Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Presentation: National Strategies for
Advancing Bicycle Safety

Summary: A presentation using slides prepared by Allen Muchnick for the Virginia Bike Walk Conference, Spring 2002, many years ago. Also available as a Word file.

National Strategies for Advancing Bicycle Safety

National Bicycle Safety Network, a public-private coalition

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, USDOT
  
  
• Federal Highway Administration, USDOT
  
  
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USDHHS
  
  
• Injury Prevention Community (Brain Injury Association, Education Development Center, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, National SAFE KIDS Campaign (now Safe Kids Worldwide), state and local health departments, American Automobile Association)
  
  
• Bicycling Community (Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, League of American Bicyclists, National Center for Bicycling and Walking, Washington Area Bicyclist Association/Thunderhead Alliance)
  
  
• www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike

National Bicycle Safety Conference

• To Create a National Bicycle Safety Plan
  
  
• Listing Goals, Strategies, and Action Steps to Reduce Bicycling Injuries and Deaths
  
  
• July 21-22, 2000, Washington DC
  
  
• Working Weekend Conference with 130 Invited Participants
  
  
• Five Themes: Motorist Behavior, Bicycling Education, Helmet Use, Legal System, Bicycle Facilities
  
  
• White Papers and Break-Out Sessions: UL style="list-style-type: none;"> Goal #1: Motorists Will Share the Road
  
  Goal #2: Bicyclists Will Ride Safely
  
  Goal #3: Bicyclists Will Wear Helmets
  
  Goal #4: The Legal System Will Support Safe Bicycling
  
  Goal #5: Roads and Paths Will Safely Accommodate Bicyclists

Goal #1: Motorists Will Share the Road

• Create a coordinated "Share the Road" public education campaign that can be adapted at the State and local levels.
  
  
• Amend the motor vehicle code to give precedence to bicyclists in the absence of overriding traffic rules.
  
  
• Include components on "safe bicycling" and "sharing the road" in driver education programs.
  
  

Goal #2: Bicyclists Will Ride Safely

• Create a national "Ride Safely" marketing campaign targeting bicycle riders.
  
  
• Encourage Statewide bicycle safety conferences to promote the National Strategies for Advancing Bicycle Safety.
  
  
• Expand school-based and community-based programs that teach bicycle safety to children and adult bicyclists.
  
  
• Educate community professionals on effective ways to promote safe bicycling.
  
  
• Motivate decision makers at all levels to adopt policies that promote safe bicycling
  
  

Goal #3: Bicyclists Will Wear Helmets

• Create a national bicycle helmet safety campaign.
  
  
• Create tools to promote and increase bicycle helmet use that can be adapted for use at the State and local levels.
  
  
• Assist States and communities that decide to address bicycle helmet use through State and local laws and enforcement.

Goal #4: The Legal System Will Support Safe Bicycling

• Improve the collection and quality of data concerning bicycle crash incidents, including both traffic and non-traffic sites.
  
  
• Create tools that help law enforcement officers enforce bicycle-safety traffic laws aimed at bicyclists and motorists.
  
  
• Promote the most promising enforcement efforts at those local sites where they are most likely to be effective.
  
  
• Encourage the court system to follow through on bicycle safety enforcement by imposing meaningful penalties for both motorist and bicyclist violations.
  
  

Goal #5: Roads and Paths Will Safely Accommodate Bicyclists

• Document and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of facility design options.
  
  
• Improve 100,000 miles of roadways that serve everyday travel by providing striped bicycle lanes and other safe bicycling facilities.
  
  
• Train professionals responsible for the planning, design, and operation of the transportation system to better consider and accommodate bicycle travel.

A Call to Action-Implementation is Key

• 18 strategies are national in scope, local in application
  
  
• Not a Federal Government action plan
  
  
• Implementation requires funding, time, energy, and dedication by a large assortment of groups (89 action steps)
  
  
• NBSN is coordinating implementation (www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike)
  
  
• NBSN member organizations are initiating selected strategies
  
  
• Strategies are challenging but realistic in 3-5 years
  
  
• An evolving bicycle safety agenda
  
  

Implementation Activities

• NBSN--Grant Proposal for Implementation Coordinator
  
  
• NHTSA-Implementation grants ($250,000, dl: 5/15/02); new cycling videos (grades 5-9); Bikeability Checklist (5/02)
  
  
• AAA-Identifying "share the road" activities of local motor clubs
  
  
• LAB-Bicycle Education Leaders Conference, June 3-5, 2002; Media outreach for sate bicycling; Safe Routes to School Working Group
  
  
• CDC-Literature searches for various strategies; NBSN website
  
  
• BHSI and SAFE KIDS (now Safe Kids Worldwide)-Disseminating information on successful helmet campaigns
  
  
• Thunderhead Alliance/CBC-Bike crash reporting practices
  
  
• FHWA-Graduate level, three-day, and one-day bicycle facility courses for highway engineers and planners