Just a few months ago, Manteca Police Chief Steve Schluer joined patrol officers to answer a call.

A group of pre-teens and young teens on bicycles were swerving in and out of traffic creating a serious safety hazard.

The police chief not only helped pull over the offending bicyclists, but he also issued several citations and made calls to their parents as well.

The end result is the offenders were each facing fines of $100.

It is against that backdrop that Schluer has made it a higher priority for his department to combat reckless and unlawful bicycling that he noted every time it happens “is just a foot or so away” from a potential tragedy.

The City Council on Tuesday adopted the first reading of municipal code changes that makes it “unlawful to ride or operate a bicycle with a  willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. Reckless and unlawful operating includes, but is not limited to, swerving or riding into oncoming traffic or performing tricks or stunts in the roadway.”

And will some might say isn’t that already the case with wording in the vehicle code, Schluer notes there are deliberate redundancies in the vehicle code to underscore more serious infractions.

“The vehicle code says obey all traffic signs but it also has a section that specifically says obey all stop signs,”  Schluer noted.

Tuesday’s move by the council is also to reinforce the police department’s current education effort.

Earlier this month, a letter from the police chief was sent to parents and guardians of all Manteca Unified School District advising of the dangerous and illegal behavior.

Schluer said a lot of people aren’t may to be aware of what their kids are doing.

He noted education tends to be the most effective way at gaining compliance to traffic laws in the most effective and widespread manner possible.

Schluer shared that when he was on patrol as an officer and he’d see a bicyclist blow a stop sign he’d pull them over.

”A lot of people aren’t aware that bicyclists are required to follow the same laws in California as vehicles,” he said.

A warning is usually enough to correct illegal behavior.

Schluer said sometimes with bicyclists, just like with motorists, the most effective course of action is a bit of education and a warning.

And the effort to make the city’s street safer isn’t just limited to reckless bicycling.

Manteca several months ago built on an already tough state law regarding illegal side shows by making it possible for police to arrest not just those that participate in the actual side shows but those that show up to watch them.

The department is also exploring the possibility of asking the City Council for red light cameras at intersections controlled by traffic signals.

 As for the bicyclists, the police chief said more and more motorists feel compelled to stop when driving in the middle of city roadways to avoid bicyclists swerving in an out of traffic.

Schluer noted swerving, popping wheelies, and such often creates situations where a tragedy is just  a foot or so away.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com.