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Canadian study finds segregated cycle lanes also reduce collisions on adjacent streetsToronto cycle lane (via StreetView)

Canadian study finds segregated cycle lanes also reduce collisions on adjacent streets

Drop in collision rate may be due to rise in number of cyclists
by Alex Bowden
Sat, Dec 14, 2019 16:35
3

A new study published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention has found that not only do segregated cycle lanes encourage more cycling and decrease the risk of collision for those who do so, they also reduce the chances of collisions in nearby areas where there are no cycle lanes.

Canadian Cycling Magazine reports that researchers looked at the number of cyclist-motor vehicle collisions in areas of Toronto where segregated lanes had been added.

While they found a twofold increase in the number of collisions after cycle lanes had been put in, after accounting for the resultant increase in cycling volumes stemming from the cycle lane’s presence, this actually amounted to a 38 per cent reduction in the collision rate.

They also found that on streets that were between 151m and 550 m from the new cycle lanes, there was a 35 per cent reduction in collision rates.

The researchers termed this a ‘safety halo effect’.

It may well be that the impact is to a great extent down to an increase in the number of cyclists with a number of studies indicating that there is indeed such a thing as safety in numbers.

It is thought it is partly because riders become more ‘visible’ to drivers, and also because drivers are more likely to be cyclists themselves.

A 20-year study, completed in 2017, concluded that the growing number of cyclists on New York streets was a likely contributor to improvements in cycling safety.

The New York Department of Transport’s research indicated that the number of cycling trips in the city rose from 51m a year in 1996-2000 to 134m a year in 2011-2015.

The latter period saw an average of 12.8 cyclist fatalities per 100 million bicycle trips, compared to 44.2 cyclist fatalities per 100 million trips between 1996 and 2000 – a decline of 71 per cent.

The same study found that there was a drop in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in areas covered by the city’s bike-share scheme.

academic study
Toronto
Canada
cycle tracks
segregated cycle lanes
Safety in Numbers
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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3 comments

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CyclingInBeastMode | 5 years ago
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if you check the rates of pedestrian and motorist KSIs they have also dropped substantially between 2001-2017, using 5 year averages is not helpful, particularly when those periods are 20 years apart and not compare them to reductions in ped/motor KSIs

Pedestrian deaths went down from 194 in 2001 to 107 in 2017, likewise 15800 to 10800 ped injuries, all the whilst with a significant increase in footfall, cycling deaths or injuries haven't dropped anywhere near as much.

2019 has been a particularly bad year for KSIs including people on bikes, 90% increase at the start of the year of fatalities for all road users and has remained garbage well into the summer.

It's easy to massage the numbers to hide the reality.

 

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jestriding replied to CyclingInBeastMode | 5 years ago
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CyclingInBeastMode wrote:

if you check the rates of pedestrian and motorist KSIs they have also dropped substantially between 2001-2017, using 5 year averages is not helpful, particularly when those periods are 20 years apart and not compare them to reductions in ped/motor KSIs

Pedestrian deaths went down from 194 in 2001 to 107 in 2017, likewise 15800 to 10800 ped injuries, all the whilst with a significant increase in footfall, cycling deaths or injuries haven't dropped anywhere near as much.

2019 has been a particularly bad year for KSIs including people on bikes, 90% increase at the start of the year of fatalities for all road users and has remained garbage well into the summer.

It's easy to massage the numbers to hide the reality.

 

 

Yet your table shows cycling KSIs have dropped about  three quarters from 83.7 per hundred million trips to 20.4 over a 17 year period...

 

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to jestriding | 5 years ago
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jestriding wrote:

CyclingInBeastMode wrote:

if you check the rates of pedestrian and motorist KSIs they have also dropped substantially between 2001-2017, using 5 year averages is not helpful, particularly when those periods are 20 years apart and not compare them to reductions in ped/motor KSIs

Pedestrian deaths went down from 194 in 2001 to 107 in 2017, likewise 15800 to 10800 ped injuries, all the whilst with a significant increase in footfall, cycling deaths or injuries haven't dropped anywhere near as much.

2019 has been a particularly bad year for KSIs including people on bikes, 90% increase at the start of the year of fatalities for all road users and has remained garbage well into the summer.

It's easy to massage the numbers to hide the reality.

 

 

Yet your table shows cycling KSIs have dropped about  three quarters from 83.7 per hundred million trips to 20.4 over a 17 year period...

 

But fatalities have gone _up_ over the same period. Am actually not sure what that means - more K, less SI. What's going on there?

Also you are talking about the table that only goes up to 2017, CIBM is talking about 2019.

Also I think the RTA KSIs are less important than the deaths due to pollution and inactivity, which are surely the more numerous downside of car-centric road design.

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