THE EFFECT OF BICYCLE TRACKS ON RIDERS SAFETY /IN DANISH/

BICYCLE RIDERS ARE VERY VULNERABLE IN MODERN TRAFFIC. THEY REPRESENT ABOUT 15% BOTH OF INJURIES AND OF THE FATALITIES IN DENMARK. FOR THIS REASON THE DANISH COUNCIL OF ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH WHICH WAS SET UP IN 1967, DECIDED TO CARRY OUT AN INVESTIGATION THROWING LIGHT ON THE BENEFITS OF BICYCLE TRACKS, IN THIS STUDY BICYCLE TRACKS MEANS TRACKS CONSTRUCTED ALONG A STREET OR ROAD, EXCLUSIVELY USED; BY BICYCLES AND GENERALLY SEPARATED FROM THE ROADWAY BY A CURB. BICYCLE ROADS HAVING THEIR OWN ALIGNMENT OR BICYCLE LANES INDICATED ONLY BY LANE MARKINGS ARE NOT CONSIDERED. THE RESULTS ARE SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS: (1) THE BICYCLE TRACKS HAVE A CLEAR INFLUENCE ON THE NUMBER OF BICYCLE ACCIDENTS AND ON THEIR DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN ROAD SECTIONS AND ROAD INTERSECTIONS, (2) ON ROAD SECTIONS WITH BICYCLE TRACKS THE RATE OF BICYCLE ACCIDENTS IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN ON SECTIONS WITHOUT BICYCLE TRACKS. ACCIDENTS, WHERE BICYCLES HIT PARKED CARS, HAVE SOME IMPORTANCE ON SECTIONS WITHOUT BICYCLE TRACKS BUT THEY ARE RARE ON SECTIONS WITH BICYCLE TRACKS, (3) AT INTERSECTIONS THERE ARE NO SPECIAL EFFECT OF BICYCLE TRACKS ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BICYCLE ACCIDENTS, BUT THERE IS A REMARKABLE CHANGE IN THE ACCIDENT TYPES. ACCIDENTS WHERE TURNING CARS HIT STRAIGHT DRIVING BICYCLES ARE OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE AT INTERSECTIONS WHERE THE APPROACHING SECTIONS HAVE BICYCLE TRACKS, AND (4) THE ANALYSIS OF COLLISIONS BETWEEN VEHICLES OF DIFFERENT TYPES SHOWED IN GENERAL THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SEPARATION OF DIFFERENT TRAFFIC CATEGORIES. THESE RESULTS SEEM TO BE APPLICABLE IN GENERAL ON URBAN ARTERIALS WITH HEAVY BICYCLE TRAFFIC IN DENMARK. /RRL/FESR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 25 Pp, 4 FiG, 13 TAB, 12 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Radat Trafiksikkerhedsforskning /Den

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Jorgensen, N O
• Publication Date: 1969-2

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Crash analysis; Crashes; Injuries; Intersections; Prevention; Railroad tracks; Roads; Safety; Traffic crashes; Urban areas; Vehicles
• Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220177
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Road Research Laboratory /UK
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 23 1970 12:00AM