Special Report: Who's to blame - drivers or cyclists?

Generally there is not a lot of interest locally in our Bike Elsewhere topic but occasionally I like to take stats mentioned in an article from somewhere else and contrast them with Baltimore City stats. And this one is a real shocker!

There has been a lot of buzz in Portland, OR about police bias in reporting bicycle and motor vehicle accidents. This article makes a point that motorists, not cyclists are found more at fault in the Portland Metro area. So how do their ratios hold up to ours?

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Getting behind bicycle safety

<img width="160" height="92" align="left" src="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/images/articles/20071112224430367_1.jpg" alt="">A 20-mile Halloween ride by sumo bicyclists had motorists looking twice. Ken Webster, David Winnie, Kelley Hansen, Lance Anderson, Curt Doman and Elliott Smith put on inflatable sumo suits and helmets

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Bicycle Trails and Bridges Are Nice, But Changing Attitudes Would Be Better

PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll Finds Tensions Between Cyclists, Drivers

SEATTLE, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The greater Seattle region has a ways to go before becoming one of the country's great bicycling cities, according to the results of the 2007 PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll. And, the poll shows, some of the biggest challenges are not funding bike trails or signage, but changing attitudes and creating a spirit of sharing the road between cyclists and drivers.
...
&quot;There's still a lot of misunderstanding between riders and motorists,&quot; said Osterberg. &quot;Many times that misunderstanding fuels some dangerous encounters, like the road rage incident in Fremont a few days ago.&quot; In that incident, a motorist frustrated with a cyclist's use of a lane allegedly followed and harassed the cyclist with his vehicle. The poll shows why such a scenario can occur: only one out of every five Washingtonians (20 percent) believes that it is legal for bicyclists to ride two abreast, taking up an entire lane of traffic.

Two of the most important aspects of bicyclists' legal rights are the right to take an entire lane, and to ride two-abreast in a lane.

&quot;Drivers often get frustrated by that, but it's the law, and it's there to provide a margin of safety for the rider,&quot; Osterberg said.
...

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Bike map makes commuting safer

By Larry Walsh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, October 20, 2007

Riding from one Pittsburgh neighborhood to another can be challenging, even to those that are contiguous.

To make it easier -- and a bit safer -- Bike Pittsburgh, the Heinz Endowments and DeepLocal have teamed up to produce a new bike map of the city, the first in 15 years.
...
As a result, cyclists tend to ride the larger, arterial roads where they have to share the road with speeding motorists.

The new map, as much as possible, takes them away from all that by introducing them to alternative routes via back streets that &quot;are quite pleasant,&quot; said Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh.

&quot;Our goal is to make it simple for people to choose a bicycle to transport themselves,&quot; Bricker said.

But not all low-traffic routes are ideal alternatives for bicyclists, said Eric Boerer, Bike Pittsburgh's membership director. Some low-traffic routes are quite steep and others don't always connect neighborhoods.

&quot;Our hills and bridges give Pittsburgh its unique identity and beautiful views, but it also makes bike travel between neighborhoods intimidating, especially if you don't know the milder side streets and how they connect to one another,&quot; Boerer said.

Bricker and Boerer said the new map contains graphic-style illustrations depicting safe commuting techniques, as well as the locations of major hills, landmarks and trails.

They said it also identifies and marks unavoidable stretches of road that are hazardous.

In conjunction with Bike Pittsburgh's mission to establish Pittsburgh &quot;as a city that is increasingly safe, accessible and friendly to bicycle transportation,&quot; the map also provides information on who to contact to lobby for safer streets.

The new map was created by Bike Pittsburgh and funded by the Heinz Endowments.

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)