Evaluation of the Potential Benefits of Rural Bicycle Climbing Lanes

The lateral clearance distance between bicycles and overtaking vehicles is becoming a more common research study, but nearly all these studies occur on urban roadways. The objective of this paper was to evaluate lateral clearance distances between vehicles and bicycles during overtaking maneuvers on rural roads. This paper comes out of a larger research effort to identify (and ideally eliminate crashes, and the resulting fatalities and injuries) between bicycles and motorized vehicles on rural roadways. The data collection process for this research effort collected 1151 observations through real-time, in-field sensor and video logging. Prior research by the author (with others) developed the real-time bicycle-mounted field data collection system. The collected data was then used to evaluate lateral clearance distances between vehicles and bicycles either when a paved shoulder was, or was not, present. The evaluation shows, first, that drivers were far more likely to cross a solid (or double) yellow centerline, regardless of oncoming traffic, when a paved shoulder was not present on uphill segments. The reduction in centerline crossings due to the presence of a paved shoulder is significant. Having a paved shoulder on an uphill segment of a rural road appears to provide significant benefits, including reducing the likelihood of a centerline crossing by nearly 80%, and from encroaching into oncoming traffic by over 50%. These safety benefits can also be achieved with minimal additional cost to a road project.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Standing Committee on Bicycle Transportation.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Chapman, Jeremy R
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
• Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefits; Bicycle crashes; Bicycle lanes; Clearances (Navigation); Climbing lanes; Passing; Rural highways; Traffic safety
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01623042
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-01076
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 24 2017 3:15PM