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The development of effective countermeasures to help prevent bicycling
crashes is hindered by insufficient detail on computerized state crash
files. Analysis of these data can provide information on where bicycling
crashes occur (city, street, intersection, two-lane road, etc.), when
they occur (time of day, day of week, etc.), and characteristics of
the victims involved (age, gender, injury severity, etc.). These data
cannot provide a sufficient level of detail regarding the sequence
of events leading to the crash.
In the 1970's, a methodology for typing bicycle crashes was developed
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to better define
the sequence of events and precipitating actions leading to pedestrian-motor
vehicle crashes. (1) In the early 1990's, this method was refined
and used to determine the crash types for more than 3,000 pedestrian
crashes in the States of California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota,
North Carolina, and Utah. (2)
A brief summary of the results showed the following:
• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial parallel paths,
either in the same direction or opposing directions, the three most
frequent categories of crashes were:
| Motorist
turning or merging into the path of a bicyclist (12.1
percent of all crashes). Almost half (48.8 percent) of these
crashes involved a motorist making a left turn in front of a
bicyclist approaching from the opposite direction.
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Motorist
overtaking a bicyclist
(8.6 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, 23 percent appeared
to involve a motorist who misjudged the space required to safely
pass the bicyclist.
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Bicyclist
turning or merging into the path of a motorist
(7.3 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 60 percent
involved a bicyclist making a left turn in front of a motorist
traveling in the same direction.
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• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial crossing paths,
the three most frequent categories of crashes were:
Motorist
failed to yield right-of-way at a junction
(21.7 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, more than a third
(37.3 percent) involved a motorist violating the sign or signal
and drove into the crosswalk or intersection and struck the bicyclist.
Bicyclist
failed to yield right-of-way at an intersection
(16.8 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 38 percent
involved a bicyclist who had stopped for a sign or flashing signal
and then drove into the intersection and was struck by the motor
vehicle.
Bicyclist
failed to yield right-of-way at a midblock location
(11.7 percent of all crashes). Almost half of these crashes (43.4
percent) involved a bicyclist riding out into the roadway from a
residential driveway.
In 1999, the crash typing methodology was incorporated into
a software product known as the Pedestrian
and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT) and is intended to assist
state and local bicycle coordinators, planners, and engineers with
enhancing bicycle safety. PBCAT accomplishes
this goal through the development and analysis of a data base containing
details associated with crashes between motor vehicles and pedestrians
or bicyclists, including the crash type that describes the pre-crash
actions of the parties involved. With the data base developed, the
software can then be used to produce reports and select countermeasures
to address the problems identified.
References
1. A Study of Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Accidents: Identification
of Problem Types and Countermeasure Approaches, Volume I (Publication
No. DOT HS-803 315), K.D. Cross and G Fisher, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, Washington, DC, 1977.
2. Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Types of the Early 1990's,
Publication No. FHWA-RD-95-163, W.H. Hunter, J.C. Stutts, W.E. Pein,
and C.L. Cox, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC, June,
1996.
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