News: August 2010

This issue is all about cycling safety.CONTRIBUTED ARTICLESA note on the central stories of fatal and other cyclist accidents in Adelaide- by TP Hutchinson and VL Lindsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Piloting a Safe Cycle education program – by Eddie Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Encouraging safer cycling through the NSW BikePlan - by Lyndall Johnson and Matt Faber . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Cycling safety in the Australian Capital Territory – by Peter Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Cycling safety in Victoria – by staff of VicRoads, compiled by Juliet Reid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Australian Bicycle Council and the National Cycling Strategy – by Fiona MacColl...

Cyclists on footpaths The arguments between Motorists and cyclists continue with no end in sight. I am moved to write this after being hit by a car last Wednesday. (Re: Bums on Bikes, Write On, August 4) I am a cyclist and I run red lights frequently and will continue to do so as well as riding on footpaths. I do this not to deliberately annoy motorists but merely get from A to B safely in one piece.Roads are for cars and footpaths are for pedestrians therefore us cyclists are the “lepers” of the road caught in no mans land, were we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.Avoidance is the best policy when on a bike amongst traffic and if that means jumping the lights and riding footpaths to stay out of way of cars then so be it. However I am also a motorist so I can see the other point of view.Here’s an example. Whilst driving up Adelaide Rd from the John St intersection I...

Cycling is on the increase in New Zealand and although it is generally becoming safer, by following a few simple tips we can prevent crashes. Most cyclist and truck or bus collisions happen when vehicles turn left at traffic lights or other intersections.  Risk can be minimised if drivers and cyclists alike are aware of each other and behave responsibly.Tips for cyclistsCycle sensibly and assertively to help yourself stay safe. Recognise that truck or bus drivers may not be able to see you Never cycle up the left side of a truck or bus stopped at a junction  Look out for trucks or buses turning left from beside or behind you Don't stop too close to the front of a stopped truck or bus Take up a visible position at lights: three metres out in front and not by the left kerb or very close to the truck or bus About blind spots The blind spot can be the full length of the...

Chris Rissel says the helmet laws put people off riding bikes //--> A public health expert has called for laws making the wearing of bike helmets compulsory to be repealed, to encourage more people to ride bikes. Australia became the first country to make riding without a helmet illegal in 1991. Associate Professor Chris Rissel, from Sydney University's School of Public Health, says the greatest drop in head injuries was in the 80s - before the laws were introduced - because of road safety campaigns and speed controls. He says the number of head injuries has remained steady since then, creating a case to overturn the helmet law. "What it does is it puts people off cycling and makes people think that cycling's a dangerous activity, even though it's a really healthy thing to do and it increases people's physical activity," he said. "And you're seeing things like in the...

Some of you may have heard of "ciclovia", the car-free street events that originated in Bogota, Colombia. In Portland, Oregon, they're known as "Sunday Parkways" and they've been a hit there since the first one in 2008.Sunday Parkways take place at various locations throughout Portland about once a month, and involve closing off a loop of ~10km of streets for 5 hrs so that people can walk, ride, scoot, skate, whatever without the distraction of motor traffic (yes, if you're a local you can still access your house, although they encourage you not to drive if you can avoid it).Local street closures for Sunday Parkway in Portland (these are staffed by volunteers)Unlike many ciclovia, where main roads are closed down, Portland has opted to close off mostly local streets, including some routes along its "bike boulevards". Where the route crosses main streets, Police are...

Sami recently wrote about the new Sobi bike system; It is a wonderful concept, and very different from bike sharing systems we have seen in Paris, Montreal and other cities. Urban systems like Velib in Paris or Bixi in Montreal are expensive to set up and maintain. Sobi (Social Bicycle System) is a simpler system. CrunchGear explains that it is based on smart phone technology; instead of being attached to a fixed stand, it relies on GPS and mobile communications, and a big, secure lock that can attach to any bike rack, or any bike for that matter. It is really clever; the works are in the bike lock. Instead of going to a bike stand like you do in Paris, your smart phone or computer tells you where the nearest bike is. At night they are supposed to be returned to a hub location, and if you do not take it back, you get charged two bucks. But any other user can see where out-of-...

The single biggest road safety issue in New Zealand today is speed - drivers travelling too fast for the conditions.Lower speed limits don’t just save lives – they make NZ towns and cities better places to live (source: Simon Kingham in The Conversation, 2022)In 2008, excess or inappropriate speed was a factor in:* 34 percent of all road deaths (127 deaths)* 17 percent of all reported injuries from road crashes (2629 injuries).As well as road safety, reducing speeds has many benefits for our communities, including encouraging more walking and cycling. It is a cost-effective and popular option that many NZ towns and cities are adopting.Even a small reduction in speed has huge safety benefits.A 5% reduction in average speed delivers reductions of 25% in deaths, 15% in serious injuries and 8% in minor injuries.A cyclist or...

It's here and it's exciting: the new London Barclays Cycle Hire is open for business. Everywhere there are stands of shiny new bicycles just waiting to be ridden. And there are perplexed looking tourists and Londoners wondering how on earth they can get one. It's easy if you live here: for now only people with a registered address can become a member (membership has its privileges) the rest of the world will have to wait until later in the season. The only drawback is that when all is said and done, you are still riding on the streets of London and that is scary! First the system: after you register for membership you get an electronic key. You put the key in the slot, a light shines red if the bicycle is not available, amber while your details are being checked and green when they are recognized. Then you hoist the bike out. And they are heavy: each one weighs 50...

IBM (yes, the IBM) recently released a global study of traffic, surveying over 8,000 adult drivers in 20 major cities. Perhaps the results are not that surprising - traffic is perceived by drivers as getting worse in the last three years. Thirty percent of those surveyed felt increased stress while 27% reported increased anger. Twenty nine percent reported that traffic harmed their performance in work or school, and 38% reported having cancelled a planned trip due to anticipated traffic. So the two key questions are, why can't we get a grip on traffic, and why does IBM care about commuter pain and traffic patterns?Well, the answer to the first question is we haven't signficantly slowed our global patterns of purchasing cars and driving them. There are now around 750 million cars registered in the world, inching up toward one billion, and once people buy them, they drive them...