Tickets for unsafe and illegal bicycle riding are few in Richmond County, but accidents involving bikes on the road aren't.

So far this year there has been a slight increase in the number of cyclists hit by a car: 21 from Jan. 1 to July 11, up from 18 in the same period last year in Richmond County. The last bicycle fatality occurred in 2007.

Nationally, about 30 percent of bicycle accidents in which the rider is treated in an emergency room involve a motor vehicle, according to statistics from Georgia Bikes, an organization dedicated to improving cycling in the state. In 70 percent of those wrecks, the cyclist is at fault.

Dennis Ellis, of the Richmond County Traffic Engineering Department, sifts through each year's bicycle accident reports to compile a list of where they occur. He said people don't take cycling seriously, citing the state's lax helmet laws, in which no one younger than 16 can be fined or imprisoned for not wearing a helmet.

"We don't really take it that seriously until a kid gets hit," Mr. Ellis said. "(Bike riders) have the assumption that, 'I'm on a bicycle, so everybody has to look out for me.' And granted, the driver should as best they can, but when they dart out into traffic or some from a side street, a lot of times there's nothing that can be done."

Though state law says bicycles are subject to the same rules of the road as cars, few citations are given out for cycling infractions in Richmond County. County records make no distinction between vehicle and bicycle traffic violations, making those involving bikes hard to track. But sheriff's Col. Gary Powell said warnings are usually issued.

"I've never seen a ticket on a bicyclist," he said.

Brett Ardery, the owner of Outspokin Bicycles on Walton Way, said it's almost a rule of thumb that cyclists who wear helmets follow traffic rules.

He said many older people are taking up the sport, and they tend to be cautious and law-abiding.

Many are also using bikes for their daily commute. The number of bike commuters rose from about 483,145 in 2003 to about 664,859 in 2007, a 37.6 percent increase, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

As the number of riders on the road increases, so does the need for riders and law enforcement to brush up on their bike rules, Mr. Ardery said.

"I think the police need to be a little more educated about what the law is, too," he said. "I don't think they spend much time with that, but some of them are cyclists and know the rules."

Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.

BIKE-VEHICLE WRECKS IN RICHMOND COUNTY

Source: Richmond County Traffic Engineering *through July 11