BICYCLE/CAR-ACCIDENTS AT CROSSING

According to recent calculations in the City of Helsinki, the risk of a bicycle/car-accident is at least 10 times higher at crossings with poor visibility than at respective crossings without sight obstacles. The study in Helsinki dealt with non-signalized zebra crossings between minor roads and two-way cycle paths. An earlier, well-constructed British study gave quite opposite results. Poor visibility decreases the number of bicycle/car-accidents. The British study, however, dealt with T-crossings without specific bicycle paths. The apparent contradiction between these two results only confirms the very important conclusion of several other studies. Cycling along cars is in many cases safer than cycling on separate (two-way) bicycle paths. The reason for this confusing phenomena is almost obvious. Potential conflicting bicycles do not arouse the (unconscious) protective behaviorial patterns of the car drivers as efficiently as other cars do. Therefore, cycling across a street from an opposite direction than the nearest crossing motor vehicle lane is dangerous. The carefulness of the cyclists seems to be strongly dependent on the traffic volume of the crossing street. Collisions take very often place at intersections with surprisingly low traffic volumes on the minor road. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD E201756.

• Corporate Authors:

  Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

  Linköping,   Sweden  SE-581 95
• Authors:
  • PASANEN, E
• Conference:
  • PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE ROAD SAFETY IN EUROPE HELD IN BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, SEPTEMBER 9-11, 1996. (VTI KONFERENS)
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 133-43
• Serial:
  • Issue Number: 7A:1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alertness; Arterial highways; Automobiles; Bicycle crossings; Bikeways; Conferences; Crash rates; Crashes; Cyclists; Drivers; Hazards; Secondary roads; Visibility
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 1612: Accident rate; 2238: Attention; 1243: Car; 8525: Conference; 2722: Cycle track; 1742: Cyclist; 1679: Cyclist crossing; 1772: Driver; 2748: Main road; 9150: Risk; 2773: Secondary road; 6783: Visibility
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00764137
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: May 28 1999 12:00AM