Police Awarded Grant to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

BEDFORD, MA - Things are going to be a lot safer for pedestrians and bicyclists sharing the road with vehicles in Bedford thanks to a grant the Police Department recently received.

To help make sharing the road in Bedford a safer place for pedestrians and bicyclists, the Bedford Police Department was recently awarded a $3,000 grant by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Highway Safety Division from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The funding comes from approximately $280,000 specifically provided to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in the Commonwealth. Bedford is one of 71 police departments to receive part of this funding.

According to the Massachusetts Traffic Records Analysis Center , there have been 320 fatal injuries and 3,456 serious or incapacitating injuries sustained by pedestrians in motor vehicle crashes from 2008 to 2012. During the same time frame, bicyclists sustained 1,106 serious or incapacitating injuries and 43 fatal injuries as a result of motor vehicle crashes.

“Bicyclists and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to the motoring public because they may not be immediately visible to drivers and unlike those in vehicles, nothing protects them from impact,” said Bedford Traffic Enforcement Officer Marc Saucier in a statement issued Tuesday “All users need to learn to share the road safely and be mindful of one another and the law. We’ll use the grant for education, enforcement and outreach we believe will help protect our pedestrians and cyclists from injuries and fatalities.”

The funds received will pay for enforcement and decoy patrols, breakaway signs and crosswalk reflective tape. The combination of enforcement techniques and equipment will help the department analyze and crack down on drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists who do not share the road appropriately, so no one puts themselves or others in harm’s way.

The Bedford Police Department, in partnership with EOPSS, recognizes that traffic crashes are preventable and is committed to using this grant to reduce the number of motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists in Bedford because any death or injury on our roadways is one too many.