The Five Layers of Safety for Bicyclists

The Five Layers of Safety for Bicyclists

Because cycling involves our personal safety, we often react quite emotionally to situations on the road. Many people tell me that they won't ride 'because it is too dangerous'. The data show us otherwise, but folks who have been overwhelmed by their fears rarely are convinced by logical data.

I frequently tell my fellow cyclists who are anxious that cycling is safer than it looks or feels-- and, at the same time, it can be fatal if either you or another road user make a bad error. I don't like the word "accident".

From wikipedia.org: "An accident is a specific, identifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external event which occurs in a particular time and place, without apparent or deliberate cause but with marked effects". Thus, we cannot do anything about accidents because they are "without apparent or deliberate cause". However, almost all bike crashes have a very apparent cause. They are not accidents, they are crashes that happened due to errors.

We can control most of our personal errors and we can ride in a way that can negate many motorist errors. Check out the Data: Only 18% of bike crashes involve cars. More importantly, roughly 47% —almost half! —of all car-bike crashes are caused by bicyclist errors.

Common cyclist errors include running stop signs and red lights, riding against traffic, riding at night without lights or reflective gear, turning left from the right hand curb, passing on the right side of a right turning motor vehicle and so on.

Smarter more skillful cycling can eliminate cyclist error as a factor in car-bike crashes. Motorist error causes about 53% of total car-bike crashes, or about 9% of all categories of bike crashes. Smarter cycling can help avoid most motorist errors. Unfortunately, not all motorist errors can always be avoided by even the most skillful cyclists. But don’t be too scared—accident statistics show that for experienced cyclists bicycling is less dangerous than driving a car.

The five layers of safety are bike skills and habits that can help you ride more safely and more confidently. The League of American Bicyclists ( http://www.bikeleague.org and Fred Oswald, LCI #947 developed this material. I modified it a bit.

Layer 1 - Control your bike. About half of all cyclist accidents are single rider crashes. If you can skillfully control your bike by starting, stopping, and smoothly turning, you can better avoid falling. Learn how to control your bike when you need to stop or turn quickly.

Layer 2 - Know and follow the rules of the road. A bike is a legal vehicle in all 50 states. As a vehicle driver, you are required to obey all traffic laws, signs, and signals.

Ride in the direction of traffic, on the right side of the road. Never ride against traffic.

Intersections are where most car-bike crashes occur. Use the right-most lane that goes in the direction you are traveling.

Use correct lanes for turns. Before you get to the intersection, position yourself in the proper lane.

Use hand signals to indicate your intentions whenever it is safe to do so.

When you are riding with other cyclists, stay alert and follow good group riding procedures. Use hand and voice signals. Cyclists riding in a group are much more likely to collide with one another than with motor vehicles.

Layer 3 – Ride in the smartest lane position. Know when you should take the full lane and when it is ok to share the lane with motor vehicles. Use your lane position to let other drivers know your intentions.

Many inexperienced cyclists will hug the far right edge of the road in an attempt to not obstruct motor vehicle traffic. Doing so on a narrow road leaves the cyclist no room to maneuver. Eventually a foolish motorist will try to squeeze by when there is insufficient room, putting the cyclist in grave danger.

In lanes that are too narrow to share with cars, you should ride closer to the center (about where a car’s right tire would be) instead of trying to squeeze closer to the right. By using smart lane positioning and the first two layers, many accidents can be avoided.

Layer 4 – Manage hazards skillfully. Learn and practice evasive maneuvers such as the quick dodge, quick turn, and quick stop to either dodge obstacles or to avoid motorist's mistakes. In tight traffic, taking evasive action might force you into another vehicle’s path.

When it isn’t safe to dodge or turn, you’ll need to master skills like riding or hopping over obstacles (potholes, debris, rocks, glass, trash), riding through hazardous surface conditions (oil slicks, sand, gravel) or stopping very quickly without losing control of your bike.

Layer 5 – Passive protection. When all else fails, helmets and gloves are your last line of protection. Make sure your CPSC-approved bike helmet fits properly— it should not wobble or flop around on your head when your chinstrap is buckled.

Even with a great helmet, you might be unconscious if you crash. Carry ID, any important medical info, emergency contacts, and your insurance information. Cell phones can be handy in an emergency.

We often think of bicycle crashes as accidents, events that happen to us that are beyond our control. While a small percentage of crashes may truly be accidents, beyond our control, cycling smarter can greatly reduce our probability of crashing. By maintaining awareness of our surroundings, making sure we are visible, and adhering to the five layers of safety, we can have a much safer bicycling experience. Enjoy the ride.

Memphis streets aren't safe for cyclists. -Oh, really?

Memphis streets aren't safe for cyclists. Oh, really?

Language is important—how we frame any debate determines how we will perceive and resolve the issues. I often hear something like “Memphis streets aren’t safe for cyclists”. This is absolutely the wrong language, the wrong frame to use.

Here’s why—it is not the streets that are the problem, it is the people who are driving the cars and the people who are riding the bicycles. The streets are fine, it is the people that are the problem. The streets don’t cause crashes- people cause crashes, especially car-bike crashes.

Some data – Almost half of all total bike crashes don’t involve any other vehicles, pedestrians, or animals—we cyclists make errors and we crash all by ourselves.

Further, almost half of car-bike crashes are caused by cyclists’ errors. The other half are caused by motorists’ errors.

Streets don’t cause crashes – people cause crashes.

Trust me- meet me at 5 am on a Sunday morning in the summer and we’ll ride together down Poplar Avenue from Germantown to the Mississippi River– it is great, I have done it myself many times– Poplar Avenue is a great street for bicycling –until the motor vehicle drivers show up, then it becomes a bit more unpleasant.

If the streets are the problem, we just need to ‘fix’ the streets with some engineering or with some paint- a bike lane stripe will fix the street, and all will be well. Unfortunately, the research in bike crashes tells us otherwise.

If people are the problem, then the solution is in the domain of driver and cyclist education and in law enforcement. Instead of engineers, we need to turn to cycling educators and the traffic police. Engineers fix streets but streets are not the real problem. We need education for both drivers and cyclists, and we need enforcement of the law for both drivers and cyclists.

The law in all 50 states already grants cyclists full rights to use the roads and requires that cyclists be responsible to all the laws as well. Thus, we should hold cyclists accountable to the law the same as we do motor vehicle drivers. It is illegal to run red lights and stop signs. It is illegal to ride against traffic on the wrong side of the road. It is illegal to operate a bicycle after dark without a headlight and rear reflector. It is illegal to ride more than two abreast. Cyclists who do these illegal things should be stopped and ticketed by police, or we should change the laws.

It is already illegal for any road user or vehicle operator ---motorist, cyclist, tractor, horse-and-buggy, pedestrian--- to operate unsafely on the public roadway. It is illegal for motorists to hit cyclists who have the right of way. They should be ticketed accordingly.

A local Memphis cyclist (yours truly) was hit by a motorist named Harold. I had the right of way and Harold was appropriately ticketed.

The streets were safe, but Harold was dangerous. Harold got the ticket, not the street. The street was great, especially at 6:30 am on Saturday, otherwise I would have chosen a different route.

Cyclists who violate a motorist’s right of way should also be ticketed, even if they get hit like my friend Darlene did in Germany. Darlene was riding her bike in regular traffic, legally, when she made a mistake. She violated another road user's right of way and they collided. (It was a streetcar, of all things-- its not like Darlene could not figure out where it was going-- those tracks are a dead giveaway, right?) Darlene got a concussion, an ambulance ride, and she also got a ticket from the German police. The streetcar had the right of way.

The streets were safe-- it was Darlene who was dangerous.

Another example-- I cannot remember his name- let's call him Chris. Chris was barreling down the road and the light he was approaching turned red. He saw no crossing cars, so Chris blew through the red light. Unfortunately, Chris didn't notice in time the pedestrian who stepped into the crosswalk right in front of him. Chris hit the pedestrian. Chris got an ambulance ride, a concussion, a hospital stay for 3 days, a trashed bike, and a very expensive traffic ticket from the German police.

The pedestrian was fine. The streets were safe; it was Chris that was dangerous.

Watch your language.

Welcome to Bike Memphis - The Blog

Hi everybody - Cliff H here. I will post things as I can that relate to all facets of biking in Memphis-

I need your help - send me news, views, and reviews.

Huh?

News - stuff relevant to local cycling, whether it is transportation planning meetings, a new weekly group ride, races, a construction project blocking your daily commute route-- whatever.

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Send all correspondence to cliff@bikememphis.com .

Ciao! Enjoy the rides!