Month: April 2010

from Bikeleague.org Blog by Darren

To raise awareness about the dangers of driving while distracted, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has posted their distracted driving policy statement and frequently asked questions on their website.

The statement starts with this, “The primary responsibility of the driver is to operate a motor vehicle safely. The task of driving requires full attention and focus. Drivers should resist engaging in any activity that takes their eyes and attention off the road for more than a couple of seconds. In some circumstances even a second or two can make all the difference in a driver being able to avoid a crash.” The Frequently asked questions then offer a good summary of distracted driving’s risks and research.

On the whole it’s a good primer on distracted driving and worth reading, but I have one bone to pick. After a strong opening about how safe driving is a driver’s primary responsibility, the FAQs suggests that states take do something that diverts attention away from driver responsibility and can create a lot of problems for cyclists: installing rumble strips.

Here’s the offending passage:

States can take some steps immediately to reduce the risks of distracted driving. One example is installing rumble strips along roads to get the attention of drivers before they leave the roadway and/or deviate from their lane.

Rumble strips occupy the best part of the shoulder to bike on and can force cyclists onto the debris-ridden outer edge of the shoulder or into high speed travel lanes. The stimulus law has created greater urgency for cyclists to speak out against the proliferation of rumble stripping because the America Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) has provided funds that states can use to install rumble strips. (Google “ARRA rumble strips” for examples.) Plans for the strips stretch beyond interstates and limited access highways to slower otherwise bike-friendly roads and threaten thousands of miles of good bicycling routes.

Notwithstanding the insertion of rumble strips into the discussion, NHTSA has put together a strong statement on distracted driving. Again, it’s worth a read. And while you’re on the topic, you can check out our report, Distracted Driving: a Bicycling Advocate’s Resource.

~Darren Flusche
League Policy Analyst

Continue reading “NHTSA’s distracted driving policy and rumble strips”

Kristin Rushowy Staff Reporter
There is no such thing as free parking — even if you work at a parking lot.
While the Toronto Parking Authority put up a fine fight, it has lost its appeal to overturn a tax court ruling that says employees who park their own cars for free while on the job must claim it as a taxable benefit.
“You are hearing more and more of a taxable benefit being applied to parking,” said Gwyn Thomas, president of the parking authority, adding he wasn’t surprised by the ruling.
Employees park their personal vehicles at lots for a variety of reasons, he added.
“We have shifts — day shifts and night shifts — and employees parking in lots to work … it was all for business.”
But, if they park without paying, it’s a taxable benefit, the tax court has ruled.
….
Continue reading “No free parking — not even for parking lot employees”

from Streetsblog.net by Sarah Goodyear

Things would be different if bicycle safety training were elementary. (Photo: Bike Portland via Flickr)

This morning on Sustainable Savannah, a post about double standards.

John Bennett writes that at two recent meetings in Savannah about improved bicycle facilities, the discussion turned to unsafe cycling practices, such as wrong-way riding, riding without lights, and riding on sidewalks. While Bennett is concerned about those things as well, he wonders why discussions of investment in bike infrastructure almost inevitably turn to the question of unsafe cycling:

Are similar suggestions about combating unsafe driving ever prompted by discussions of new roadways? I can’t remember a single instance. All sorts of elected officials had all sorts of things to say at the groundbreaking for the fifth phase of the Truman Parkway last month, but did any mention the need to educate motorists about speeding or aggressive driving? Car crashes, too often resulting in fatalities, are a regular occurrences on the existing portions of the limited access freeway. Wouldn’t a groundbreaking ceremony present an excellent opportunity to warn about the dangers of distracted or impaired driving and call for new programs to better educate motorists who use the Truman Parkway?

Again, I appreciate any concern expressed for the most vulnerable road users, but I’m curious about the requisite safety discussions that accompany our conversations about bicycling. Is there a subtle expectation that as cyclists we must earn, through good behavior, any new infrastructure made available to us, no matter how small? Is this expectation self-imposed? I must admit, I’ve caught myself thinking (and sometimes saying) things along these lines. Meanwhile, as motorists we enjoy colossal new facilities ($67.5 million in the case of Truman Parkway Phase Five), without being asked to consider how to ensure their safe and responsible use.

I think part of the concern about safe riding practices stems from the lack of consensus — among people who ride and people who don’t — about just exactly what safe cycling is. Safe driving practices are far more standardized and codified, because driving is a mode of transport that every American is expected to use at some point in his or her life. People on bicycles are forced, because of a mishmash of infrastructure and regulations, to make things up as they go along. Which is why there is so much disagreement about the practice known as “salmoning.” (Speaking of which, what do you think of “zebras”?)

It doesn’t have to be like this, of course. In a country with extensive bike tradition and infrastructure, such as the Netherlands, citizens are educated from an early age about how to ride. This means that everyone knows what “safe cycling” means — people on bikes, people on foot and people in cars. And there’s no need to fret about “cyclist safety” every time a new bike path is built.

As you head into the weekend, give some thought to slowing things down. Both Boston Biker and Let’s Go Ride a Bike have posts today about the pleasures of riding at a more leisurely pace.
Continue reading “Why We Focus on Unsafe Cycling and Not Unsafe Driving”