IV.1. BICYCLE SAFETY

Table of Contents

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A. Engineering Solutions to Common Problems
B. Education Solutions
C. Enforcement Solutions
D. Equipment Solutions
E. Riding Skills
F. Helmets

INTRODUCTION

Most bicycling crashes (65%-85%) do not involve collisions with motor vehicles; they usually involve falls or collisions with stationary objects, other cyclists and pedestrians.

Injury crashes caused by loss of control can be greatly reduced by:

· Improving riding skills;
· Ensuring that all equipment is functional (brakes, tire pressure and condition, etc.);
· Ensuring that bikeways are clear of obstructions, debris and rough surfaces.

Many bicycles/motor vehicle crashes are not reported. ODOT statistics represent reported crashes: approximately 800 injury crashes a year, including 10-15 fatalities (1%-2% of total).

To help develop programs aimed at bicyclists and motorists, one must understand what types of crashes are responsible for most injuries, and who is at fault. ODOT has been tracking bicycle/motor vehicle crashes for many years and bases many of its engineering solutions on analysis of these statistics.

Bicycle/motor vehicle crashes: 1994 statewide statistics

· 45% occurred at intersections:

- 27%: motorist failed to yield to bicyclist at a stop, signal or turn.
- 19%: bicyclist failed to yield to motorist at a stop, signal or turn.

· 20% occurred at mid-block (driveway or alley):

- 12%: motorist entered or left the road
- 8%: bicyclist entered or left the road (mostly young riders)

· 17% resulted from wrong-way bicycle riding.

· 8% were caused by turning or swerving movements:

- 5%: bicyclist turned or swerved
- 3%: motorist turned or swerved

· 3% occurred when a cyclist was hit from behind by a motorist.

The other 7% were due to miscellaneous causes, e.g. motorist opening car doors into the path of a bicyclist (1%).

The data for 1994 are typical of data collected in other years.

Most crashes are due to bicyclists or motorists disobeying the rules of the road, often out of ignorance. Overall, the fault lies equally with motorists and bicyclists. Most crashes occur where two roadways or a roadway and a driveway intersect, and one user failed to yield the right of way to the other. The fault in these situations is slightly more often the motor vehicle driver's than the bicyclist's.

Wrong-Way Riding

Figure 163: Hazards of worng-way riding

The leading cause of crashes in which the bicyclist is at fault is wrong-way riding. This behavior is observed in about 15% of riders, and is responsible for 17% of crashes. It is often based on an unfounded fear of traffic, and a sense that looking at on-coming traffic will prevent crashes; the inability to cross a street also contributes to wrong-way riding.

The danger is that, at intersections, bicyclists riding against traffic are invisible to drivers entering, crossing or leaving the roadway, who are looking for traffic from a certain direction; wrong-way riders are not noticed.

Another hazard of wrong-way riding is the increase in closing speed:

· A wrong-way bicyclist going 20 km/h approaching a vehicle going 50 km/h will have a 70 km/h closing speed, greatly reducing reaction time.
· A vehicle going 50 km/h gaining on a cyclist going 20 km/h will have a 30 km/h closing speed, allowing more reaction time.

On one-way streets, the problem is compounded by the fact that signs and traffic signals are not visible to the wrong-way rider.

A. ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO COMMON PROBLEMS
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Even though most bicycle/motor vehicle crashes are caused by improper behavior, many improvements can be made to roads to reduce the potential for crashes. Well-designed facilities encourage proper behavior, decreasing the likelihood of crashes.

Transportation agencies should provide bicycle facilities that encourage all users to obey the rules of the road.

When surveying bicycle usage, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program records several behaviors. There appears to be a correlation between good facilities, high use and proper behavior:

· Cities with good bikeway networks have the highest number of riders, and behavior is the best: wrong-way riding is minimal and fewer ride on the sidewalk (helmet use is above the statewide average).
· Cities with fewer facilities experience lower ridership numbers and poorer rider behavior: more ride against traffic or on the sidewalks (helmet use is lower than the statewide average).

A.1. WRONG-WAY RIDING

Riding against traffic can be discouraged by:

· Including a directional arrow on bike lane markings;
· Placing bike lanes on both sides of a two-way street or placing bike lanes on both legs of a one-way couplet;
· Replacing existing two-way bike lanes with one-way bike lanes on each side of the road;
· Providing equal width shoulders on each side of the road;
· Providing more crossing opportunities on wide streets; and
· Avoiding two-way multi-use paths that begin or end at mid-block.

A.2. CYCLIST DISREGARDS STOP SIGN

It is natural for bicyclists to want to ride without breaking their momentum. Good planning places bikeways on streets where there aren't excessive stops, by:

· Providing bike lanes on arterials, which have the right-of-way at most intersections;
· Avoiding directing cyclists to local streets with many stops, which encourages bicyclists to disregard stop signs that slow them down;
· Avoiding placing unnecessary four-way stop signs on local streets; and
· Creating Bicycle Boulevards.

Figure 164: Conflicts at driveway

A.3. CYCLIST ENTERS THE ROAD FROM DRIVEWAY OR ALLEY

This behavior is common in young riders, who have not yet fully-developed perception skills. Some simple steps that can help improve motorists' awareness of children are:

· Improving sight distance, by restricting on-street parking and by removing excessive vegetation and other obstructions;
· Designing residential streets to discourage excessive motor vehicle speeds.

A.4. MOTORIST ENTERS THE ROAD FROM DRIVEWAY OR ALLEY

This is a constant source of conflicts for cyclists riding on busy streets with many accesses. Engineering solutions include:

· Reducing the number of accesses by elimination or consolidation; and
· Improving sight distance, by restricting on-street parking and by removing excess vegetation and other obstructions.

A.5. MOTORIST DISREGARDS SIGN OR SIGNAL

Motorists often commit this infraction because they didn't see a bicyclist. The best engineering solutions to improve cyclists' visibility include:

· Designing on-road bikeways that place bicyclists in the flow of traffic; and
· Improving sight distance, by restricting on-street parking and by removing excess vegetation and other obstructions.

B. EDUCATION SOLUTIONS
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Education of both motorists and bicyclists can curtail unintentional infractions as well as promote other safe riding and driving practices.

For bicyclists to safely coexist with motorists, they need to understand the vehicle code and develop good cycling skills. Education provides these skills and knowledge. Comprehensive bicycle safety education programs are designed for each age group with emphasis on errors commonly committed by that group. On-bike training is an important element of such a program. Education also stresses the value of helmets and other protective measures.

At present, only a few Oregon communities have a comprehensive bicycle safety education program. Others have only some of the basic elements. More funds, expert personnel, and persons or agencies directly responsible for bicycle safety education are needed to improve programs. In some communities, volunteer service groups or police departments do some education, but they typically need better support materials. Often, only elementary school age children are selected as the target group.

In 1987 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 514 (ORS 802.325), requiring the former Traffic Safety Commission to establish a bicycle safety program. ODOT is continuing this program to help educate young and adult cyclists, motorists, parents, and law enforcement personnel.

As of 1991, 50 people had been trained as "Smart Cycling" instructors in 15 communities. Thousands of students have attended Smart Cycling events. Over 200,000 copies of the safety pamphlet "Say, you're not from this Planet, Are You?" have been distributed.

DMV includes information on bicyclists and pedestrians in its publications aimed at motor vehicle drivers. At least one question regarding bicyclists or pedestrians is included on every written driver's license test.

Bicycle safety education materials, services, and information may be obtained from:

Bicycle Safety Coordinator
Mill Creek Office Park
555 13th Street NE
Salem, OR 97310
Tel: (503) 986-4196

C. ENFORCEMENT SOLUTIONS
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Law enforcement is a necessary component of bicycle safety. Stricter enforcement can limit both intentional and unintentional infractions. As with any law, lack of enforcement leads to a general disregard of the law. Local police officers should be willing to enforce the motor vehicle code with bicyclists and motorists. There are practical problems in citing bicyclists, since they often lack positive identification, such as a driver's license.

Frequent contact between local bicycle advisory committees, traffic safety groups and the police can highlight the need for enforcement and identify problem areas. Significant violation problems that have been identified by the bicycling community include:

· Motorists not yielding to bicyclists;
· Motorists not giving bicyclists enough room on the roadway;
· Bicyclists running traffic signals;
· Bicyclists riding on sidewalks;
· Bicyclist riding the wrong way; and
· Bicyclists riding at night without lights.

Bicycle-mounted police can often more easily apprehend offenders. Community education and support of enforcement efforts builds respect between bicyclists and motorists.

D. EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS
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There are several bicycle features which contribute to riders' ability to control their movements:

· Size: a bicycle must be properly fitted. If it is too small or too big, the rider will have trouble reacting properly when stopping, turning or accelerating. The wrong size bicycle is also uncomfortable, leading to fatigue.
· Brakes: by law, brakes must be sufficiently powerful to enable a rider to bring a bicycle to a skid on dry pavement. Brake levers must be readily accessible.
· Tires: must be in good condition and inflated to their recommended pressure.
· Fenders: prevent lights and reflectors from getting dirty in wet weather.
· Luggage racks and panniers: bicyclists should never attempt to carry loads in their arms while riding.
· Lights: by law, when riding after dark, the bicycle or the rider must be equipped with a white light visible at least 500 feet to the front and a red light or reflector visible at least 600 feet to the rear. A rear light is more effective than a reflector. The front white reflectors sold with bicycles do not provide visibility to a motorist entering from a side street.

Figure 165: Effectiveness of bike lights at intersections

E. RIDING SKILLS
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Since most bicycle crashes do not involve motor vehicles, poor riding skills must be responsible for many injury crashes. By ensuring that one has a good sense of balance, by looking ahead and to the sides, by avoiding distractions such as personal stereos, and by ensuring that one's bike is in good working order, falls and collisions with fixed objects can be largely avoided.

Many crashes with motor vehicles could be avoided if riders learned to control their bicycles better, including riding in a straight line and turning or stopping faster to avoid collisions.

F. HELMETS
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Wearing a helmet does not reduce the chances of a crash, but can reduce the severity of injuries or the possibility of a fatality. A properly worn bicycle helmet can reduce the severity of head injuries by up to 80%. Many communities are promoting awareness campaigns aimed at increasing helmet use, especially among children.

Proper fit is an important aspect of responsible helmet use. ODOT produces a brochure on this subject, "Get Head Smart." It is available from the Bicycle Safety Coordinator.

In 1993, the State of Oregon passed a mandatory helmet law for riders and passengers under the age of sixteen (Senate Bill 1088), which went into effect on July 1, 1994.

1994 ODOT statistics indicate that approximately 36% of riders in urban setting wore a helmet (24% of youth and 40% of adults). Helmet use is higher than the state average in cities with well-developed bikeway systems; use is highest on the Coast Highway, where virtually all of the touring riders wear helmets.