Caution urged for Valley drivers, cyclists

McALLEN — At least twice a week, Jorge Guerrero straps on a helmet and hits the roads on his bicycle.

Guerrero, 26, of McAllen, is a cyclist who shares the road with vehicles. He uses bike lanes on the street to get where he needs to go.

But sharing the road isn’t always an easy feat for area cyclists.

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"(Drivers are) pretty aggressive," Guerrero said. "I’ve had several incidents where somebody deliberately (swerves) their car (toward) me because they thought it would be funny. Some people don’t look both ways and you have to stop for them. Or they are on their cell phone. They are not conscious of the bike lane."

Last year there were 89 car collisions involving bicyclists in the Rio Grande Valley, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Four of them were fatal. Statewide, there were 48 fatalities.

Ordinances and laws vary from city to city in regard to motorists using bike lanes. However, one overriding law states that motorists cannot be in a bike lane if a cyclist is there.

One of the biggest problems arises when drivers use the bike lane as a turn lane at an intersection, Guerrero said.

In Edinburg, the intersection of Jackson and Trenton roads has a bike lane, but motorists often ignore the marked lines and use the lanes to make right turns, said Quirino Muñoz, the city’s police chief.

That is acceptable because there is a curb there, Muñoz said. However, if there is a cyclist in that lane, the motorist must stay out of the lane.

"When you come to an intersection and you’ve got a curb on it, then the traffic law does allow the motorist to get as close to the curb as possible to execute the turn," Muñoz said.

But if there is no curb and a bike lane is clearly marked, then the car is prohibited from being in that lane at all when making a right turn, the chief said.

Regardless of which city a driver is in, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are watching for drivers who misuse the bicycle lanes, said Trooper Johnny Hernandez, a local DPS spokesman.

Drivers should be conscious of marked bike lanes and stay out of them, he said.

"It will say ‘bike lane’ and you have to watch out for those because you cannot use them," Hernandez said.

Cyclists sharing the road are also subject to getting tickets. They are required to obey the same traffic laws as motorists, McAllen police Sgt. Joel Morales said.

And while cyclists must be mindful of traffic laws, they also must be aware of the cars around them, said San Juan police Sgt. Rudy Luna. A car and bike crash could have fatal repercussions, which is why it’s important for drivers to also be watching for bikes.

He said motorists who are driving in marked bike lanes in San Juan will be pulled over.

"That is driving where prohibited," he said. "It can be a fine up to $500 and a Class C
misdemeanor."