A German living in Lithuania cannot be surprised to see a well-dressed cyclist coming to the gas station near Marijampolė - with a brightly colored reflective vest and a helmet - who, moreover, needed to buy more vodka.
According to the Lithuanian Road Police Service, the most common violations of the Road Traffic Rules (KET) by cyclists are drunk driving, disobedience to traffic signals and failure to follow road signs. Cycling enthusiast Frank Kulikauskas is amazed at the logic of the people on campus: "They ride their bicycles with friends to get drunk. He argues that if a car is drunk, it can kill another person, and if they ride a bicycle, they may just kill them."
This year, more than 4 thousand of the bicycle drivers who committed KET violations, 2,471 were intoxicated. Also, they do not obey traffic control signals, do not obey road signs, obey motorway traffic regulations, and there are cases when bicycles do not comply with the requirements of KET.
According to the data of the Lithuanian Road Police Service, the results of preventive measures implemented indicate that the most violations of bicycle drivers are detected in the territories supervised by the Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Marijampolė County Police Headquarters.
During the four months of this year, 2,471 drunk drivers were detected, 8,125 in 2014, and 5,345 drunk cyclists were arrested in 2013.
Bicycle enthusiast F. Kulikauskas is amazed at people's desire to sit at the wheel of a bicycle when they are intoxicated.
"Before Christmas, I drove to Germany by car and had to stop at Marijampolė to refuel. It was dark and a drunk cyclist arrived at the gas station. He wore a bright-colored vest, a helmet, but came to buy some more vodka. Smaller cities have repeatedly seen people cycling with friends to get drunk. He argues that if a car is drunk, it could kill another person, and if they ride a bicycle, they might just kill them," says LRT.lt.
The Code of Administrative Offenses provides that driving and riding, cycling when intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics, psychotropic or other psychoactive substances, with a mild degree of intoxication (from 0.41 to 1.5), fines between € 86 and € 144.
Riding and riding, cycling when intoxicated or intoxicated with narcotic, psychotropic or other psychoactive substances, with moderate (1.51 to 2.5 promise) or severe (2.51 promise and above) degree of intoxication, - imposes a fine of between EUR 144 and EUR 202.
The inhabitants of the province are accustomed to waistcoats, and the townspeople do not get used to it
Marija Kazanovich, a senior specialist in the General Affairs Group at the Lithuanian Road Police Service, says cyclists are gradually becoming accustomed to wearing brightly colored vests, especially in the province.
"The bigger problem is in cities. Also, there are people, such as those who enjoy pleasure, leisure, and athletes who do not wear such a vest during daylight hours. It is from some principle that he does not enforce the law. Although they are usually car drivers themselves, of course, they know from practice how a pedestrian, a bicycle driver with a reflector or other reflective object is visible from a distance," Kazanovich told LRT.lt.
Asked by LRT.lt whether police are conducting special raids to monitor cyclists' compliance with the KET, Mr. Kazanovich responded: "Special preventive measures are being implemented on an ongoing basis. About 20 such republican preventive measures are organized every year in the country."
Republican preventive measures in the last quarter of 2014 uncovered 456 bicycle riders who failed to meet their requirements during daylight hours (wearing a bright-colored vest or driving with appropriate lights on the front and rear of the bike). This year, 593 violations were recorded as a result of such measures.
F. Kulikauskas says that in Germany there is no requirement to wear a bright-colored vest, where the bicycle must have reflectors and lights. "Now when I go with a young child I usually put on a vest. But sometimes it's funny when you go to the mall and people think I'm some kind of security guard or builder. It's not always nice to walk with that bra," the cyclist laughs.
Rules for cyclists to follow:
Cycling is permitted for persons aged 14 and over, and for persons aged 12 and over who have completed an appropriate training course and are certified by a training institution; there is no age limit for bicycle riders in the residential area;
Bicycle drivers (passengers) under the age of 18 must wear a cyclist's helmet when traveling on the road. Other cyclists over the age of 18 are advised to wear a bicycle helmet and wear a bicycle helmet;
Cycling is only allowed on cycle paths and where there is no suitable sidewalk (with asphalt or concrete pavement) according to the direction of traffic; where there is no bicycle lane and the sidewalk is inadequate, one lane of the carriageway is allowed to run as close as possible to its right edge;
If the traffic is heavy and you need to turn left, turn or cross the road, the bicycle rider must climb and cross the carriageway while driving the bicycle without obstructing other vehicles.
The bicycle rider must wear a bright-colored vest with reflective elements or white light at the front and a red light at the rear when riding a bicycle. When driving on the road at night or in poor visibility, the bicycle must have a white light on the front and a red light on the back of the bicycle, and the bicycle rider must wear a bright vest with reflective materials.
