OVERALL PROBLEM

In America, there are between 80 and 100 million bicyclists who use the nation's highways for recreation, commuting, or utilitarian purposes. An increasing number of these men and women are randomly using all highways. This creates major confusion, congestion and conflict. Below we explore a number of conditions leading to the overall problem.

Facilities.

In some-areas bikeways have been established to pull some of the bicycle traffic back onto a corridor where emphasis can be given to safe routing and other hazard avoidance. Although there are many good, working bikeways in America, there are more that are poor for one or more reasons. Many communities and states launch plans without consulting technicians to learn the state of the art. The resulting problems include misinterpretation of the need, faulty design, poor placement, and inadequate maintenance.

The majority of all bikeways have been built for a limited recreation user. The utility and commuter bicyclist has often been overlooked. Some communities do not want to encourage bicycling, they simply want to deal with what they see as a problem. Often. the problem was not a problem at all, but rather a need, and it may not have been met.

Class I (separate facility) and Class II (special lane) bikeways can be designed, placed and maintained to help meet the needs of a greater number of bicyclists. However, it is likely that a majority of all bicycling will continue to be on shared highways, owing to the greater abundance of these facilities and the greater freedom and opportunity for the bicyclist. Thus it becomes important for communities and states to help identify and improve the best routes for shared use. In this way bicycling hazards can be reduced to a minimum and traffic congestion will be lessened.

The Bicyclist.

After reviewing our accident data we have concluded that up to 800 of the accidents could have been avoided if the rider had taken greater care, been trained in new riding skills, and been aware of the hazards unique to bicycling. A railroad crossing signal warns the motorist of the great risk of a train/car collision. To the bicyclist, the threat is more immediate--unless the rails are crossed at a 90-degree angle a serious fall is likely. Many adults who grew up using the bicycle as a toy learn how serious such hazards are only by taking a spill. Hazard avoidance ideas must be shared with new adult riders in order to avoid such accidents.

The Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Mix.

America has been without a balance of motor vehicle.and bicycle traffic for so long that this sudden thrust of mixed traffic creates confusion and conflict. It is like two men sitting down to a checkerboard (the highway), one playing with chess pieces and the other playing checkers. Both are confused--the result is conflict.

The most serious problem directly involving the bicyclist and the motorist is visibility. The bicyclist incorrectly assumes he is always visible. The motorist has a fixed "mind set" of what he expects to see. In this mind set are large, often rapidly moving vehicles, such as other cars, trucks, or campers. The motorist may physically see the bicyclist, but his mind is not trained to react, so the visual image goes unheeded until too late. The bicyclist and motorist must be aware of this. It may be many years before motorists are trained to "see" bicyclists. Until this transition takes place, we must all be aware of this great risk.

Although the "mind set" phenomena is perhaps the most serious problem between bicyclists and motorists, there are many other hazards that must be understood by the bicyclist and motorist. One example is the six-inch pothole along the side of the road which goes unnoticed by the motorist. To the bicyclist, the break in the pavement can cause a serious or fatal fall--the adult rider will swerve to avoid it at almost any cost, including sometimes riding into the path of the unseen or unheard automobile. Motorists need to know these special problems faced by the bicyclist, just as well as the bicyclist needs to understand and react to the very real needs of the motorist trying to share the highway with a slow-moving bicycle.

The Educator.

Different systems of teaching bicycle safety have been tried in America with varying degrees of success. In many cases the responsibility is placed on the shoulders of the police department or civic-minded groups. Although many departments have developed effective training programs, the information nationwide is not uniform, and there is little monetary support. Often the school, law enforcement, or civic groups do a good job of teaching; but the parents give a different message. Confusion is the result.

Summary.

There is no single cause of bicycle accidents--and the solution must be based on greater sharing of information and work between planners, educators, law enforcement officers, agency officials, motorists, and bicyclists. In the pages that follow we examine in detail elements of the shared highway safety problem. Our approach is to show the interrelation of the major elements that lead to increased safety.