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In 1839, when Kirkpatrick McMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, invented the first ridable bicycle, his only problem was staying up on it. Today, with an estimated 70 million bicyclists in the United States bicycle accidents and bicycle thefts have become very real problems for bike owners and law enforcement agencies alike, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Although deaths and injuries from bicycle accidents come nowhere near the records set by the automobile, there has been a steady rise in the number of bicycle accidents over the past few years. In 1969, a total of 820 people were killed and close to 40,000 were injured while bicycle riding in the nation. In Virginia, during that same year, there were 654 bicycle accidents, resulting in injury to 662 cyclists and killing eight. The figures rose in 1970 to 716 accidents, 720 injuries and 16 deaths. Law enforcement officers cite the light weight of bikes, inadequate lighting, brakes that require long stopping distances and riding side by side in large groups as the primary causes of cycle-related deaths and injuries. The 1. I. I. suggests that good judgement and obedience to the rules of the road may prevent many of these needless accidents. The recent popularity of bikes has also produced an increasing grbwlh of thefts. In 1969, a total of 279,810 bicycles were reported stolen in the United States, estimated to be worth $8,383,300. (The economic loss figures are based on an average worth figure for bikes of $30. This Federal Bureau of Investigation figure is thought by many bicycle shop owners to be conservative.)
The problem facing police departments in the area and around the country in preventing
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