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Bicycling: The SAFEST Form of Transportation

By Mr Money Mustache

Of all the objections I get from people about why they can’t ride a bike to get around, perhaps the most frustrating is the claim that bicycling is too dangerous. According to this line of reasoning, we all need the protection of a two-tonne steel cage in order to survive the trip to the office or the grocery store.

I’ve always felt that this was complete bullshit, ...

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycling-the-safest-form-of-transportation/
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Car crashes cost U.S. $300B a year: AAA

By MARK STRASSMANN, CBS News

Every hour, car crashes kill an average of four people on America's roads.

That's the human cost.

But, according to a triple-a study released Thursday, the financial cost of car crashes is just as stunning.

The study, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann, says crashes costs $300 billion a year -- three times more expensive than traffic congestion.

"Traffic crashes really need to be moved to the forefront of the American discussion as the public safety (and) health threat that they are," observes AAA spokesman Troy Green.

They pose a threat that's both tragic -- and expensive.

All-told, each traffic fatality costs an average of $6 million dollars -- everything from medical and emergency services to lost earnings. A traffic injury averages $126,000, and almost 33,000 people die every year on the nation's roads.

"If you took that and compared it to, say, aviation, it would take a small airliner falling out of the sky every day for 360 days for us to get close to that number," points out CBS News transportation safety analyst Mark Rosenker. "That's clearly unacceptable in aviation and it is clearly unacceptable on the highway."
....


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-crashes-cost-us-300b-a-year-aaa/
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You’re Going to Kill Someone

By Albert McWilliams

If you keep driving like that, you’re going to kill a cyclist. When you do, it’s going to suck as much for you as it does for them. When you drive by my head at 50 mph I can’t have this conversation with you, so I’m going to do you a favor and talk you through all of your arguments as to why you’re driving wrong (you are) and then you won’t end up killing a human. So read on; you’re welcome.

It’s not if it’s when. You are going to kill or seriously injure someone. You are. Someone’s father, brother, mother, daughter - you are going to end their life, forever, like permanently dead. You’ll be a murderer
...

http://albertmcwilliams.com/post/54015994028/youre-going-to-kill-someone
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THE FIVE WAYS ENGINEERS DEFLECT CRITICISM

Via Strong Towns [B' Spokes: Just the headlines]

1. YOU DON’T HAVE A VALID OPINION IF YOU’RE NOT A LICENSED ENGINEER.
2. THERE ISN’T ENOUGH MONEY TO DO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
3. WE CAN’T ELIMINATE ALL RISKS.
4. IT IS THE POLITICIANS THAT ARE TO BLAME. ENGINEERS JUST FOLLOW ORDERS.
5. THIS REALLY IS A MATTER FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, NOT ENGINEERING.

http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/10/5/the-five-ways-engineers-deflect-criticism
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Boston Globe Columnist Tweets Out History’s Dumbest Anti-Bike Rant

Via Streets Blog

...
JeffJacoby:
Bicycles don't belong in busy urban traffic. If we stop promoting such risky behavior, fewer tragedies will occur.
...

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/06/24/boston-globe-columnist-tweets-out-historys-dumbest-anti-bike-rant/

[B' Spokes: How many deaths by motor vehicle are there but somehow it's the once in a blue moon bicycling tragedy that gets called out. :/ ]
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COMMENT ON FHWA PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE 11 OF 13 CONTROLLING DESIGN CRITERIA

by Mark Plotz
-> Thirty years ago the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designated 13 controlling criteria for roadway design for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and safe operation of the National Highway System (NHS). State DOTs were also encouraged to adopt these standards and many did so because, well, bureaucracies are conservative and risk-averse. As a result, the 13 Controlling Design Criteria (CDC) became the law of the land, and whenever a designer wished to deviate from them, he/she had to enter into the process of requesting a formal design exemption, the outcome of which was uncertain—other than knowing it would add delay and cost to a project. The effect is that we got one-size-fits-all designs regardless of context or community wishes.

The Federal Highway Administration is revisiting the 13 criteria and is requesting comment on a proposal to eliminate all but 2 (Design Speed and Structural Capacity) for NHS roadways under 50 mph. Under this proposal it will be

Easier for designers to choose narrower lanes to find space for bicycle facilities or to reduce crossing distances for pedestrians.
Possible for designers to use narrower right of ways to avoid the high costs of land acquisition.
The likely beginning of the end of our wider, straighter and faster design paradigm (Horizontal Alignment, Vertical Alignment, Grade, Superelevation and Lateral Offset) that has yielded deadlier roads and enabled sprawl.
Should the proposed rule change become policy, the percentage of roads affected will be small. That said, the ripple effect could be huge if/when state DOTs follow suit—and why shouldn’t they, as these proposed changes could yield significant cost savings and myriad other benefits.

Be sure to tell FHWA what you think by December 7, 2015. You should write in. This is big. http://1.usa.gov/1KnCm3V

Additional reading:

"Evaluation of the 13 Controlling Criteria for Geometric Design," NCHRP Report 783, 2015. (http://bit.ly/1qsr8Rz)
"FHWA Reduces Barriers to Flexible Street Design," Project for Public Spaces, 2015. (http://bit.ly/1NTcIeZ)
"Design Flexibility for Stronger Communities," USDOT Fast Lane, 2015. (http://1.usa.gov/1Qmv3yA)
"When Livability Projects Meet Eisenhower-Era Design Standards," Streetsblog, 2012. (http://bit.ly/1W3npeb)
A final thought:
For the moment the 13 Controlling Design Criteria remain the de facto law of the land, but remember that under the status quo design exemptions are still a possibility. The Michigan DOT, which has embraced Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS), grants around 600 exemptions annually. The CSS process, which is endorsed by FHWA and AASHTO, is a collaborative, interdisciplinary and holistic approach to the development of transportation projects. For more detail, see http://bit.ly/1MIcBT1 .

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.
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NHTSA 2014 SUMMARY OF MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES

-> NHTSA released its "2014 Summary of Motor Vehicle Crashes" (http://1.usa.gov/291QBWd). The portion of nonoccupant (pedestrian, bicyclists, and other cyclists) fatalities increased from 13 percent to 18 percent between 2005 and 2014. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle crash every 108 minutes, and one is injured about every 8 minutes. Using 2010 data, the most recent available, the tangible economic cost for pedestrians' crashes is $11.5 billion and for bicyclists' crashes is $4.4 billion. The comprehensive costs, including quality of life factors, are $65 billion for pedestrians' crashes and $21.7 billion for bicyclists' crashes. http://1.usa.gov/291QBWd


from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.
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The little yellow bicycle button that gets the attention of city leaders

By Paul Mackie, and Adam Russell, Mobility Lab

Swedish company Hövding – best known for its bicycle airbag-helmet, which was explosively modeled at a Transportation Techies meetup in 2015 – is back in the news with the release of another bike product that puts a modern spin on a classic function.

The yellow handlebar buttons, called “Flic” buttons, combine the best of so many things needed to advocate for safer bicycling streets: a practical technology that allows riders to easily take action and note where they feel unsafe.
...

http://mobilitylab.org/2016/06/15/yellow-bicycle-button-attention-city-leaders/?utm_content=bufferfa5d4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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Program lets Boston commuters drive some, cycle the rest

By BOB SALSBERG, Tucson.com

BOSTON (AP) — Traffic is crawling bumper to bumper on Soldiers Field Road, a major artery leading to Cambridge and downtown Boston, as Mark Rabinsky parks his car near the Charles River, takes out his bike and prepares to cycle the rest of the way to his job at Harvard University.

"My ride is all along the river. It's such a beautiful ride every morning," said Rabinsky, one of a small but growing number of commuters who avoids the last few miles of rush hour gridlock by utilizing Park & Pedal.
...

http://tucson.com/lifestyles/program-lets-boston-commuters-drive-some-cycle-the-rest/article_3c8af680-65fb-5596-b86c-d12b343e4fa5.html
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