reckless and intentional actions made by the motorist toward the cyclist
• Unsafe Riding by Cyclists
  • Not stopping at traffic signals or stop signs
  • Reckless and intentional actions made by the cyclist
  • Riding on the wrong side of the street
    • Defined as riding against the normal traffic flow
• Accidents between cyclists and motorists

Here’s how to report:

1. Use your own Twitter account
2. Create a Tweet
3. REQUIRED: Enter the hashtag #DPDSafeCycle
4. Tag your favorite local Bike Friendly group, i.e. @BikeFriendlyOC, @BikeCedars, @BikeDFW, @BikeDeepEllum, @BFGreenvilleAve
5. Tag your favorite bike shop, i.e. @SGCyclery, @ocbicycleco, @DallasBikeWorks
6. Tag the chief of police and city departments, i.e. @dpdchief, @DallasPD, @CityOfDallas311, @1500Marilla, @DallasParkRec
7. Enter the Location as the closest cross street
8. Enter your safe cycling issue
9. Optional:  Include a picture

Please share this with all of your bicycling friends so we can build up content to send over to the appropriate city departments, including the Dallas Police.  We are apart of making Dallas Safe to Cycle!