Bicycle safety

Bicycling is becoming more popular across the country, for commuting, exercise, and leisure. However, in the event of a traffic collision between a motor vehicle and a bicyclist, the bicyclist is the more vulnerable party and is more likely to be injured or killed than motor vehicle passengers. Bicycling fatalities increased 14.4 percent from 734 in 2012 to 840 in 2016 nationwide. Bicyclist fatalities represented 2.2 percent of the total number of traffic fatalities in 2016. Bicycle collisions are defined as crashes where one or more victims is a bicyclist, other cyclist, or bicycling...

As cities around the country adopt initiatives like Vision Zero to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries, they are faced with the question of how effective different types of interventions are. For example, do protected bike lanes or painted sharrows reduce the risk of severe injury to cyclists? A group of researchers from the New York University School of Medicine examined this question by studying where cyclists admitted to the hospital crashed and how severe their injuries were. This research brief explores their findings.

Intersections are hazardous places. Threats arise from interactions among pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles, more complicated vehicle trajectories in the absence of lane markings, phases that prevent determining who has the right of way, invisible vehicle approaches, vehicle obstructions, and illegal movements. These challenges are not fully addressed by the “road diet” and road redesign prescribed in Vision Zero plans, nor will they be completely overcome by autonomous vehicles with their many sensors and tireless attention to surroundings. Accidents can also occur because drivers,...