FOLEY, Ala. — The growing popularity of taking to the road on two wheels makes it imperative that bicyclists exercise caution and follow the rules when sharing the road with four-wheel vehicles.

Baldwin County has seen numerous incidents of tragedy the past few years involving bicycles and motor vehicles. An incident in neighboring Mobile this week has officials with the Alabama Department of Public Safety underscoring the need to follow the traffic laws when riding bicycles.

In the Mobile incident, a 16-year-old was killed as he rode his bicycle on Dauphin Island Parkway shortly after 10 p.m. on July 29.

According to a release issued by Cpl. Joe Piggott of the Alabama State Trooper Office in Mobile, the juvenile’s bicycle was without lights as he traveled north in the southbound lane as a friend walked on the shoulder of the roadway.

A SUV attempting to overtake a slower vehicle in a lawful passing zone struck the cyclist from behind, the release said. The juvenile, who was wearing dark clothing and no helmet, was pronounced dead at the University of South Alabama Medical Center where he was airlifted.

Piggott, in issuing the release concerning the juvenile’s death, pointed out pertinent parts of traffic laws that apply to persons riding bicycles.

For one, the law states that a person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall be granted all the rights applicable to the driver of a vehicle. The bicyclist is also subject to all the duties that pertain to the driver of a vehicle.

A person operating a bicycle on a roadway should stay as near to the right side of the roadway as practical, and should exercise caution when passing a “standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.”

Bicyclists shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or roadways set aside for use of bicycles only.

Where a bicycle path is available adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders should use the path, not the roadway.

At night, a bicycle shall “be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear … visible from all distances from 100 feet to 600 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle.” A lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet may be used in addition to the red reflector.

It is unlawful for any person under the age of 16 to ride or be a passenger on a bicycle “unless at all times the person wears a protective bicycle helmet of good fit, fastened securely upon the head with the straps of the helmet.”