LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — As clocks “spring forward” to daylight saving time at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 14, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) reminds drivers to watch out for pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists. Sunrise will occur one hour later, meaning that it will be darker later in the morning.
Drivers are reminded that bicyclists are permitted to ride on most roadways in Michigan.
Bicyclists are reminded that, as legal roadway users, they are required to obey all traffic laws, signs, and signals. A person operating a bicycle upon a highway or street at less than the existing speed of traffic shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 6,205 pedestrian deaths and 846 bicyclist deaths in the U.S. in 2019 resulting from traffic crashes. NHTSA’s data showed that most of the pedestrian fatalities (76 percent) and bicyclist fatalities (50 percent) occurred during dark conditions between 6 p.m. and 8:59 p.m.
In Michigan, there were 149 pedestrian fatalities and 21 bicyclist fatalities in traffic crashes, with 81 percent pedestrian fatalities and 48 percent bicyclist fatalities involved in traffic crashes that occurred during low light or dark conditions.
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