{"id":201257572,"date":"2011-05-19T08:52:52","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T08:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201257572"},"modified":"2011-05-19T08:52:52","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T08:52:52","slug":"nhtsa-says-share-the-road-sign-sends-mixed-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201257572","title":{"rendered":"NHTSA says &quot;Share The Road Sign&quot; sends mixed messages"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>[B&#8217; Spokes: This seems rather timely after our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimorespokes.org\/article.php?story=20110514143209808\">alert that Maryland is trying to assert a third meaning behind Share the Road signs, or is that a trick question?<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><big><big><br \/>\nTo:   The Motoring Community<\/p>\n<p>From:  Paula Bawer RN, MA<br \/>\nBicycle Safety and Safe Routes to School Program Manager<br \/>\nNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)<\/p>\n<p>That yellow, diamond-shaped sign with a black silhouette of a bicycle in the center and the<br \/>\nwords, &#8220;Share the Road&#8221; is not just a sign. It\u2019s a concept adopted to foster safety and respect<br \/>\nbetween motor vehicle operators, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and truck drivers.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s not unusual for emotionally charged comments to surface from motorists and<br \/>\nbicyclists.<\/p>\n<p><b>Motorists\u2019 perspective:<\/b><br \/>\n <br \/>\n<\/big><\/big><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><big><big>Bicyclists need to stay off the roadway and ride on the sidewalk where they belong.<\/big><\/big><\/li>\n<li><big><big>If bicyclists want respect, they need to show respect and follow the rules of the road.<\/big><\/big><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><big><big><br \/>\n<br \/><b>Bicyclists\u2019 perspective:<\/b><br \/>\n<\/big><\/big><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><big><big>Bicycles are vehicles \u2013 just like cars, motorcycles and trucks. I have the right to ride on the<br \/>\nroad.<\/big><\/big><\/li>\n<li><big><big>The \u201cShare the Road\u201d sign means it\u2019s okay for me to ride on roads. Vehicles are supposed<br \/>\nto make room for me.<\/big><\/big><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><big><big><br \/>\n<br \/>These sentiments illustrate the need to heighten awareness and personal responsibility for<br \/>\nmotorists and bicyclists. Many motorists believe bicycles belong only on sidewalks and bike<br \/>\npaths, when in fact bicyclists are granted the legal right to ride on a roadway even when a bike<br \/>\nlane or path is present.  However, it\u2019s also important to note that bicyclists must follow the same<br \/>\ntraffic rules as drivers of motor vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge lies in the lack of some road users\u2019 understanding of the \u201cShare the Road\u201d<br \/>\nconcept. Some motorists believe the term means that bicyclists should take up less space, give up<br \/>\nthe majority of the road, or get off the road completely. Many bicyclists believe that the term<br \/>\nmeans that motorists should treat them like drivers of a vehicle, allow them space on the<br \/>\nroadway, and yield the right of way.Interpretations are not always clear, but on a road where the rightmost travel lane is wide enough<br \/>\nfor a motor vehicle and bicyclist to travel side by side, the concept of &#8220;sharing&#8221; may seem<br \/>\neffortless and intuitive.  However, in locations where the rightmost travel lane is too narrow for a<br \/>\nbicyclist and a motorist to safely travel side by side, the Uniform Vehicle Code and many state<br \/>\nlaws require motorists to change lanes to pass, releasing cyclists from the need to ride &#8220;as far<br \/>\nright as practicable&#8221; restriction.<\/p>\n<p>Share the Road initiatives are typically designed to encourage motorists to be more aware of<br \/>\nbicyclists, to teach bicyclists that they must obey state and local laws, and to compel motorists<br \/>\nand bicyclists to respectfully operate on the same roadways.  Across the country, there have been<br \/>\nvarious strategies to raise public awareness about motorists and bicyclists safely sharing public<br \/>\nroads, including: public service announcements, billboards, pavement markings, and web-based<br \/>\nand public\/private events.<\/p>\n<p>Other successful traffic safety campaigns use a multi-prong approach: education in conjunction<br \/>\nwith enforcement efforts, engineering changes, and the passage of state and\/or local legislation.<br \/>\nAAA\u2019s national effort to reach motorists with Share the Road messages offers a unique<br \/>\nopportunity to encourage mutual respect among all road users. AAA continues to serve as a<br \/>\nvalued national partner with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and<br \/>\nmany other national organizations to save lives and prevent injuries on our nation\u2019s roadways.<\/p>\n<p>NHTSA is pleased to be included in AAA\u2019s unveiling of a national Share the Road campaign. As<br \/>\nAAA members you are encouraged to act with courtesy and caution when sharing the road, to<br \/>\nassist in reducing the number traffic-related injuries and fatalities on our nation\u2019s roadways.<\/p>\n<p>For information related to bicycle safety, please visit NHTSA\u2019s bicycle safety website at<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/Bicycles\">https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/Bicycles<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/big><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaaexchange.com\/Assets\/Files\/2011511161280.ShareTheRoad_NHTSA.pdf\">https:\/\/www.aaaexchange.com\/Assets\/Files\/2011511161280.ShareTheRoad_NHTSA.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This was found via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewashcycle.com\/2011\/05\/bikes-should-take-the-lane-says-aaa.html\">TheWashCycle<\/a>, which also highlights AAA Share the road page (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimorespokes.org\/article.php?story=20110405115751100\">our previous coverage<\/a>) but this bares repeating:<\/p>\n<p><big><b>&#8220;When a road is too narrow for cars and bikes to ride safely side by side, bicycles should take the travel lane, which means riding in or near the center of the lane.&#8221;<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Wow, wonder of wonders, the SAME advice to motorists as cyclists. But what do you think of Maryland&#8217;s approach of telling cyclists to ride in the middle of the lane (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelesscar.org\/page.php?id=182\">See &#8220;Roadway Riding&#8221; in this video by MDOT<\/a>.) but telling motorists (under &#8220;Rules for  Motorists&#8221; no less) that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mva.maryland.gov\/resources\/dl-002b.pdf\">A bicycle should be operated as close to the right side of the road as<br \/>\n<b>practical<\/b> and safe.<\/a> ? <em>(Note: Practical (per handbook) and practicable (per law) do not mean the same thing. That combined with the mistaken notion that &#8220;safe&#8221; means out of the way of cars and not in the center of the lane and well&#8230; it does not always work out well for the cyclists .)  <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[B&#8217; Spokes: This seems rather timely after our alert that Maryland is trying to assert a third meaning behind Share the Road signs, or is that a trick question?] To: The Motoring Community From: Paula Bawer RN, MA Bicycle Safety and Safe Routes to School Program Manager National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) That yellow, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201257572\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;NHTSA says &quot;Share The Road Sign&quot; sends mixed messages&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201257572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201257572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=201257572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201257572\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=201257572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=201257572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=201257572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}