Agenda - 02-22-1999 - d2b - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

A This plan should be updated periodically to determine the validity of its recommendations based upon future bicycle commuter forecasts. CYCLIST BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION The Orange County Sheriff's Department made the following observations about cyclist behavior in Orange County. As you will notice, both observations are about recreational cyclists and their programs. => Most of the cycling violations observed by the Sheriff's Department are cyclists riding two or more abreast on rural roads. Most of the cycling complaints received by the Sheriff's Department are due to "unannounced" Bicycle Races and Tours. One race organizer placed flyers announcing their race in the mailboxes along the race route and there were no complaints received about that particular cycling event. CURRENT CRASH DATA Orange County cyclist crash data is hard to retrieve and must be done by hand. Each and every accident record must be reviewed individually to determine if cycling was involved or mentioned in the accident or emergency room reports. Currently, neither the police nor hospital emergency rooms maintain cyclist crash data as a separate category. State -wide data from "1990 to 1994 there were 6,400 bicycle\motor vehicle crashes reported to the Division of Motor Vehicles, or about 1,280 per year" (Bicycling & Walking in North Carolina - A Long -Range Transportation Plan, Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, November 1996, page 41). Reprinted with the permission of John Forester is the following table from page 62 of his book Bicycle Transportation — A Handbook for Cycling Transportation Engineers: Table 5 -16 Factors Responsible For Cycling Injuries & Deaths This table clearly shows that increasing cyclist safety cannot be "engineered" alone. As cyclists cause one- half of all the their own injuries and deaths, an effective bicycle program would have to include trying to influence cyclist behavior through education, awareness and law enforcement. In order to target such a bicycle program to address Orange County specific behavioral and engineering deficiencies, accident reporting regarding cyclist crashes must be improved and made more extensive. B. 1995 Orange County Suitability Analysis & 1998 Bicycle Plan Component Task Force Route Assessments. (for full text of both documents see Section H. of the Bicycle Transportation Plan Supplement). Both documents indicate the following major deficiencies common in all of the proposed bicycle routes: => No cycling intersection treatments. =:> No cycling railroad crossing treatments. =- Inadequate bridge deck widths and low bridge rails. => Inadequate pavement surface maintenance. 9. 281 Percent Cyclist error 50 Road - surface defect 20 Motorist error 8 Bicycle equipment failure 6 Pedestrians 4 Dogs 2 Insufficient signal clearance 1 Road -design defect < 0.5 Road - capacity overload < 0.5 Undetermined 8 This table clearly shows that increasing cyclist safety cannot be "engineered" alone. As cyclists cause one- half of all the their own injuries and deaths, an effective bicycle program would have to include trying to influence cyclist behavior through education, awareness and law enforcement. In order to target such a bicycle program to address Orange County specific behavioral and engineering deficiencies, accident reporting regarding cyclist crashes must be improved and made more extensive. B. 1995 Orange County Suitability Analysis & 1998 Bicycle Plan Component Task Force Route Assessments. (for full text of both documents see Section H. of the Bicycle Transportation Plan Supplement). Both documents indicate the following major deficiencies common in all of the proposed bicycle routes: => No cycling intersection treatments. =:> No cycling railroad crossing treatments. =- Inadequate bridge deck widths and low bridge rails. => Inadequate pavement surface maintenance. 9. 281