Key actions through which cycling safety can be improved include:
Prevention through better Engineering and Planning:
- Managing the traffic mix by separating different road users to reduce potential conflict;
- Speed management schemes such as speed zones and other traffic calming measures;
- Infrastructure design that caters for cyclist security and crash protective principles;
Prevention through Marketing, Education and Enforcement:
- changing attitudes and behaviour of cyclists and motorists through information and education (road safety campaigns, safer route selection through provision of cycle maps, information on the value of lights and reflective clothing or stickers, cycle helmets, mirrors, better brakes), training (defensive cycling skills, maintenance) and through enforcement of traffic law;
- consulting and informing cyclists about changes being made to fit their needs;
- changing priorities of policymakers/professionals responsible for the traffic system.
Adaptation through better equipment and reporting of incidents/hazards:
- minimising consequences of accidents when they do occur through encouraging use of protective equipment such as cycle helmets and safety modifications to bicycles and cars;
- taking remedial action when incidents or hazards are discovered.
A selection of resources under these three categories is listed below.
Prevention through Engineering and PlanningWell designed bicycle infrastructure improves and enhances safety. If funding is made available, Engineering and Planning is generally the best solution to any safety issue. While Engineering and Planning and Funding (e.g. through Black Spot programs) are covered on other pages, particular resources have a strong safety focus. Some of these are listed below:
Australia
- Roads and Traffic Authority, 2005, NSW Bicycle Guidelines, Government of New South Wales, Sydney.
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This is the most detailed cycling design manual available in Australia. The issue of safety is integrated throughout, with Chapter 12 being on “Safety audits and the selection and evaluation of bicycle network facilities”. - VicRoads, website, Cycle Notes series, Government of Victoria, Melbourne
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Similar to the RTA’s NSW Bicycle Guidelines (see above) this series covers a wide variety of infrastructure design issues that integrate closely with safety issues. Of particular relevance to this section are: - VicRoads Cycle Note 15, 2005, Providing for cyclists at roundabouts
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Cycle Notes No. 15 provides information on improving safety outcomes for cyclists at roundabouts. Reducing entry speeds for motor vehicles and providing continuity of on road bicycle infrastructure are two principal suggestions raised in this cycle note. - VicRoads Cycle Note 19, 2006, Providing for cyclists within bus lanes
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Cycle Notes No. 19 outlines the main issues to consider when combining a bicycle and bus lane. - Queensland Transport, website, Cycle Note series, Queensland Government, Brisbane
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Another good source of cycle infrastructure design information. Of particular relevance to this section is:- Cycle Note C5: Personal Security and Bicycle Facilities
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- Cycle Note C5: Personal Security and Bicycle Facilities
- Austroads, website, Guide to Road Safety, Parts 1, 2, 5 and 7
Visit Site - The Austroads Guide to Road Safety will provide guidance to Austroads members on identified road safety issues, and will point to other series where road safety is a key consideration. Safety aspects of AP-11.14/99: Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 14: Bicycles are being integrated into this series.
Visit Site - Austroads, 2002. AP-G30/02: Road Safety Audit, 2nd edition, Austroads Inc, Sydney
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This guide provides a comprehensive introduction to the road safety audit process and is suitable for use by any person with a responsibility for, or an interest in road safety. - Australian Bicycle Council, website, Publications and Resources
Visit Site - Relevant resources include those on Pedestrian – Cyclist conflict and Green bicycle lanes: Background, Australian practice and your feedback
Visit Site - Bicycle Victoria, 2004, The Bicycle Parking Handbook, Melbourne
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Plain English guidelines on bicycle parking that integrate concerns about security and safety. - ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services, Bicycle Safety
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Contacts and PDF downloads for safer cycling in the ACT.
International
- Land Transport New Zealand, Road Safety Audit manuals. The two relevant manuals are:
- For new roads: Transfund New Zealand, 2004, Road safety audit procedures for projects. (Manual No. TFM9), Transfund New Zealand, Wellington
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- For existing roads: Transfund New Zealand, 1998, Safety Audit Procedures for Existing Roads: Report RA97/623S, Transfund New Zealand, Wellington, available from the contact listed on Land Transport New Zealand’s Funding Manuals & Procedures.
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- For new roads: Transfund New Zealand, 2004, Road safety audit procedures for projects. (Manual No. TFM9), Transfund New Zealand, Wellington
- US Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, 2006, Bicycle Countermeasure Selection System (BIKESAFE), UNC Highway Safety Research Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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BIKESAFE is an expert system that allows the user to select appropriate countermeasures or treatments to address specific problems. BIKESAFE also includes a large number of case studies to illustrate treatments implemented in communities throughout the United States. The system allows the user to refine his or her selection of treatments on the basis of site characteristics, such as geometric features and operating conditions, and the type of safety problem or desired behavioural change. BIKESAFE is intended primarily for engineers, planners, safety professionals, and decision makers, but it may also be used by citizens for identifying problems and recommending solutions for their communities. - TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 500, Vol. 18, Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan: A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Bicycles provides strategies that can be employed to reduce collisions involving bicycles. This guide can be purchased from this US website.
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In 1998, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which was developed by the AASHTO Standing Committee for Highway Traffic Safety with the assistance of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation Safety Management. The plan includes strategies in 22 key emphasis areas that affect highway safety. The plan's goal is to reduce the annual number of highway deaths by 5,000 to 7,000. Each of the 22 emphasis areas includes strategies and an outline of what is needed to implement each strategy. -
Eckerson, C. Jr. (2007) "Berkeley Bike Boulevards" (8.13 min video) - StreetFilms.org
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In Berkeley, Calif. a citywide network of bicycle priority streets called Bicycle Boulevards allow cyclists to navigate safely. They are marked by smart traffic management, bountiful traffic calming, and the aura of livability and putting people first, cars second. Among their most unique trademarks are the purple signage and street stencils larger than a car!In this trip to Berkeley, StreetFilms’ Clarence Eckerson Jr. talks to advocates and users of the boulevards about their history and benefits.
Prevention through Marketing, Education and EnforcementIn contexts where there is no critical mass of cyclists to ensure motorists are familiar with their behaviour on the roads, a key solution to the safety problem for cyclists is to provide better information about safety behaviour and road rules and provide better enforcement of road rules for both motorists and cyclists.
Road Safety and Mobility Management Strategies
A key component of any cycling strategy is generally to make cycling safer. This section will not list again the strategies and plans listed under Engineering and Planning, but will focus on general road safety or mobility management strategies or campaigns that have notable cycling safety components.
Australia
- Australian Transport Council, 2000, National Road Safety Strategy, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Canberra
View PDF - The National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) aims to reduce the number of road fatalities per 100,000 population by 40%, from 9.3 in 1999 to no more than 5.6 in 2010. For cyclists, it aims to improve “road design and traffic engineering measures to create a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists." For various actions plans and other documents related to the NRSS, see the Australian Transport Council’s National Road Safety Strategy 2001 - 2010.
Visit Site - Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (SA), 2006, Safety in Numbers: A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-2010, Government of South Australia, Adelaide
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While this is in fact a cycling strategy (not a road safety strategy), it is included here as a good demonstration of the need for an integrated approach to safety and the influence of the ‘safety in numbers’ argument. The goal of Safety in Numbers
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is ‘more people cycling safely more often in South Australia’ which is assisted by the Cycling & Pedestrian Safety - Task Force
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A good approach through which to get cycling issues better addressed is to have a multi-disciplinary task-force or committee with members from peak cycling and walking groups and relevant State Government agencies allocated to the task. A number of states maintain State Level Bicycle Advisory Councils and this practice is sometimes also found at local council level. - VicRoads, website, arrive alive!
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The updated arrive alive! is the Victorian Government’s Road Safety Strategy for 2008-2010. The aim is to reduce annual deaths and serious injuries on Victorian roads by 20 per cent over the next five years. On Bicycle Safety
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the strategy promised improved enforcement (particularly regarding helmet wearing), improved cyclists education programs and an improved road environment for bicyclists.
Significantly for cycling, due to cyclists vulnerability to faster moving cars, has been the success of this strategy in reducing speeding through:- Reduced speeding enforcement tolerance in mid-2002 (i.e. 10 km/hr allowance above the speed limit was reduced) receiving wide publicity;
- A system wide strategy with speed camera locations mostly being covert (which encourages the whole population to slow down rather than just in ‘black’ spots);
- Size of the speed camera program;
- Mass media campaign (especially on prime time television);
- Point to point speed checks of average speed (recently introduced on the Hume Highway and between Melbourne and Geelong).
Some reviews of speed enforcement and speed camera effectiveness in Victoria under this strategy are:
- Cameron, M., Delaney, A., Diamantopoulou, K., Lough, B., 2003, Scientific basis for the strategic directions of the safety camera program in Victoria, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Melbourne
Visit Site - Delaney, A., Diamantopoulou, K., Cameron, M., 2003, MUARC's Speed Enforcement Research: Principles Learnt and Implications for Practice, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Melbourne
Visit Site - Catchpole, J., Coutts, M., Imberger, K,, Cornwell, D., Di Pietro, G., 2004, Austroads School Road Safety Education Check List – Final Report AP-R262/04, Austroads Inc, Sydney available from Austroads Publications
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Developed to provide a convenient method of assessing an RSE program intended for use in schools to ensure that the road safety content and the educational delivery methods of the program are consistent with what is currently believed to constitute good practice in the field. The Check List is intended to be used by people working in road safety or education who have responsibility for purchasing, commissioning or developing new RSE programs for schools or reviewing existing programs. This report documents the development of the Check List, which is found at Attachment A.
International:
- Brad Aaron, 20 May 2009, TA’s “Biking Rules” Campaign Takes the High Route, StreetsBlog
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Biking Rules Visit Site
Transportation Alternatives yesterday launched an ambitious new campaign to change how cyclists are perceived -- and how they perceive themselves -- in New York City. - Ministry of Transport, 2006, Pedestrian and cyclist road safety framework, Government of New Zealand, Wellington
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This Pedestrian and Cyclist Road Safety Framework outlines the NZ approach for effectively reducing risks to, and improving safety for, pedestrians and cyclists. It arises from commitments made in three other New Zealand (NZ) transport strategies:
- The New Zealand Transport Strategy
Visit Site - The Road Safety to 2010 Strategy
Visit Site - Getting There – On Foot, By Cycle, the NZ walking and cycling strategy
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- The New Zealand Transport Strategy
- Litman, T., Fitzroy, S., 2005, Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management Traffic Safety Impacts, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria, Canada
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The analysis presented indicates that mobility management strategies are cost effective traffic safety strategies, and increased safety is one of the largest potential benefits of mobility management.
Information on Safety and Road rules
Under the Australian Road Rules and all state and territory legislation, a bicycle is a vehicle. People have a right to ride a bicycle on the road. They share the same rights and responsibilities as drivers and motorcyclists. Common sense, courtesy together with an understanding of road rules are the key ingredients to staying safe on the road. As riding a bicycle continues to grow in popularity, so does the need to inform drivers about how to treat riders and to inform riders about safe riding, their rights and responsibilities on paths and roadways.
Listed below, nationally and for each state and territory (where quality material is available from either relevant road authorities or bicycle user groups) are:
- A Road User or Road Rules Handbooks or Guides which are users guide to the relevant legislation and regulations. Most handbooks will have sections on Cycling Safely and Sharing the Road with Cyclists. The NSW version has a small section on Cycling and Roundabouts. Finer grained detail on road rules is found through the relevant legislation and regulations (details of which are found on or through the relevant road traffic authority website);
- Share the Road campaign information targeted at cyclists. These are campaigns that are aimed at increasing awareness and observance of key behaviours that will lessen the chances of conflict with cyclists on the road, and reduce the incidence of common casualty crashes involving cyclists. In Australia, these campaigns are typically run on a state basis, but there are examples of local councils or regional areas running Share the Road campaigns;
- Other resources aimed at encouraging safe and legal cycling found as part of ‘bicycle user guide’ information maintained by each state and territory road authority or from Bicycle User Groups.
Australia:
- Australian Transport Council, December 2006, Australian Road Rules, National Transport Commission, Melbourne
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The National Transport Commission’s Australian Road Rules are model rules only and have no legal effect. They form the basis of Road Rules of each Australian State and Territory. Part 15 contains Additional rules for bicycle riders.
Australian Capital Territory:
- Road Transport ACT, January 2006, ACT Road Rules Handbook, Urban Services, Canberra
View PDF - ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS), website, Cycling
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This is TAMS cycling homepage. It hosts information on:- Safety and Road Rules
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- On-Road Cycling
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- A copy of the Green Cycle Lanes TV Commercial
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- Safety and Road Rules
New South Wales:
- NSW Road Traffic Authority, November 2005, Road User Handbook, NSW Government, Sydney
Visit Site - NSW Road Traffic Authority, website, Bicycle Riders
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This is the NSW RTA’s cycling homepage. It hosts:- Bicycle Laws and Penalties
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- A pamphlet Safe Riding: a guide to safe cycling that identifies some common road rules
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- Bicycle Laws and Penalties
- Marrickville-South Sydney Bicycle Group (MASSBUG), 2001, The Bike Saint’s Favourite Road Rules, MASSBUG, Sydney
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A NSW bicycle users' guide to selected rules relating to bikes, wheeled recreation devices and pedestrians.
Northern Territory:
- Northern Territory Government - Transport Group, Driving in the Northern Territory: Road Users' Handbook, DPI, Darwin
Visit Site - Northern Territory Government - Transport Group, website, Safe Cycling brochure
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Queensland:
- Queensland Transport, 2006, Your keys to driving in Queensland (No 9), Queensland Government, Brisbane
View PDF - Queensland Transport, website, Bike Safety
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This website hosts information on Queensland’s:- Keep your head in a helmet public education campaign
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- Share the road public education campaign
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- The Share the Road TV Commercial
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- Keep your head in a helmet public education campaign
- Queensland Transport, website, Cycling
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This is Queensland Transport cycling home page. It hosts detailed information regarding road rules at Road Rules for Cyclists
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South Australia:
- Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, 2007, The Driver's Handbook, 8th Edition, Government of South Australia, Adelaide
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South Australian Government Road Safety Education Taskforce, website, Road Safety,
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- This website hosts information on
SA’s Share the Road
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Safer Cyclists
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Safe Routes to School Program
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- This website hosts information on
- SA Police’s Bike Safety program, amongst many other resources Visit Site and Visit Site
Background on and further resources from this campaign can be found through the following pages maintained by the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (SA):- Share the Road Campaign
Visit Site - Cycling publications
Visit Site - Cycling and the Law
View PDF - The SA Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure cycling homepage, Cycling, Visit Site also hosts a number of safety relevant pages.
- Share the Road Campaign
- University of Adelaide, Centre for Automotive Safety Research - "Road courtesy and road safety", CASR Report Series, CASR 044, April 2008.
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The Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has released a report that explores road courtesy and campaigns to promote road courtesy. For the purposes of this report courtes, refers both to behaviors (the presence of some and the absence of others) and to the attitudes and habits of mind that accompany behaviors.
Tasmania:
- Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, 2006, Tasmanian Road Rules Book (Version 4), Government of Tasmania, Hobart
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Victoria:
- Vicroads, 2002, Driving in Victoria: Rules and Responsibilities, First edition, Vicroads, Kew, Victoria
Visit Site - Vicroads, website, Bicycles and Pedestrians
Visit Site - This is Vicroads cycling home page and leads to a number of relevant pages. Under Road Rules for Cyclists
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There are links to:- Bike Rack Number Plates
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- Part 15 – Additional Rules for Bicycle Riders
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of the Road RulesVictoria
View PDF - Cycling safety
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- Share the Road
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- Bike Rack Number Plates
- Bicycle Victoria, website, Responsible Riding
Visit Site - Bicycle Victoria, website, What are the rules?
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Western Australia:
- Department of Planning and Infrastructure, 2007, Drive Safe Book, Government of Western Australia
View PDF - WA Country Health Service, Midwest, website, Share the Road
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There is some information hosted here on an example of a Share the Road campaign run in a regional area. - Department of Planning and Infrastructure (WA), website, Cycling
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This is the Department of Planning and Infrastructure (WA) cycling home page. It Contains brochures on: - Cycling on Roads and Shared Paths
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New Zealand:
- Land Transport New Zealand, website, The Official New Zealand Road Code
Visit Site - Land Transport New Zealand, website, Share the road
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This is a great page which hosts resources on how to run campaigns related to speed, driveway safety, giving way and cycle courtesy. A great source document which cites good examples from New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere hosted by this site is: - Cambridge, S., Francis, T., 2006, Share the Road project examples: information on successful national and international projects, Land Transport New Zealand, Wellington
View PDF - Land Transport New Zealand, May 2007, Cycles: Road rules and equipment: Fact Sheet 01, New Zealand Government, Wellington
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International:
- Boston University - Cycling Safety
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To stay safe, know your rights and responsibilities as a cyclist. Everybody may be in a rush, but motorists must recognize that you belong on the road, and they should treat you with respect accordingly. At the same time, you should treat pedestrians with respect. You belong on the road, remember?
Better enforcement
Inadequate enforcement of cycling laws is counter productive to the promotion of cycling because:
It encourages unpredictable, unsafe and unlawful cycling behaviour among cyclists (and particularly amongst teenage groups);
It causes frustration for some motorists who see adult cyclists regularly breaking the on-road traffic laws without apparent penalty. This frustration may express itself in aggressive behaviour towards cyclists.
Gaining police and other emergency service participation in cycling is a good way to ensure the cycling rules are better enforced and the needs of cyclists are better understood.
Some relevant resources or organisations include:
Australia:
- Amy Gillet Foundation
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The Amy Gillett Foundation's primary objective is to reduce the incidence of injury and death caused by the interaction between cyclists and motorists. - Wheels of Justice
Visit Site - A national organisation established after the hit and run case involving Eugene McGee
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Wheels of Justice seeks better enforcement of existing traffic laws to protect the safety of all road users. - Bicycle Victoria, website, Bicycle Victoria position: Road rules
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Outlines Bicycle Victoria’s position on establishing a hierarchy of penalties for cyclists that puts more emphasis on prevention, and a good approach for police in dealing with cyclists. - Cycling Promotion Fund, Bicycle Patrols in Emergency Services
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This fact sheet provides an overview of the use of bicycle patrols in Australia and their benefits.
International
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, website, The Bicyclist
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A good outline of issues with enforcement of cyclists. - Law Enforcement Bicycle Association
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A comprehensive source of information and training on all aspects of police bike patrols.
Other cycling injury prevention educational resources
- Bluejay, M., How to Not Get Hit by Cars, with modifications for Australia
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A key feature of most cycling training courses, for adults or children, will be defensive riding. Adapted from a US page How not to get hit by cars http://bicyclesafe.com/, this page provides diagrams and advice on how to avoid common accidents. - Women's Cycling Network, website, Baby on board: a guide to riding with babies and toddlers,
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A useful guide to safely carrying kids on (or behind) your bike, set out like a Frequently Asked Questions page. - Pedal Power ACT, Avoiding Cycling Injuries
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Occupational Health and Safety advice for cyclists.
Adaptation to safety hazardsHelmets
All Australian jurisdictions have been committed to mandatory cycle helmet laws since 1992, and in New Zealand since 1994. There is little doubt in the mind of relevant authorities that the effect of these laws has been beneficial, particularly since the review conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in 2000 (see below). There are others who claim mandatory helmet laws decrease cycling participation (and the health benefits thereby gained) and have not been proven to decrease cycling mortality or injury rates. Relevant resources include:
Australia
- Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, 1996, AS/NZS 2063:1996: Pedal cycle helmets
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Specifies basic performance requirements for impact attenuation, strength of the retention system and its attachment points. Includes peripheral vision clearance for lightweight protective helmets intended to mitigate the adverse effects of a blow to the head. Marking requirements are also proposed. Make sure to note Amendment No. 1
Visit Site - Attewell, R., Glase, K., McFadden, M., 2000, Bicycle helmets and Injury Prevention: A Formal Review, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Canberra
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In this report, bicycle helmet efficacy is quantified using a formal meta-analytic approach based on peer-reviewed studies. Though several reviews have already been published advocating the use of helmets, this approach provides summary estimates of efficacy in terms of head injury, brain injury and facial injury based on studies of cyclists involved in crashes in which injury and helmet information is available for each individual. The report concludes that the evidence is clear that bicycle helmets prevent serious injury and death. - Hendrie, D., Legge, M., Rosman, D., Kirov, C., 1999, An economic evaluation of the mandatory bicycle helmet legislation in Western Australia, Road Accident Prevention Research Unit, University of Western Australia
Visit Site - Scuffham P., Alsop J., Cryer C., Langley D., 2002, Head injuries to bicyclists and the New Zealand bicycle helmet law, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Volume 32, pp.565-573 (the purchase of this article is required from Science Direct
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This study examines the effect of helmet wearing and the New Zealand helmet wearing law on serious head injury for cyclists involved in on-road motor vehicle and non-motor vehicle crashes. Results indicated that there was a positive effect of helmet wearing upon head injury and this effect was relatively consistent across age groups and head injury (diagnosis) types. - Monash University Accident Research Centre
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The Accident Research Centre is a leading Australian injury prevention and control research institute. Its charter includes safety in all modes of transport, in the workplace, in the community and in the home. Located in the Victoria where compulsory bicycle helmet laws were first introduced in Australia, it conducted a large amount of research on helmet usage and efficacy in injury prevention in the early and mid 1990s. - Robinson, D.L., 2006, No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets, BMJ, Volume 332, p.722-725
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As a key Australian proponent of the anti-helmet argument, this editorial is the most recent summary of Robinson’s work on the helmet issue.
Innovation
- Lloyd Alter, 29 June 2009, "Lightlane Is Going from Gleam To Reality", Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
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I loved the idea of Lightlane when I wrote You Shall Have Bike Lanes Wherever You Go, but thought of it more as a conceptual project rather than a real product. No more; the response was so terrific that they are putting it into production. - April Streeter, 29 June 2009, "eCycleway - Safe Urban Cycling or Dangerous Segregation?", Sweden: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
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Designer Christopher Rusay hopes his design for an elevated lego-like cycleway, put together of recycled polyethylene pieces and recycled aluminum struts attached to existing lamp and electricity poles could help cities create and extend cyclist networks (and simultaneously, perhaps, reduce tension between autoworld and bikeworld).
High Visability Clothing
- Benefits of high-visability clothing
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A recent study from New Zealand of 2469 cyclists and their self-reported crashes in the preceding 12 months. The conclusions were that use of high-visability clothing is a simple intervention that may have a large impact on the safety of cycling, both in terms of the risk of crash-related injury and subsequent time off work. Details of the study 'Conspicuity and bicycle crashes: preliminary findings of the Taupo Bicycle Study'.
Bicycle Helmets
- Lloyd Alter, 2 July 2009, "Folding Bike Helmet Fits in Your Pocket or Purse", Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
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When in France recently I rarely saw a bicycle helmet, ce n'est pas chic. But designers Caroline Journaux & Adrien Guerin are working on one that can fold up and be put away in your pocket or purse. That makes a lot of sense if you ride a Vélo bike in Paris, since you only have a bike when you need it and would otherwise be carrying a helmet around a lot. I don't know if it would pass a Snell test but I like the idea. - April Streeter, 14 May 2009, Yakkay Gives You at Least Five Reasons You Might Want to Wear a Helmet, Sweden TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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I know, I know. In spite of what we've said, the helmet debate will never be over - it is paper versus plastic all over again, except with the added fear factor of saving (or not) the contents of your precious brain if your head is involved in an accident. Whatever you decide to do helmet-wise, don't let it stop you from riding! Safety for cyclists increases when there are more of us out there cycling. So for city riding, why not at least consider these five reasons to wear? - Lloyd Alter, 13 May 2009, Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic on Bicycle Helmets, or Lack Thereof, Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
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So many people think helmets are ineffective, and they certainly didn't do much good in Star Wars. They also suggest that wearing helmets reduces the rate of ridership, but we covered that here, that is a discussion about bicycle helmet legislation, not bicycle helmets. If you don't want to wear one, fine. - April Streeter, 18 February 2009, Helmet Head Takes on New Meaning, or Another Way to Warm Up Winter Bike Commutes, Sweden TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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No matter what anyone says, it's impossible for the vast majority of humans to look good in a bike helmet. That why gorgeous adult Danes (children must wear helmets) tend to just say no!
It's nice to know that daring designers like Riding Pretty's Shelly Shroeder are out there finding ways other than plastic flowers and stickers to transform bicycle fashion. Shroeder's video is from last year, and is a prototype - since then she's done to-order helmet covers that harken back to the days when women riding bikes tended to swathe themselves head to toe to ride. Shroeder keeps coming up with new implementation of her helmet covers like the rain-proofing version above. She's also got a blog to talk about bicycle fashion and its lack. - Bonnie Alter, 16 May 2008, Beautiful Bike Helmets, UK: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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Beautiful and bicycle helmet seems like an oxymoron but here's proof that it doesn't have to be. With Bike to Work Days being celebrated, pretty cycling hats likes these prove there is no excuse not to wear one with pride in front of your fellow workers and bikers. They are designed by an eco-conscious Japanese-born designer who got fed up with looking terrible on her bike so she created her own collection of helmets that are funky and still meet all the safety requirements. The helmets are factory-made and decorated with carefully chosen feminine, delicate colours and have "diamond" trimmed chin straps. The designs are cleverly positioned on the back and on the left-hand side so drivers and pedestrians can admire you as you go. Helmets are available in a full range of lovely colours and there is a "designer" label on the back of each one.
International
- Land Transport New Zealand, website, Cycle and Cycle Helmets
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This is a study guide to some of the resources available on the cycle helmet issues. It is intended to be an introduction to the issues and a starting point for further research. - Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation, (UK)
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The Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation is an incorporated body with an international membership, the object of which is "to undertake, encourage, and spread the scientific study of the use of bicycle helmets, in the context of risk compensation and sustainable transport". Their web site captures a large amount of research on the issue of helmet usage by cyclists. - Bicycle Safety Helmet Institute, (US)
Visit Site - This is the web site of the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association
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It is a non-profit consumer-funded program acting as a clearinghouse and a technical resource for bicycle helmet information. It provides a Toolkit for helmet programs Visit Site and an email newsletter. - The Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, (UK)
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The Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust is committed to saving young people’s lives by promoting safe cycling and, in particular, the use of cycle helmets. A good web site for school children.
Dealing with or reporting harassment, traffic incidents or other hazards
Gaining feedback from users is the best way of getting feedback on safety problems. Web based bicycle hazard or incident report forms directed to relevant road authority or local jurisdiction are common but not universally used in Australia and New Zealand. Some samples are included below:
- Roads and Traffic Authority, 2005, NSW Bicycle Guidelines, Government of New South Wales, Sydney
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Section 10.1.1 (p.75) is on Road/Path user facility defect reporting systems. A sample Bicycle Facility Defect Report card is featured in Fig 10.1. - Department of Planning and Infrastructure (NT), website, Report a problem
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Hosted via the Department’s Cycling
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home page, this site allows electronic reporting (and hence condition monitoring) of potholes or other damage, obstructions, debris or litter on all bike paths maintained by the territory, not local governments. - Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s (WA), website, Reporting a hazard can help the entire community
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Again hosted through the Cycling Visit Site home page, this page has a range of factsheets to make cycling easier and more enjoyable. It includes a link to a Hazard Report Form Visit Site - Pedal Power ACT, website, Harassed by a motorist?
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This page outlines a useful approach to dealing with aggressive motorists. In instances where the jurisdictional process is not widely known or well documented, Bicycle User Groups may fill the gap.
Pedal Power ACT Inc Visit Site hosts a number of other useful pages relevant to this section, a good example being Report a Hazard or Maintenance Problem
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Pedal Power advises that the Department of Urban Services will clean up broken glass when reported and provides relevant phone numbers to ring or feedback websites
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