DETECTION AND MITIGATION OF ROADWAY HAZARDS FOR BICYCLISTS. FINAL REPORT

The principal goal of this study was to identify and compile a list of potential hazards to cyclists, to rank order the hazards in terms of their perceived and actual degree of risk, and to propose mitigation actions to address these hazards. Of particular concern are mitigation actions that can be incorporated in an agency's regular maintenance activities; however, in almost all cases, there may be corresponding considerations that are better addressed at the design stage, and these are pointed to as well. This leads to the development of guidelines for detection and mitigation of the principal hazards. Through a literature search, focus groups with cyclists, cyclists' responses to questionnaire surveys, actual field observation, and a review of accident studies, the principal hazardous situations encountered by bicyclists are determined and rank-ordered in this report. Countermeasures have been identified for most of the hazards, and associated cost ranges have been developed based on experience gathered from several sources primarily in Texas, including a special focus group conducted with Texas Department of Transportation engineers and maintenance professionals. In general, behavioral factors contribute to most accidents experienced by bicyclists. Responses received to the various surveys described in this report overwhelmingly indicate single bike accidents resulting from loss of control as the primary type of accident experienced by responding bicyclists. Frequently, these crash types, like most, develop from a mixture of behavioral factors, roadway design, and roadway conditions. Many of the hazardous factors found in the roadway or its surrounding environment can be corrected or improved. While many physical elements contribute to the dangers facing cyclists, those with perhaps the greatest impact may be readily remedied through carefully executed maintenance programs, often in conjunction with existing programs and procedures. The main requirement is for maintenance crews to be aware of the hazardous nature of these elements, and of the agency's responsibility and/or intent to remedy conditions that are hazardous to bicyclists even when these may not be of particular concern to automobiles. This report in intended to contribute to this process.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Research study title: Detection and Mitigation of Roadway Hazards for Bicyclists.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Austin

  Center for Transportation Research, 3208 Red River Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78705

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Transfer Office, P.O. Box 5051
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5051

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Ardekani, S A
  • Govind, S
  • Mattingly, S P
  • Demers, A
  • Mahmassani, H S
  • TAYLOR, D
• Publication Date: 1995-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 252 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Bicycle crashes; Bicycling; Costs; Countermeasures; Cyclists; Detection and identification; Detectors; Hazards; Highway design; Loss of control; Maintenance; Ratings; Strategic planning; Traffic mitigation; Traffic safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bicycle safety; Mitigation; Road conditions
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00724957
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TXDOT-96/1394-2F, Res Rept 1394-2F, CTR 0-1394-2F
• Contract Numbers: Study 0-1394
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 26 1996 12:00AM