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All drivers of vehicles must cooperate - not compete - in order to share our public highways safely and efficiently. The most effective basis known for cooperating is to follow the Rules of the Road. The Rules do not discriminate by the size, power, or weight of vehicles, and are based on simple, uniform concepts adapted to the capabilities of human drivers. Empirical evidence and scientific analysis shows that bicycles have the operational characteristics of vehicles, and that their operators fare best when they follow the Rules of the Road and are respected by other users and roadway engineers as drivers of vehicles. This is the status quo in the traffic laws of every state. Bicycle driving works because it avoids the multitude of right-angle collision hazards experienced by pedestrians-on-wheels in favor of the superior visibility and predictability afforded by traveling with the flow of vehicles.
Segregation by vehicle type violates the fundamental principles of crash prevention and unfairly discriminates against bicyclists. Bicyclists have a legal - in fact constitutional - right to travel public roads and access every destination they service. Segregation should not be permitted except where there is scientifically valid evidence that the operational advantages significantly outweigh the disadvantages, and alternative access facilities are available. On most roads, speed positioning and/or courteous behavior by cyclists is sufficient to provide adequate convenience to faster vehicle operators. Bicycle drivers have a responsibility to operate in a visible and predictable manner in order to facilitate safe sharing of roads. However, cyclists are not obligated to provide a clear path for motorists to overtake immediately. The presence of a path for overtaking is a convenience for motorists, and may be provided with the assistance of courteous cyclists under the right conditions, but must never be considered a prerequisite for crash prevention. All drivers of vehicles are required to drive no faster than their sight distance allows for them to slow or stop to respect the right of way of other users on the roadway ahead. In places where ease of overtaking slow traffic is important to motorists, the roadway should be designed with appropriate width.
Cyclists are not at the complete mercy of other users and roadway engineers for their own safety. By acting predictably, following the rules of the road, staying alert to the actions of other drivers, being assertive, and being prepared to take evasive actions in those rare occasions where they are necessary, bicycle drivers find their travel to be reasonably safe and efficient on virtually every road. Doing this requires the rejection of the taboo that casts cyclists as inferior users of roadways, and development of a sense of entitlement to travel wherever one wants to go. Understanding the scientific principles of bicycle operation and accident avoidance, followed with the successful experience of using it in practice, is the best way to build this confidence. The empowerment of bicycle driving makes travel by bicycle more enjoyable and more convenient than any other known technique.
References
[1] Student Notebook, Effective Cycling Road I, First Edition, League of American Bicyclists, Washington, DC, 1996
[2] Moritz, W. Adult Bicyclists in the United States: Characteristics and Riding Experience in 1996. Transportation Research Record 1636: pp. 1-7, 1998.
[3] Wachtel, A. and Lewiston, D. Risk Factors for Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Collisions at Intersections; ITE Journal, September, 1994
[4] Forester, J, Effective Cycling, MIT Press, 1996.
Return to Part I
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