No matter who has the right-of-way, when bicycles and vehicles collide, the cyclist always comes out second-best. We must do a better job of integrating cars, bikes and pedestrians to make everyone safer.
About 170 cyclists are involved in accidents in a typical 91原创 Island summer, says the Insurance Corp. of B.C. In the capital region, an average of 77 cycling accidents occur from May to October, but last year, that number jumped to 93.
Add to that the alarming, but not surprising, news that arrived for B.C.鈥檚 cyclists and pedestrians recently in a study from Simon Fraser University. The study, published in the 91原创 Journal of Public Health, looked at the fatality and injury rates for the three modes of transportation and found that cyclists and pedestrians are much more likely to be hurt than are car passengers. That鈥檚 hardly surprising, but health sciences assistant professor Meghan Winters, senior author of the study, says we can learn from it to make our roads safer.
The research looked at injury rates in B.C. not in relation to the population, but in terms of the number of trips made and the distance covered.
People in cars had a fatality rate of 9.6 per 100 million person-trips and .97 per 100 million kilometres. Cyclists鈥� fatality rates were 13.8 per 100 million person-trips and 2.60 per 100 million kilometres. Pedestrians tallied 14.7 per 100 million person-trips and 7.37 per 100 million kilometres. Comparisons with Europe show our numbers are much higher than those in many EU countries.
Winters said the health benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the risks of injury. However, it is possible to make roads safer for all. She suggested local governments can make walking and cycling safer through such methods as slowing vehicle speed limits, making drivers more aware of potential hazards, building sidewalks, installing street lights, placing crosswalks at frequent intervals and creating segregated bike lanes.
Victoria frequently wins praise as a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city, but that refers more to climate and attitude than it does to concrete steps to make cyclists and pedestrians safer. The Capital Regional District has big goals in its Pedestrian and Cycling Masterplan to expand the network of trails and on-road bike lanes for those who get around under their own power.
Separation and education are two of the safety keys in the CRD plan. Particularly where vehicle traffic is heavy, the plan calls for sidewalks and bike lanes separate from the vehicle lanes, to give everyone a safe place to travel. Education starting when children are young promotes safety and encourages people to get out of their cars.
Anything to do with bikes and cars is a flashpoint in Victoria. Drivers resent engineering changes that make it harder or slower to get around the city. Cyclists and pedestrians fear they are in danger from cars.
The new statistics show that fear is based in reality. It will take careful engineering and lots of consultation to bring those often-antagonistic groups together, but we have to make our roads safer for everyone who uses them.
