8 Ways to Demand Safer Streets for Bikes

All but one state have some kind of ban on texting while driving (looking at you, Montana), but a 2014 study found that those laws lead to only a 3 percent reduction in traffic fatalities (possibly because many people do it anyway). Technology that prevents drivers from texting while driving will likely be more effective, said former People for Bikes president Tim Blumenthal. That technology exists (the app Cellcontrol, for example, which you can program to disable functions like texting while the car is in motion). And the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recently announced design guidelines for car and phone companies to create a kind of “Driver Mode” that’s akin to airplane or do-not-disturb settings. Given that the guidelines are voluntary, it may take more assertive measures to get companies to fall in line.

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Today, a little more than 30 states require driver’s ed for motorists under 18. The courses are generally good, but could be better. In several state curriculums, “dooring” is never mentioned despite being a significant cause of cyclist crashes. Instead, all states should be calling out the problem like New Mexico does and recommending a specific solution: the Dutch Reach, a simple behavior where drivers open their door with their right hand when parallel parked, which twists them in the seat so they can better see overtaking traffic like cyclists. If your state or school district doesn’t have a program, it’s worth lobbying for.

In 2014, the League of American Bicyclists conducted a study of media reports and found that in more than 600 documented cyclist deaths in 2012, just 12 percent of the drivers involved were punished. That may be in part because only 10 states have Vulnerable Road User (VRU) laws (an 11th is under consideration in Florida, and many states have statute language for aspects like three-foot passing laws and harassment). VRU laws help ensure equal protection for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists when they’re struck by drivers. They usually specify minimum fines rather than jail time, but they do help increase awareness and offer guidance to law enforcement about how to cite the driver if they’re at fault. If your state doesn’t have a VRU, contact your local or state bike advocacy group and ask how you can help them campaign for one.

“There are more safe places to bike in this country than there used to be,” Blumenthal said. “But we don’t have enough interconnected systems. A single bike lane or ‘Share the Road’ sign won’t meaningfully increase ridership.” What will, he says, is changing the message of bike advocacy from “cars-are-the-enemy” to “bikes-are-the-answer.” A 2019 study from the University of Colorado tracked safety statistics in 13 U.S. cities and found that protected bike lanes actually helped reduce crash rates not just for cyclists, but for drivers too, and that the lanes themselves are the most probable reason for the change. Businesses want communities with amenities that attract workers; when workers see rideable communities as valuable assets, their employers do too, and push for them. Politically, bikes should be positioned as a solution to problems like traffic, parking, and pollution. “Instead of saying what government can do for bike riding, we say ‘Here’s what bike riding can do for your community,’” Blumenthal said. How can you help? Join local bike advocacy groups, attend city council meetings where transportation is discussed, and speak with your employer about incorporating cycling into its commuting and health incentives for employees.

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One reason cyclists don’t get more respect is we don’t consistently uphold our own responsibilities as road users. You see the culprits: riders who pedal against traffic, blow through stop lights, roll stop signs when other traffic is present, or sprawl across the road in packs, oblivious to cars stuck behind them. That breeds calls for cyclists to take road tests or pay a use tax. Those will be much less powerful if we are better ambassadors.

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Program the nonemergency police and state patrol dispatch numbers into your cell contacts. If you’re harassed, call in a report giving the best description you can of the vehicle, license plate, occupants, incident, and direction the harasser is headed. (If you’re in imminent danger, call 911 instead.) Use a POV or cell phone camera if you can; the evidence is usually admissible in court. Yes, the chances the police will find, let alone punish, your harasser are low. But in some states, state patrol reports are entered into a database. In Colorado, if the same license plate number comes up three times, the driver gets a warning letter including details of the incidents.

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Drivers are responsible for paying attention, period. But there’s a grain of truth in that teeth-grinding refrain drivers often fall back on when they hit cyclists: “I didn’t see him.” So be seen. A study from Denmark published in 2013 found that riders with daytime running lights were 19 percent less likely to be hit by drivers than a control group without. Fluorescent and reflective materials also dramatically improve drivers’ ability to see us from farther away (which gives them more time to react). But you needn’t be swathed head to toe in screaming yellow. Research from Clemson University’s Vision Perception and Performance Lab suggests that adding fluorescent colors at the feet/ankles, knees, and wrists helps create what’s called “biomotion,” which helps drivers accurately recognize us as human as opposed to a stationary object.

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There’s some evidence to suggest safety in numbers—and evidence to back it up. In 2003, a study in the journal Injury Prevention examined data from 68 cities in California and 14 European countries and found that when the number of cycling trips doubles, the injury rate per capita drops by a third, when adjusted for the rise in trips. Newer studies have yielded similar results. For example: A 2016 study in Hong Kong found that the benefits even accrue at the neighborhood level, suggesting that when drivers see more cyclists in a particular part of town, they drive more carefully there.