 | | | Officer Michael Dreyfuss stops an unidentified cyclist riding on the wrong side of the road. Photo Sophie Braccini
| | | | | | Officer Michael Dreyfuss makes it a point to stop cyclists when they ride on the wrong side of the road. "It can be very dangerous," says the Moraga officer, "particularly when a car turns right at an intersection - the driver checks on the left where the traffic comes from and risks missing a bicyclist who is riding on the wrong side of the road." Dreyfuss says that bicycles are vehicles that must follow all of the rules of the road, like any vehicle, including stop signs, traffic lights and the direction of traffic movement.
"I haven't given any citations yet, just warnings," notes the young officer, who has worked in Moraga for seven years. "Our mission is to educate and prevent accidents."
Dreyfuss says that he has been invited to Los Perales Elementary School in the past and has a presentation and games for students that he is happy to bring to schools. "We keep an especially watchful eye at the beginning of the school year, when young, new bicyclists take the road for the first time." Children who are afraid to cross the street at certain places should walk their bikes on the sidewalk if they need to remain on the wrong side of the road, advises Dreyfuss.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA