Batavia Bicycle Commission on Facebook

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Common Causes for Collisions with Bicycle The average cyclists can easily reach speeds of 10-15 mph. A car can reach much higher speeds than the average bicycle, and motorists often underestimate a cyclist’s speed. Collisions with bicycles are often a result. Intersections are the most common place for a cyclist to be involved in an injury causing collision(1). These collisions result from either underestimating the cyclist’s speed or not seeing the cyclist in the roadway. These scenarios include the Drive Out (or Right Cross), the Left Cross, and the Right Hook. The accompanying image highlights each of these situations and provides defensive driving tips for cyclists. Additional causes of vehicle-bicycle collisions include the Sideswipe (car passing too close), Rear Ending (car following too close), and Dooring (opening car door into path of cyclist). In the US, distracted driving resulted in a 30% rise in cyclist fatalities in the US from 2005 to 2010(2). A study by the NHTSA found that looking away from the road for as little as 2 seconds was enough time to significantly increase accident risk(3). Over the time it takes (5 seconds) to read or send a text, at 30mph a driver will cover 220 feet (3/4 the length of a football field) with their eyes off the road! Expecting to see cyclists on the road and knowing how to safely travel the roads with them will create much safer roads in our community. (1) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2012: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. Publication DOT HS 812 032. U.S. Department of Transportation, n.d. https://ift.tt/2QBiBXL. (2) Klauer, S. G., Dingus, T. A., Neale, V. L., Sudweeks, J. D., & Ramsey, D. J. (2006). The impact of driver inattention on near-crash/crash risk (3) NHTSA. Distracted Driving. https://ift.tt/3e8ohkV #BikeBatavia, #BikeSafety, #ShareTheRoad