New Haven Independent

Lt. Hassett’s Rules of the Road

by Paul Bass | August 10, 2005 8:59 PM | Permalink

Lt. Hassett: “I tried.”
As if on cue, a youngster on a bike drove by Lt. Ray Hassett and two TV cameras on Platt Street this afternoon.
Hassett was in the midst of urging the public, through the press, to follow bicycle-safety rules. Hassett and other New Haven cops are in the midst of a crackdown on “unruly bike-riding gangs,” as today’s Register story reported. (Read the Register story here.)
“Yo!” Hassett yelled to the youngster riding by as he spoke to the cameras in the shadow of Troup Magnet middle school. The boy was riding against traffic, on the left side of the road. That’s against the law, Hassett told him. He also should have been wearing a helmet.

“Sorry,” the youngster said sincerely. He didn’t seem like one of those unruly gang kids.
Then he rode off—on the sidewalk.
“Whoa!” Hassett called. “Not on the sidewalk!”
The boy steered his Schwinn back onto Platt Street. He was back on the left side of the road, against traffic.
“On the right!” Hassett called.
“Here?” the boy said, switching lanes.
“Good man.”
Spreading the word about the rules of the road is clearly no easy task. Some of Hassett’s reminders:
&#8226 Never ride on sidewalks.
&#8226 Bicyclists under 15 must by law wear helmets.
&#8226 No more than two bicyclists may ride side by side.
&#8226 Stop at stop signs.
&#8226 Use hand signals.
Hassett was complimented on his success in showing the young bike-rider the right path.
“He went through the stop sign,” Hassett noted. Then he shrugged. “I tried.”

To learn more about New Haven biking issues, visit the Elm City Cycling online discussion group.

Related story: On Parent Patrol with Mr. Greg. http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/neighborhoods/index.html#a000114more

Lt. Hassett’s Rules of the Road

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