Chicago Bicycle Crash Full Report Final

BicycleCrashAnalysisandReviewofTrends
CityofChicago,2005to2010
FinalReport
SiimSt,Ph.D.
LuGan
Piyushimita(Vonu)Thakuriah,Ph.D.ProjectLead
UniversityofIllinoisatChicago
MelodyGeraci
PatrickKnapp
ActiveTransportationAlliance
CharlieShort
ChicagoDepartmentofTransportation
November,2012
ThisreportwasgenerouslyfundedthroughagrantfromtheIllinoisDepartment
ofTransportation,andbytheCityofChicago.
BicycleCrashAnalysisandReviewofTrends,CityofChicago,2005to2010:FinalReport
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Disclaimer The analysis and views presented in this report are the sole
responsibility of the authors.
Acknowledgements
The research team is indebted to the help given by, Lori Midden of the Illinois Department of
Transportation, Parry Frank of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Tracie Smith of
the Childrens Memorial Hospital, Chicago, and Chrystal Price of the American College of
Surgeons. We are grateful to William Vassilakis, formerly at the University of Illinois at Chicago
and Dr. Caitlin Cottrill, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology National University of Singapore for their help with the project.
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TableofContents
Chapter1:KeyFindings...........................................................................................................1
Chapter2:Introduction,ReportObjectivesandOrganizationoftheReport............................3
2.1:Introduction........................................................................................................................3
2.2:ObjectivesoftheReport....................................................................................................3
2.3:OrganizationoftheReport.................................................................................................4
Chapter3:BackgroundandOverviewoftheBicyclingEnvironment........................................5
3.1:TrendsinBicycleUse..........................................................................................................5
3.2:NationalTrendsinBicycleSafety.......................................................................................6
3.3:BicycleSafetyinChicago....................................................................................................7
3.3.1:ChicagoBicycleSafetyTrends......................................................................................7
3.3.2:ChicagoBicycleCrashesComparedwithCrashesforOtherModes............................9
3.4:ChicagoversusSuburbanChicagoandtheRestofIllinois...............................................10
3.5:PeerCityComparisonofCyclingtoWorkandCrashes....................................................12
3.6:ComparisonwithOtherLargeCities................................................................................15
Chapter4:CharacteristicsofCyclistsInvolvedinCrashes......................................................18
4.1:BicycleUseandSafetyTrendsbyAgeandGender..........................................................18
4.2:EducationLevelofCyclists...............................................................................................25
Chapter5:VehiclesandOperatorsInvolvedinBicycleCrashes.............................................26
5.1:AlcoholandBicycleCrashes.............................................................................................26
5.1.1:BloodAlcoholContentofMotorists...........................................................................26
5.1.2:BloodAlcoholContentofCyclists...............................................................................27
5.1.3:HitandRunCrashes...................................................................................................28
5.2:AgeandGenderofMotorists............................................................................................29
5.2.1:AgeofMotorists.........................................................................................................29
5.2.2:GenderofMotoristsInvolvedinBicycleCrashes......................................................29
5.3:VehicleTypeandUse........................................................................................................30
5.4:DriverandVehicleManeuvers..........................................................................................34
5.5:Dooring..............................................................................................................................36
5.6:BicyclistActivity.................................................................................................................37
5.6.1:BicyclistAction............................................................................................................37
5.6.2:BicyclistLocation.......................................................................................................39
5.6.3:BicyclistHelmetUse..................................................................................................40
Chapter6:EnvironmentalFactorsandRoadConditions........................................................41
6.1:EnvironmentalFactorsduringCrashes.............................................................................41
6.1.1:WeatherRelatedFactors...........................................................................................41
6.1.2:LightConditions..........................................................................................................42
6.1.3:WeatherRelatedRoadSurface..................................................................................43
6.2:RoadwayEnvironment......................................................................................................43
6.2.1:RelationtoIntersections............................................................................................43
6.2.2:RoadDefects...............................................................................................................47
6.2.3:RoadwayTypeandNumberofLanes.........................................................................47
6.2.4:RoadwayClassification...............................................................................................49
6.2.5:TrafficSignalControl..................................................................................................50
6.3:WorkZones.......................................................................................................................53
Chapter7:TemporalDistributionsofCrashes........................................................................54
7.1:CrashesbyQuarter............................................................................................................54
7.2:BicycleCrashesbyMonth.................................................................................................55
7.3:CrashesbyDayofWeek....................................................................................................57
7.4:TimeofDay........................................................................................................................59
7.4.1:FatalCrashesbyTimeofDay......................................................................................59
7.4.2:InjuryCrashesbyTimeofDay....................................................................................60
7.4.3:DooringCrashes..........................................................................................................60
7.4.4:FatalandInjuryCrashesbyHour................................................................................61
7.5:SpecialEvents....................................................................................................................63
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Chapter8:SpatialDistribution..............................................................................................65
8.1:OverallSpatialDistributionofCrashes.............................................................................65
8.2:ChicagoCommunityAreas................................................................................................67
8.2.1:HighestandLowestNumberofBicycleCrashes........................................................70
8.2.2:PerCapitaCrashes:MappedbyCommunityAreas....................................................72
8.3:Hotspots............................................................................................................................73
8.4:MajorCrashCorridors.......................................................................................................76
8.5:MajorArterialHotspots....................................................................................................77
8.6:DooringCrashes................................................................................................................77
8.7:LandUsesnearCrashLocations........................................................................................79
8.7.1:SchoolsandUniversities.............................................................................................79
8.7.2:CentralBusinessDistrict.............................................................................................83
8.7.3:ResidentialNonCentralBusinessDistrict...............................................................84
Chapter9:SummaryandLimitationsoftheStudy.................................................................86
9.1:StudySummary.................................................................................................................87
9.2:Limitations.........................................................................................................................87
TechnicalAppendixA:DataandStudyArea..........................................................................89
A.1:Data...................................................................................................................................89
A.2:StudyAreaandPeerCities................................................................................................90
TechnicalAppendixB:BackgroundBicyclingSafetyTrendsandLiterature...........................93
B.1:BenefitsofBicycling..........................................................................................................93
B.2:OverallTransportationSafetyTrends...............................................................................94
B.2.1:TrendsinBicycleSafety..............................................................................................94
B.2.2:ChicagoAreaTrendsinBicyclingandBicycleCrashes...............................................96
B.3:RiskFactorstoBicycling:AReviewoftheSafetyLiterature.............................................96
B.3.1:CrashCausationandCrashRisk..................................................................................97
B.3.1.1:DynamicsofBicycleCrashes...............................................................................97
B.3.1.2:RiskFactorsContributingtoCrashInvolvement................................................99
B.3.1.3:ExposureBasedRiskEstimation.......................................................................102
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B.3.2:CrashSeverityandEffects........................................................................................102
B.3.2.1:FactorsDeterminingCrashSeverity.................................................................103
B.3.2.2:TypeofTraumaandExtentofInjury................................................................103
B.3.3:ComparativeStudies................................................................................................104
B.3.4:DataandInformationSystems.................................................................................105
B.3.5:CrashCountermeasuresandEvaluation..................................................................106
References...........................................................................................................................109
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ListofTables
Table31:Bicyclecrashesbytypeofinjuryandfatalities,CityofChicago,20052010................8
Table32:FatalandinjurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010................................................9
Table33:FatalitiesinIllinoisandindicesbynumberofbicyclecommutersandpopulation...11
Table34:Peercityfatalityindices,20052009...........................................................................14
Table35:Peercityfatalitiesbygender,2005to2010...............................................................15
Table36:Bicyclingandwalkingasmodeoftransportationtoworkinmajorcities,2010.......17
Table41:Gendermixofbicycling...............................................................................................18
Table42:Chicagobicyclingestimates,2007..............................................................................19
Table43:Genderofcyclistsinjuredinbicyclecrashes..............................................................19
Table44:Fatalitiesandinjurycrashesper100millionmilesoftravel......................................20
Table45:Bicyclingbyage,milesandminutesperday,2007*..................................................21
Table46:BicyclistfatalitiesbyageandgenderinCityofChicago,20052010.........................22
Table47:BicyclistsinjuredbyageandgenderinCityofChicago,20052010..........................23
Table51:Bloodalcoholcontentofdriversinvolvedinfatalbicyclecrashes.............................26
Table52:Apparentphysicalconditionofdriversinbicycleinjurycrashes................................27
Table53:BloodAlcoholContentofbicyclistsinfatalcrashes,2005to2010............................28
Table54:Knownageofdriverinvolvedinfatalcrash................................................................29
Table55:Genderofdriversinvolvedinbicycleinjurycrashes..................................................29
Table56:Vehicletypeinvolvedinbicycleinjurycrashes...........................................................30
Table57:Vehicleuseduringcrash.............................................................................................32
Table58:Driveractioninfatalcrashes,CityofChicago,20052010.........................................34
Table59:Driveractioninbicyclevehicleinjurycrashes............................................................35
Table510:Vehiclemaneuverpriortobicycleinjurycrashes.....................................................36
Table511:Allversusdooringbicyclecrashes,byinjurytype....................................................37
Table512:Bicyclistactioninfatalcrashes,20052010..............................................................37
Table513:Bicyclistactionininjurycrashes...............................................................................38
Table514:Bicyclistlocationinfatalcrashes,CityofChicago,20052010.................................39
Table515:Bicyclistlocationinbicycleinjurycrashes................................................................39
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Table516:Helmetuse,2005to2009.........................................................................................40
Table61:Weatherconditionsduringbicyclecrashes................................................................41
Table62:Lightconditionsduringbicyclecrashes......................................................................42
Table63:Roadsurfaceconditionsduringbicyclecrashes,20052010.....................................43
Table64:Bicycleinjurycrashesatintersections........................................................................43
Table65:Intersectionswiththegreatestnumberofinjurycrashes.........................................45
Table66:Roaddefects...............................................................................................................47
Table67:Locationrelatedfactorsforfatalbicyclecrashes,20052010...................................47
Table68:Roadwaytype..............................................................................................................48
Table69:Numberoftravellanes...............................................................................................49
Table610:FatalandTypeAcrashesbyroadwayclassification.................................................50
Table611:Allinjurycrashesbyroadwayclassification..............................................................50
Table612:Trafficcontroldeviceatfatalcrashes.......................................................................51
Table613:Trafficcontroldeviceatinjurycrashes.....................................................................51
Table614:Conditionoftrafficcontroldeviceatfatalandinjurycrashes.................................52
Table615:Injurycrashesinworkzones,20052010.................................................................53
Table71:BicycleinjurycrashesbycalendarquarterinChicago,20052010............................54
Table81:Bicyclecrashesandmilescycledinsixcommunityareaswiththemostcrashes......68
Table82:Fifteencommunityareaswiththehighestnumberofinjurycrashes........................70
Table83:Fifteencommunityareaswiththelowestnumberofinjurycrashes.........................71
Table84:Dooringcrashescomparedtoallinjurycrashesbymajorarterials,2010.................78
TableA1:CMAPsTravelTrackerSurveymodeshareforselectedmodes................................92
TableB1:Bicyclecrashliteraturecategories..............................................................................97
TableB2:Safetycountermeasuresandstrategiesusedincitiesandstates............................108
ListofFigures
Figure31:Numberofdailybicyclecommuters,CityofChicago,2000to2010..........................5
Figure32:Numberoffatalitiesbyselectedtransportationmodes,19952009........................7
Figure33:Numberofbicycleinjurycrashesper100,000population.........................................8
Figure34:Comparisonofpedestrianandbicycleinjurycrashes,2005to2010.......................10
Figure35:Bicyclistsasapercentofalldailycommuters,peercities,2010.............................13
Figure41:Ratioofmaletofemaleinjuryrates.........................................................................24
Figure42:Annualaverageinjurycrashrateper100,000residents..........................................24
Figure51:Hitandrunbicyclecrashes,2005to2010................................................................28
Figure52:NumberofSUVsinvolvedinbicyclecrashes............................................................31
Figure71:Injurycrashesbymonthandinjurytype,2005to2010total..................................55
Figure72:Fatalbicyclecrashesbymonth,20052010.............................................................56
Figure73:Fatalbicyclecrashesbydayofweek,20052010......................................................57
Figure74:Injurycrashesbytypeofinjuryanddayofweek......................................................58
Figure75:Fatalbicyclecrashesbytimeofday,20052010.......................................................59
Figure76:Injurybicyclecrashesbytimeofday,20052010.....................................................60
Figure77:Dooringcrashes,20102011......................................................................................61
Figure78:FatalandTypeAinjurycrashesbyhour,2005to2010............................................62
Figure79:TypeBandCinjurycrashesbyhour,2005to2010..................................................63
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ListofMaps
Map61:Intersectionswithatleastteninjurycrashes..............................................................44
Map71:BicycleinjurycrashesonthesixFourthofJulysfrom2005to2010...........................64
Map81:Fatalandserious(TypeA)injurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010.....................65
Map82:TypeBandCinjurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010.........................................66
Map83:FatalitiesandTypeAinjurycrashes,20052010..........................................................67
Map84:FatalitiesandTypeAcrashesfrom20052010per2010population..........................72
Map85:TypeBandCcrashesfrom20052010per2010population.......................................73
Map86:Allinjurycrasheshotspots...........................................................................................74
Map87:FatalandTypeAinjurycrashhotspots........................................................................75
Map88:Majorarterialsofinjurycrashes..................................................................................76
Map89:Nonintersectioninjurycrashes...................................................................................77
Map810:Highschoolvicinitieswithinjurycrashes...................................................................79
Map811:Primaryschoolhotspots.............................................................................................81
Map812:Primaryschoolhotspotsinthefarwestside.............................................................83
Map813:DowntownTypeBandCinjurycrashes.....................................................................84
Map814:NorthSideTypeBandCinjurycrashes.....................................................................84
Map815:HydePark/UniversityofChicagoareaTypeBandCinjurycrashes.........................86
Chapter1: KeyFindings
CHICAGOBICYCLECRASHSAFETYTRENDS,20052010
1. Thirtytwocyclistswerekilledincrasheswithmotorvehiclesfrom2005to2010.
2. Thenumberoffatalcrashesdecreasedby28percentfromsevenin2005tofivein2010.
3. Almost9,000bicyclistsincurredinjurycrashesduringthesixyearperiod.
4. Thenumberofinjurycrashesincreasedfrom1,236in2005to1,566in2010.
WHEREDIDCRASHESOCCUR:SPATIALANDLOCATIONALDIMENSIONS
5. Approximately55percentoffatalandinjurycrashesoccurredatintersections.
6. Ahighnumberofcrasheshaveoccurredonornearmajordiagonalarterialstreets
includingMilwaukeeAvenue.
7. Sixofthe77communityareasjustnorthandnorthwestoftheLoopaccountedforone
thirdoftheinjurycrashesbutmorethanonethirdofthebicyclemiles.
8. ThehighestnumberofinjurycrasheswasinWestTown(justwestoftheLoop)followed
byNearNorthSideandLoganSquare.
WHENDIDTHECRASHESOCCUR
9. Thelargestnumberofinjurycrashesoccurredfrom4:00pmto7:00pmbutfatalities
werehighestfrom8:00pmtomidnight.
10. Therewerefivefatalitiesfrom4:00pmto7:00pmbutninefatalitiesfrom8:00pmto
midnight.
11. Approximately45percentofthefatalandinjurycrashesoccurredduringthreesummer
months.
12. Thegreatmajorityofcrashesoccurredduringdaylighthoursandingoodweather.
13. Sundaysaccountedforthehighestnumberoffatalitiesbutthefewestnumberofinjury
crashes.
CHARACTERISTICSOFCYCLISTS:GENDERANDAGE
14. Maleswerethreetimesmorelikelytobeinvolvedinbicyclecrashesthanfemales
overall,andinmostagegroups.
15. Theratioofmaletofemalecrasheswaslowestinthe2024agegroup(1.98)but
increasedsteadilywithage.Itwas12timeshigherformalesinthe7584agegroup.
16. Thegreatestnumberofmilescycledwereloggedbycyclistsaged2534buttheyhad
muchlowercrashratesthanyoungercyclists.
EXTENTOFCYCLINGANDHOWHASITCHANGED
17. Since2000,thenumberofbicyclecommutershasincreasedby150percent.
18. Nationally0.6percentofworkerscommutedtoworkbybicyclein2010.InChicago,that
percentwas1.3percent(15,000cyclistsdaily).
19. Amongpeercities,ChicagohasmorebicyclecommuterspercapitathanNewYorkor
LosAngeles,butfewerthanPhiladelphiaandSeattle.
COMPARINGBICYCLECRASHESWITHPEDESRIANCRASHES,20052010,
20. Whilethenumberofmotorvehiclecrasheswithpedestriansdeclinedduringthe2005
2010studyperiod,crashesinvolvingbicyclesincreased.
21. Hitandrunaccountedfor25percentofbothinjuryandfatalbicyclecrashes.Itwas
muchlowerthanpedestrianfatalandinjurycrashes,41and33percentrespectively.
CRASHCIRCUMSTANCESHELMETUSE,TYPESOFMOTORVEHICLESANDALCOHOL
22. Helmetswereknowntobeworninonlyonefatalcrash.
23. Cyclistsarereportedtohavecrossedagainstthetrafficlightin20percentofthefatal
crashesbutinonlysevenpercentoftheinjurycrashes.
24. Fourintenfatalitiesandinjurycrasheswereduetomotoristsnotyieldingrightofway.
25. Taxis(forhirevehicles)wereinvolvedinoneintwelveinjurycrashes.
26. Cyclistshadbloodalcoholcontent(BAC)overthelegallimitin22percentofthefatal
crashes.
Chapter2: Introduction,ReportObjectivesandOrganizationoftheReport
ThechapterbeginswithabriefoverviewofbicyclesafetyinChicagofrom2005to2010
followedbyadescriptionoftheprimaryreportobjectives.Thechapterconcludeswitha
summaryofthereportorganization.
2.1:Introduction
Nationwide,bicyclefatalityandinjuryrateshavebeendecliningalongwithmostotherformsof
transportation.IntheCityofChicago,motorvehiclecrasheshavesimilarlybeenonthedecline.
Yettherecenthistoryofbicycleinjurycrasheshasbeenmixedwithanoverallincreasein
bicyclecrashesfrom2005to2010.Thismaybeattributabletothelargeincreaseincycling.
Theseincreasesinbothbicyclingandinjurycrasheshavenecessitatedtheneedtodevelopa
seriesofsafetystrategiesthataddressbicyclesafety.
Between2005and2010,atotalof1,021personswerekilledintheCityofChicagoinallcrashes
involvingmotorvehicles,includingdrivers,othermotorvehicleoccupants,pedestriansand
bicyclists.Totaltransportationfatalitiesdeclined32percentinthecityduringthisperiod,with
191personskilledin2005comparedto128in2010.Thetotalnumberofpersonsinjuredinall
crashesinthecitydeclinedfrom25,831in2005to19,865in2010(adecreaseofabout23
percent).Thesedecreasesinthecityreflectnationaltrends.
Bycontrast,duringthesameperiod,32bicyclistswerekilledintheCityofChicago.Bicycle
fatalitiesduringthisperiodexhibitimprovementoverthesesixyears,withsevenfatalitiesin
eachofthefirsttwoyearsofthesixyearperiodandfivefatalitiesineachofthelastthree
years.Thelowestnumberoffatalitieswasin2007withthree.Thenumberofinjuredbicyclists,
however,hasincreasedfrom1,236in2005to1,566in2010,withahighof1,782in2007.
Twoadditionalstatistics,however,showslightlymoreconsistencyinthemodesttrendof
increasingbicycleinjurycrashes.First,bicyclecrashes,asapercentofallcrashes,have
increasedfromlessthansevenpercenttonearlytenpercent.Second,thenumberofbicycle
crashespercapitahasincreasedfromapproximately47in2005to62in2010.Regardlessof
themetric,thereisevidencethatbicyclecrasheshaveincreasedduringthestudyperiod.Still,
bicycling(asmeasuredbythenumberbicyclecommuters)hasgrownmorerapidlythanany
measureofthenumberofcrashes.
2.2:ObjectivesoftheReport
ThepurposeofthisreportistoreviewtrendsinbicyclesafetyintheCityofChicago,andto
identifywaystoimprovebicyclesafety.Theoverallgoalofthereportistoprovideasystematic
assessmentofthewho,whatandhowofsafetyriskstobicycliststosupportsafety
countermeasuresandlongtermbicycleplanningactivities.Thereporthastwoobjectives.
Objective1:ToanalyzebicyclecrashesintheCityofChicago.Ouroverallobjectiveistomake
acomprehensivepresentationofbicyclecrashtrendsinChicagooverthe20052010period.
First,wehavepresentedanoverviewofthebicyclingusageandsafetytrendsinthecityand
comparedthesetonationaltrendsandtothoseinpeercities.Wehaveconsideredfatalities
andinjuriesincurred.Wehaveexaminedthecharacteristicsofcyclistsinvolvedincrashesand
thatofthevehiclesandvehicleoperators.Environmentalfactors(weatherandlightconditions)
andthecharacteristicsoftheroadwaywherecrasheshaveoccurredwerethenexaminedas
wellasroadsurfaceconditions.Wethenanalyzedseasonalandtimeofdaypatternofcrashes,
includingcrashpatternsrelatingtospecialevents.Wealsoexaminedthespatialdistributionof
crashesbycommunityarea,corridors,locationtypeandidentifyhotspotswherecrasheshave
occurred.
Weusedtwotypesofdatafortheanalysis:(A)safetydataoncrashes,injuriesandtraumafrom
theIllinoisDepartmentofTransportation(IDOT),NationalHighwayTrafficSafety
Administration(NHTSA)andtheAmericanCollegeofSurgeons,and(B)traveltrenddatato
identifypatternsinbicycleusefromtheU.S.CensusBureau,NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey
(NHTS)andtheChicagoMetropolitanAgencyforPlanning(CMAP).Moreinformationregarding
thedatausedisgiveninTechnicalAppendixA.
Objective2:Torecommendacollectionofstrategiestoimprovebicyclesafetythat
incorporatesoursummaryandthecrashdataanalysis.Thesearedesignedtoassistin
developingfuturecoursesofactionregardingwaysinwhichbicyclesafetycanbeimprovedin
theCityofChicago.
Tomakethereportselfcontainedasastudyofbicyclecrashes,wehaveundertakenareview
ofthepublishedliterature,aswellasofpolicyandplanningdocumentspublishedbythe
FederalHighwayAdministrationandstateandmetropolitanplanningorganizationsto
understandthetypesofactivitiesthatarebeingundertakentoimprovebicyclesafety.
2.3:OrganizationoftheReport
Thereportis
organizedasfollows:
Chapters3through8
presentthefindings
onbicyclesafety
trends.Chapter9
presentsasummary
ofthestudyandits
limitations.Thereport
hastwotechnical
appendices:Appendix
Adescribesthedata
usedandAppendixB
presentsadditional
backgroundmaterialandaliteraturereview.
Chapter3: BackgroundandOverviewoftheBicyclingEnvironment
Thischapterbeginstheanalysisofcrashdata.ItexaminesthegrowthinChicagoandcompares
ittonationaldataandinformationfromothercities.
3.1:TrendsinBicycleUse
Nationallytherehasrecentlybeenanappreciableincreaseinbicycling.Closetoonepercentof
alltripsreportedforalltrippurposes(includingwork,shopping,socialtrips)werebybike
(NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey(NHTS),2009)andthetotalnumberofbicycletrips
increasedfrom1.7billionannualtripsin2001tofourbillionreportedtripsin2009(NHTS,
2009).TheCensusBureaujourneytowork(commuting)datashowsthatbicyclingtoworkhas
increasedfrom0.4percentin2000to0.53percentin2010(U.S.CensusBureau,2010).
BicyclinghasincreasedatahigherrateinChicagothannationally.Usingthesamecensusdata,
thenumberofdailybicyclecommutersinChicagohasriseninthismillenniumfromjustunder
6,000toover15,000(Figure31).Thisincreaseofapproximately9,000additionalbike
Figure31:Numberofdailybicyclecommuters,CityofChicago,2000to2010
Source:ACS,2000to2010
commuterswereachievedduringaperiodinwhichtherewasadecline,thoughmodest,inthe
numberofcommutersresidinginthecity.Therefore,theriseinbicyclingmodesharewas
proportionatelyslightlyhigher,increasingfrom0.5percentto1.3percentofcommuters,2000
to2010.ThisputsChicagowellabovethenationallevelintermsofcommutingtripsandhigher
thanmanyothermetropolitanareas.
3.2:NationalTrendsinBicycleSafety
Whilebicyclinghasgrowninpopularity,thenumberofbicyclefatalitiesnationallyexhibitsa
slightdownwardtrendwitha
substantialdeclineduring
ourstudyperiod.From2005
to2009,thenationalnumber
ofbicyclefatalitiesdeclined
from786to630(Figure32).
Thisisadecreaseof20
percent.However,safety
gainsforallmotorvehicle
crashfatalitieswere
considerablyhigher,witha
declineinfatalitiesamong
motorvehicledriversof24
percentandamong
passengersof31percent.Thisdifferencemaybeattributablethe13percentdeclinein
highwaypassengermiles(http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics)
from2005to2009,aperiodduringwhichbicycleusehasshowntheoppositetrend,i.e.,has
grownrapidly.Alsoimportantisthedeclineamongpedestrianfatalities,16percent,though
thedeclineisnotasgreatasforthemodes(driverandmotorvehiclepassenger)citedabove.It
maybenotedthatthenationalpopulationincreasedduringthe20052009periodby18million
people,makingthedeclineinfatalitiesevenmoreimpressive.
Althoughtherearemanyimportantdifferenceswithrespecttothesociodemographicsofusers
andoverallusepatterns,perhapsthemostdirectcomparisoniswithmotorcyclefatalities.
Bothbicycleandmotorcycleusehasincreasedduringthestudyperiodandbothtypicallyhave
justtwowheels.During2005to2009,motorcyclefatalitiesdecreasedby2.5percentbut
actuallyincreasedby16percentinthreeyears(20052008)beforethesharponeyeardrop
from2008to2009.Duringthelongerperiod,since1995,however,therehasbeenadramatic
100percentincreaseinthenumberofmotorcyclefatalities.Bycontrast,bicyclistfatalities
recordedanapproximately25percentdeclinebetween1995and2009.
Figure32:Numberoffatalitiesbyselectedtransportationmodes,19952009
Source:FARS,19952009,http://wwwfars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
3.3:BicycleSafetyinChicago
Nationally,thenumberofbicycle
fatalitieshasdeclinedconsiderably.
Butsincethegrowthofcyclingin
Chicagohasexceededthenational
trend,itisnecessarytoexamine
Chicagocrasheswiththisinmind.
BelowweexamineChicagobicycle
crashesandcomparethemtoother
modes.
3.3.1:ChicagoBicycleSafetyTrends
Duringthestudyperiod,bicycle
fatalitiesinChicagohavedeclinedbut
duetotheirsmallnumberitisdifficult
topointdefinitivelytoasolidtrend.In
thefirsttwoyearsofthestudyperiod,
2005and2006,thereweresevenfatalities(Table31)ineachyearversusfivefatalitiesineach
ofthelastthreeyears(2008and2010).Thesenumbersindicateadecreaseof28percent,with
thelowestnumberofthreefatalitiesin2007.
Table31:Bicyclecrashesbytypeofinjuryandfatalities,CityofChicago,20052010
Type
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total
Fatalities
7
7
3
5
5
5
32
A*
127
186
178
159
162
149
961
B**
734
645
895
719
648
851
4492
C***
375
554
709
628
576
566
3408
Totalinjuries
1236
1385
1782
1506
1386
1566
8861
TypeAInjuries:anyinjuryotherthanfatalinjurywhichpreventstheinjuredpersonfromwalking,driving,ornormally
continuing the activities he/she was capable of performing before the injury occurred. Includes severe lacerations,
brokenlimbs,skullorchestinjuries,andabdominalinjuries.
**
TypeBInjuries:Anyinjury,otherthanfatalorincapacitatinginjury,whichisevidenttoobserversatthesceneofthe
crash.Includesbumponthehead,abrasions,bruises,minorlacerations.
Type C Injuries: Any injury reported or claimed which is neither of the above. Includes momentary unconsciousness,
claimsofinjuriesnotevident,limping,complaintofpain,nausea,hysteria.
***
Source:IDOTMotorVehicleCrashData
Thedataonbicyclecrashinjuriesarelesssymbolicofacleartrend.Althoughthenumbershave
increasedoverallfrom2005to2010,injurycrasheswerefewerin2010thanthepeakyearof
2007.Shownonapercapitabasis,Figure33indicatesthehighestinjurycrashlevelwasin
2007,thesameyearwiththelowestnumberoffatalities.Generally,since2007,therehasbeen
adecrease,thoughthelowestoverallnumberofinjurycrasheswasin2005.
Figure33:Numberofbicycleinjurycrashesper100,000population
Source:computedfromIDOTMotorVehicleCrashDataand
AmericanCommunitySurvey(ACS)populationdata
3.3.2:ChicagoBicycleCrashesComparedwithCrashesforOtherModes
Therehasbeenarelativelysteadydeclineinfatalandinjurycrashesinvolvingalltransportation
modesinthecity.From2005to2010,bothbicycleandmotorvehiclefatalcrashesdeclinedby
approximately28percent(Table32).Theuseofbothmodesmayhaveincreased;however
bicycleusagehascertainlyincreasedmore.
Perhapsduetothesharpriseinbicycleuse,thenumberofinjurycrasheshasincreasedfrom
2005to2010(27percent)whileinjurycrashesinvolvingallmodeshavedeclined(14percent).
Still,thenumberofbicycleinjurycrashesrosedramaticallyinthefirsttwoyearsonlytodrop
almostthesameamountthenexttwoyears(to2009).Thiswasfollowedbyanotherincrease
in2010.Giventhesedata,itisdifficulttoconclusivelyarguethereisalongterm,ongoing
phenomenon,especiallysincethereappearstobenochangeinthenumberofinjurycrashes
from2006to2009(1,385versus1,386).Overall,however,theprevailingtrendpointstoan
increaseintheannualnumberofbicyclecrashes.
Fatal
Crashes
Injury
Crashes
Table32:FatalandinjurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010
Mode
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Bicycle
7
7
3
5
5
5
Pedestrian
65
48
49
55
34
30
All
179
176
164
156
141
127
%Bicycle
4%
4%
2%
3%
4%
4%
Bicycle
1236
1385
1782
1506
1386
1566
TOTAL*
32
281
943
3%
8861
Pedestrian
All
%Bicycle
3406
3781
3686
3484
3130
2914
20,401
18,505
6.7%
18,516
7.5%
17,541
10.2%
15,599
9.7%
15,645
8.9%
15,881
9.9%
101,687
8.7%
*Crashesinvolvingpropertydamagearenotincluded
Figure34showscyclingandpedestrianinjurycrashesoverthestudyperiod.Incontrastto
bicycleinjurycrasheswhichhaveincreasedoverallfrom2005to2010,pedestrianinjury
crashesdeclined(from3,406in2005to2,914in2010).Perhapsthisispartlyduetothelarge
increaseinbicyclingintheregion.Iftheuseofabicycleintheworktripisanindicationofa
moreuniversaluseofbicycles,thenitisnotsurprisingthat,withasurgeinuse,thereisnotan
obviousdeclineininjurycrashes.Atsomepoint,however,wemightexpectalongterm
decrease.Manymodesoftransportationexperienceincreasesincrasheswhentheyfirst
becomepopularandthendeclineastheybecomemoreuniversallyused.Motorvehicle
fatalitiesintheU.S.havebeendecliningfornearlyfortyyears(sincetheearly1970s)despite
thegrowthinpopulationandlevelsofvehicleuse.
10
ItisalsoappropriatetonoteherethattheinjurycrashesinTable31andFigure34donot
includecrasheswithonlypropertydamage.Comparingthesetotalswithotherstudieswould
makethisapparent.Therearethreereasonsfornotincludingcrashesthatonlyhaveproperty
damage.First,likethelimitednumberofpropertydamagecasesinvolvingpedestrians,there
arerelativelyfewsuchbicyclecrashesassociatedwithonlypropertydamage.Second,since
injuriesarenotsustained,theyfallintoadifferentclassofcrashes.Third,propertydamage
datavarysubstantiallyduringthestudyperiodandwouldcomplicateassessinganoverallcrash
trend.
Figure34:Comparisonofpedestrianandbicycleinjurycrashes,2005to2010
3.4:ChicagoversusSuburbanChicagoandtheRestofIllinois
Table33showsthattheCityofChicagoaccountsforapproximately22percentofthe
statewidefatalitiesandjustoverhalfofthefatalitiesinCookCounty.Therearealsofewer
fatalitiesinthefivecollarcountiesthaninsuburbanCookCounty,whichmayreflectusage
levels.
Statewide,thenumberoffatalitiesin2010waslowerthanin2005,buttheintermediatedata
donotshowanobvioustrend.Yetwhenthedataarecombinedintotwoyearperiods,thelast
twoyears,2009and2010,havealowertotalthanthefirsttwoyearsandonefewerfatality
thanthemiddletwoyears.
ThesubareasshowninTable33similarlydonotshowupwardordownwardtrends.Perhaps
therestofIllinoisandChicagoshowtheclearestpatternofdecreasingfatalities.
11
Table33:FatalitiesinIllinoisandindicesbynumberofbicyclecommutersandpopulation
Year
Cityof Suburban
Collar
Restof
Total
Chicago
Cook
counties
Illinois
2005
7
3
6
15
31
2006
7
7
1
10
25
2007
3
4
1
9
17
2008
5
3
7
12
27
2009
5
3
2
9
19
2010
5
8
4
7
24
Total
32
28
21
62
143
Bike
12,706
4388
4507
8877
30,478
commuters
Fatalities
2.5
6.4
4.7
7.0
4.7
/1000
commuters
Population
2,824,064 2,432,937 3,099,766
4,486,399 12,843,166
1.1
1.2
0.7
1.4
1.1
Fatalities
/100,000
population
Source:20052009ACSfornumberofcommutersandpopulation,
andIDOTMotorVehicleCrashDataforfatalities
ThelowerpartofTable33alsoprovidesameanstofurtherinterpretthedatabycomputing
twoindices.Thefirstdividesthenumberoffatalitiesbythousandsofcommuters.Asa
measureofexposure,thisshowsthatChicagohasthelowestindexlevelfollowedbythecollar
counties(DuPage,Lake,McHenry,WillandKanecountiesinnortheasternIllinois).Sincethe
numberofcommutersdoesnotnecessarilyreflectthetotalnumberofusers,wealsoindexby
populationsize.Themoreaccurateexposuremeasureislikelytobebetweenthetwo
surrogateexposuremeasures,commutersandpopulation.
ThepopulationindexshowsthatthecollarcountieshavethelowestindexfollowedbyChicago.
TheChicagolevelmirrorsthestatewidefigure.AgaintherestoftheIllinoishasthehighest
index.SuburbanCookhasthesecondhighestlevelasinthepreviousindex.
ThesenumbersmaybefurtherexaminedbyobservingthatChicagohas22percentofthe
statesfatalitiesand22percentofthestatespopulation,but42percentofthestatesbicycle
commuters.Inthisregard,Chicagosdatarankswellincomparisonwiththeothergeographies
inTable33.
12
3.5:PeerCityComparisonofCyclingtoWorkandCrashes
PeercitiesarethoseplacesthatmostresembleChicagoinsizeandcharacter.Whilenotwo
placesarealikeinallcriteria,thereareasmallnumberofplacesthatarebroadlysimilarto
Chicago.Fourcriteriaweredevelopedfortheidentificationofpeercities:(1)over500,000in
population;(2)populationdensityofover5,000residentspersquaremile;(3)atleast75
squaremiles;and(4)atleast17percentproportionofcommutersthatusenonautomodes.
ThesecriteriaarepatternedaftertheNewYorkPedestrianSafetyStudy,whichusesthreeof
thefourcriteria[notnumber(3)NewYorkCityDepartmentofTransportation,2010].
AdditionaldetailsontheselectionofpeercitiesaregiveninTechnicalAppendixA.
Sincethescientificcommunitydoesnothave
guidelinesforthedefinitionofapeercity,wealso
includeinthisreportthetwelvelargestcitiesin
theU.S.andsomeothernoteworthyplacesfor
comparison.Increasingtothesetwelvecities
permitstheinclusionofanothermidwesterncity
Indianapoliswhilekeepingtheanalysistoa
manageablenumber.Still,thepeercities
representthemostmeaningfulcomparisonsof
statisticssuchasmodeshare.
WeexamineU.S.Censusbicyclingtoworkdata
becauseitistheonlylargesample,annualdata
thatshowlevelsofbicyclingincitiesacrossthe
nation.Wealsocomparedbicyclesafetystatistics
ofChicagotothesepeercities.
Incomparisontoourtwomostimmediatepeer
cities,LosAngelesandNewYork,Chicagoin2010
hadnearlyasmanybikecommuters(15,096)as
LosAngeles(16,101),amuchlargercity.ThepopulationofLosAngelesexceedsthatofChicago
byapproximatelyonemillionpeople.NewYorkCityhasnearlythreetimesChicagos
populationbuthaslessthantwicethenumberofbicyclecommuters(27,917).
Figure35showsthatthemodeshareforbicyclistsisnoticeablyhigherinChicagothaninNew
YorkandLosAngeles,butlowerthaninPhiladelphiaandSeattle.Thissuggeststhatincreasesin
modesharesince2000areimportantbutthereisstillthepotentialforhigherlevelsofbicycling
inthefuture.NotealsothatthegeographicallyclosestpeercitytoChicagoisMilwaukee,which
hasamodeshareapproximatelyhalfthatofChicago.
13
Figure35:Bicyclistsasapercentofalldailycommuters,peercities,2010
Source:U.S.CensusBureau,ACS,2010data
Amongthepeercities,Chicagoranksthirdinthenumberoffatalities,behindNewYork(photo
onright)andLosAngeles(Table34).
Further,Chicagoisalsothirdbased
onanindexthatiscomputedby
dividingthetotalnumberoffatalities
overafiveyearperiod(20052009)
bythousandsofbicyclecommuters
duringthesameperiod(weusethe
numberofcommuterssincethereis
nootheruniversaldataonbicycle
use).Onthebasisofthisstatistic,
Chicagoisonlymarginallyhigher
thanBaltimore.
Table34showsarelationship
betweenthefatalityindexandcity
size.NewYorkclearlyhasthehighestrateandMilwaukeeandSeattlehavethelowestrates.
14
Table34:Peercityfatalityindices,20052009
(Fiveyearsoffatalitiesdividedbytheaveragenumberofdailybikecommuters)
City
Fatalities Commuters1 Index2
NewYork
LosAngeles
Chicago
Philadelphia
Seattle
Baltimore
Milwaukee
97
35
293
16
8
3
1
22,420
13,764
12,706
8921
8981
1428
1803
4.33
2.54
2.28
1.79
0.89
2.10
0.55
Averagenumber20052009
Totalfatalitiesdividedbythousandsofcommuters
3
FARSreportsslightlyhighernumbersthanIDOT
2
Source:20052009AmericanCommunitySurvey5YearEstimatesand
FARS:FatalAccidentReportingSystem,ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/fars/
WhatismostremarkableaboutthepeercitiesistheextenttowhichNewYorkdominatesthe
numberoffatalities.Itaccountsforhalfofthebicyclefatalities,eventhoughithasjustunder
onethirdofthebicyclecommuters(seealsoTable36).
Also,ChicagosfatalitynumberislowerthanthatofLosAngeles,eventhoughthetwocities
haveaboutthesamenumberofbicyclecommuters.
Moreover,thegendermixisverydifferent.Onlyfour
percentoftheLosAngelesfatalitiesarefemale,versus15
percentforChicagoand12percentamongthepeercities.
Table35alsodepictsthechangeinthenumberoffatalities
onanannualbasis.Itisapparentthattherearelargeyear
toyearfluctuations;thusanassessmentofonlyannualdata
wouldlikelynotbeparticularlyinformative.Wetherefore
examinedthefirsttwoyears(2005and2006)versusthelast
twoyears(2008and2009).The2010FARSdatawerenot
availableatthetimeofthisanalysis.
Allofthecitieshadlowernumbersinthelasttwoyears
versusthefirsttwoyears,exceptSeattle(partlyduetosmall
numbers).Chicagosfatalitiesdroppedfrom14to12,Los
Angelesfrom15to12.Collectively,thenumberoffatalities
inthesevencitiesdroppedby12percent.Sincebicyclingis
mostprevalentinlargecities(otherthancollegetowns),the
dropinfatalitiesrestatesthenationalimprovementin
15
bicyclefatalities.However,weseehowtheadditionofoneyearofdatachangesthetrend.In
2010thereweremoremaleandfemalefatalitiesthanin2009andalsoalargejumpinmale
fatalitiesinLosAngeles.Theoverallincreaserosefrom28to42fatalities,evenwiththeslight
declineinChicagofromsixtofive(weuseIDOTdatathroughoutmuchofthisreportthatshows
nochangeinChicagofrom2009to2010).
NewYorkCity
LosAngeles
2005
M F
16 4
5 0
2006
M F
15 2
9 1
2007
M F
24 2
8 0
2008
M F
20 2
7 0
2009
M
F
11
1
4
1
2010
Total
M
F
M F
15
3 101 14
12
0 45 2
Chicago
Philadelphia
Seattle
Baltimore
Milwaukee
Total
6
2
0
1
0
30
7
4
1
1
1
38
2
4
2
0
0
40
5
2
1
1
0
36
4
2
2
0
0
23
5
2
0
1
1
36
1
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
1
0
0
4
1
1
0
0
0
4
1
1
0
0
0
4
2
0
1
0
0
5
0 29 5
2 16 4
1
6 3
0
4 0
0
2 0
6 203 28
Percent
F
12%
4%
15%
20%
33%
0%
0%
12%
Table35:Peercityfatalitiesbygender,2005to2010
Source:FARS:FatalAccidentReportingSystem,ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/fars/
3.6:ComparisonwithOtherLargeCities
AmorethoroughassessmentoftherelativepositionofChicagoincludesalargercollectionof
citiesandcharacteristics.Table36showsthatwhenthebasisforcomparisonisexpandedto
thetwelvelargestcities,Chicagosrankjumpstosecondplace,sinceSeattledropsfromthelist
ofpeercitiesandofthe12largestcitiesonlyPhiladelphiahasasharehigherthanChicago.
Whenwefurtherbroadenthescope
ofcomparison,placeslikePortland,
SanFrancisco,Minneapolisand
Washington,D.C.appearwithhigher
bicyclemodeshares.Asstated
earlier,someofthesehighlevelshave
beenachievedwithrelativelysmall
citylandareas.
InTable36,wehavealsoincluded
theshareforwalkingtowork.Places
suchasBoston,Washington,D.C.and
NewYorkarecitieswherewalkingto
workiscommon.WhileChicagocannotcomparewiththeseplacesintermsofpedestrian
modeshare,the6.5percentisstillmorethantwicethenationalshareof2.8percent.
16
The walk percentage is also given as a possible indicator of the potential to which the bike
sharemayriseinthefuture.Thismaybeusefulifthereisaninterestinknowinghowhighthe
bicyclemodemayrisewithaconcertedefforttopromotebicycling.
Thelogicforthisinferenceisthatwalkingactsasasurrogateforthedensityofresidentsand
urbanopportunitiesmainlyjobsandcouldpossiblybeattainedbybicycling.Table36
presentstheratioofbikingtowalking.Ifoneweretosubscribetothislogicthatthewalking
shareisapossibletargettowhichbicyclingtoworkmightrisethentherelativemagnitudesare
important.Accordingly,Chicagohasalreadyachieved20percentofthistarget,with1.29
percentthatbicycletoworkversus6.54percentforthosethatwalktowork(fivetimesas
many).
NotethatinPortland,the
ratioisjustoverone(more
cycliststhanwalkers)and
inSacramentotheratiois
0.86.InSacramento,
however,amongmale
commuters,thereis68
percentmorecyclingthan
walkingtowork.Females
disproportionatelywalk
more;thereforethe
cycling/walkingratiois
0.86.Perhapsitwouldbe
tooambitiousinmost
placestoevenreacha
ratioof0.5,butata
minimumtheratiomay
provideusefulinformation
astowhatmaybepossible
inthefuture.
Lastly,Table36showsthepercentageofthebicyclecommutersthataremale.Thehighest
levelsarefoundinDetroit,DallasandPhoenix.Conversely,womenmakeupthehighest
percentageofcyclistsinPhiladelphia,BostonandPortland.
17
Table36:Bicyclingandwalkingasmodeoftransportationtoworkinmajorcities,2010
Commuters
US
Illinois
136,941,010 731,286
5,792,659 33,427
NewYork*
LosAngeles*
Chicago*
Philadelphia*
Seattle
Baltimore
Milwaukee
Houston
Phoenix
SanDiego
Dallas
SanAntonio
SanJose
Jacksonville
Indianapolis
SanFrancisco
Washington,D.C.
Boston
Portland,OR
Columbus,OH
Sacramento
Detroit
Austin,TX
Minneapolis
Miami
By
Percent
bicycle
bike
Walk
Percent
walk
0.53% 3,797,048
2.77%
0.58%
178,901
3.09%
Peercities
3,615,588 27,917
0.77%
364,273
10.08%
1,706,116 16,101
0.94%
61,154
3.58%
1,168,318 15,096
1.29%
76,372
6.54%
583,734 10,503
1.80%
48,318
8.28%
339,160 12,306
3.63%
29,070
8.57%
256,622
1,788
0.70%
16,532
6.44%
249,594
1,723
0.69%
11,736
4.70%
Twelvelargestcities*,notfoundaboveinpeercities
961,240
4,393
0.46%
20,641
2.15%
620,072
3,576
0.58%
11,025
1.78%
620,939
6,390
1.03%
18,178
2.93%
543,348
820
0.15%
9,895
1.82%
591,725
1,159
0.20%
13,686
2.31%
426,136
2,708
0.64%
6,768
1.59%
375,579
843
0.22%
6,700
1.78%
366,017
1,935
0.53%
7,035
1.92%
Othernoteworthycities
437,814 15,208
3.47%
41,362
9.45%
296,717
9,288
3.13%
34,895
11.76%
309,620
4,369
1.41%
49,007
15.83%
286,228 17,035
5.95%
15,078
5.27%
370,337
2,498
0.67%
11,205
3.03%
188,974
4,725
2.50%
5,507
2.91%
196,706
651
0.33%
4,905
2.49%
412,291
4,242
1.03%
12,184
2.96%
200,853
6,969
3.47%
13,458
6.70%
164,340
1,550
0.94%
6,166
3.75%
Source:U.S.CensusBureau,ACS,2010
Ratio
Bike
biketo percent
walk
male
0.19 73.6%
0.19 71.4%
0.08
0.26
0.20
0.22
0.42
0.11
0.15
79.1%
78.4%
72.3%
58.4%
70.1%
81.5%
77.8%
0.21
0.32
0.35
0.08
0.08
0.40
0.13
0.28
81.3%
90.2%
69.1%
92.3%
77.0%
83.6%
79.2%
83.2%
0.37
0.27
0.09
1.13
0.22
0.86
0.13
0.35
0.52
0.25
67.3%
67.9%
61.2%
64.9%
67.1%
75.5%
100%
77.9%
75.5%
79.9%
18
Chapter4: CharacteristicsofCyclistsInvolvedinCrashes
Inthischapter,weexaminebicyclingpatternsintheCityofChicagobygender,ageand
educationallevels.Wealsoexaminethedetailsofcrashstatisticsbythesesociodemographic
groupings.
4.1:BicycleUseandSafetyTrendsbyAgeandGender
Moststudiesshowthatthemajorityofcyclistsaremale,withtheexceptionthatwomenare
morelikelymaketripstoschoolbybicycle(Garrard,etal2008;Krizek,etal2005).Usinga
varietyofsourcesandcircumstances,weestimatethatmalestypicallyaccountfortwothirdsto
threequartersofthecyclists(Table41).UsingtheCMAPTravelTrackersurveydata,wefind
thatinChicago,malesareparticularlypredominantinrecreationalandentertainmenttrips,
accountingfor78percentofthesetrips.Femalesaccountforroughlyonethirdofthetripsin
theCMAPTravelTrackerSurvey,and27percentofthecyclistsinaCDOTdowntowncount.
Variable
Table41:Gendermixofbicycling
Male
Chicago
BicycletripsperdayCMAPsurvey
CMAProutineshoppingtrips
CMAPrecreationandentertainmenttrips
20052009ACSjourneytowork
CDOTDowntownBikeCount13/9/2011*
Chicagofatalities2005to2010
BeyondChicago
Fatalitiesinpeercities20052009
Nationalfatalities2008
Nationalfatalities2009
No.
27
Percent
66%
59%
78%
72%
73%
84%
167
93
81
88.4%
87.0%
85.2%
9303
Female
No.
3620
22
623
549
Total
Percent
34%
41%
22%
28%
27%
16%
9722
32
11.6%
13.0%
14.8%
189
716
630
*http://www.chicagobikes.org/pdf/NBPDcount_stats.pdf
SourceforChicagodata:CMAPTravelTrackerSurvey,20078
Sourceforstatewidedata:IDOTCrashData,20052010
SourceforNationaldata:FatalityAnalysisReportingSystem(FARS)
Thelargestgenderdifferencesareinfatalitiesstatistics.Nationally,femalesaccountedfor
approximatelyoneofeverysevenfatalities,or13.0and14.8percentin2008and2009
respectively.ThisissimilartothesixyeardataforChicago,wherethefemaleportionof
crasheswas16percent.Forcomparison,onlyninepercentofbicyclistswhodiedasaresultof
19
crashesinNewYorkCityfrom1996through2003werefemale(NYCDOT),thoughmorerecent
datashowthatthisstatistichasrisento12percentinthelastsixyears.LosAngelesresultin
thissamedatacategoryisfourpercent(Table35).
Somedifferencesmaybeattributabletogreaterexposureandhigherspeedsformales(Table
42).Femalesaccountforjustunderonethirdofthemilestraveled(Note:TheCMAPTravel
Trackersurveyprovidesveryusefulinformationforthisstudy;however,thedataprocessed
andreportedarenotintendedtobeprecise,inpartduetothesmallsamplesizeandoverall
objectivesoftheCMAPsurvey).
Table42:Chicagobicyclingestimates,2007
Daily
Daily
Average Average
miles* minutes* minutes/ miles/
trip
trip
Female
98,200
800,000
22.1
2.70
Male
221,600 1,660,000
23.1
3.08
Total
319,800 2,460,000
Ratio
2.3
2.1
1.05
1.14
Speed
MPH
7.3
8.0
1.10
*The minutes and miles are estimates computed by the authors from CMAP survey data and are not
intendedtobeprecisecomputationsanddonothaveadefinedmarginoferror
Source:ComputedbytheauthorsfromCMAPTravelTrackerdata,2007
Whilemalesaccountforapproximatelytwiceasmuchcycling,theyincurthreetimesmore
injuries(Table43).Thethreetooneratiolargelyholdstruethroughoutthesixyearstudy
period.Onlydatafortheyear2008fallsbelowthisratio.
Table43:Genderofcyclistsinjuredinbicyclecrashes
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent Percent

known
Male
Female
Unknown
Total
777 1046 1347 1093 1064 1163 6490

72.86%
243 334 429 405 328 381 2120
23.80%
226
17
14
9
4
27
297
3.33%
1246 1397 1790 1507 1396 1571 8907
100%
75.38%
24.62%
100%
Tofurtherunderstandtherelationshipbetweenmaleandfemalecycling,weexaminedthe
crashratespermilescycled.Table44showsthatfemaleslivinginChicagocycle36million
milesannually,andtogetherwithmaleslogover110millionmilesannually.Usingthestandard
usedintransportationliteratureonmotorizedfatalities,weestimatethattherateforfemales
is2.8fatalitiesforevery100millionbicyclemilestraveled(BMT).Formales,theratiostandsat
approximatelytwotimeshigherat5.5.Therateforallcyclistsis4.6fatalitiesper100million
BMT.Mostofthebicyclemileagedatausedinthesecalculationswerebasedonhousehold
20
travelsurveyscompiledlargelyin2007whentherewereonlyatotalofthreefatalities.Using
thisasthebase,thefatalityratesforthatyearwasonly2.6permillionsBMT.
Table44:Fatalitiesandinjurycrashesper100millionmilesoftravel
(fatalitiesandinjuriesrepresenttheannualaverageoverthesixyearstudyperiod,
milesbikedareconservative,approximateestimates)
Annualmiles
Fatalities/
Injurycrashes/
100millionmiles
100millionmiles
Female
36,000,000
2.8
1000
Male
81,000,000
5.5
1400
RatioM/F
2.25
2.0
1.4
Source:IDOTMotorVehicleCrashDataandCMAPTravelTrackerdata,2007
Thesenumbersarehigherthanfornationalmotorvehiclefatalities,thathavedecreasedin
recentyearsto1.14per100millionmilestraveled.Inmakingthiscomparisontwopointsneed
tobeacknowledged.First,thebikemilesareestimatedfromCMAPhouseholdsurveydatathat
includesdataonbicyclingbutwasnotweightedstrictlywithbicyclinginmind.Second,bicycles
andmotorvehiclestravelonverydifferentroadways,especiallyinaCityofChicagoversus
nationalcomparison.Manyofthemotorvehiclemilesareloggedoninterstatehighways,
impracticalformostcitytrips.Still,thestatisticsprovideacrudecomparisonoftherelative
safetyoftworatherdifferentmodesoftravel.ThefemalepermilefatalityrateinChicagois
approximatelytherateformotorvehiclesabout35yearsago,regardlessofgender.Themale
rateof6.7fatalitiespermillionmilestraveledwastrueforhighwayfatalitiesabout60years
ago.Inthe1930s,therateofmotorvehiclefatalitiesper100millionmilesoftravelwasover
ten.
Regardingdemographics,bicyclingseemstoincreaseinpopularityuptoage34andthen
decreases.Thelargestnumberoftripsismadebycyclists25to34yearsofage,butthedatain
Table4.5needtobeevaluatedwiththecaveatthattheyarebasedonarelativelysmallsample.
InparticularsincetheCMAPTravelTrackerdatainTable45aredividedintoeightage
categories,someoftheagegroupsmayreflectdata,inparticular,thatarebasedonasmall
samplesize.Nevertheless,thereisevidencethatcyclingmilesandminutesalsoincreasewith
ageuntilage34,atwhichpointitbeginstodecline.The5564agegroupfitsthepatternfor
numberoftripsanddistance,buttheiraveragesinthelasttwocolumnsdonotfitanyobvious
pattern.Withoutthis5564agegroupitappearstheaveragetripdistance(milesandminutes)
increaseswithage(lasttwocolumns).
Sincegenderandagearebothrelatedtobicycleuse,itwouldbeinformativetoexamineboth
genderandagetogether.Webeginbyexaminingfatalitynumbersandtheninjurydatarates.
21
Table45:Bicyclingbyage,milesandminutesperday,2007
(Eightagecategoriesyieldatablewithunevensamplesizessothat
thedatainthistableshouldnotbeinterpretedprecisely)
Age
<5
514
1524
2534
3544
4554
5564
65+
Total
Trips
Distance
Minutes Average Average

distance minutes
<1
1
10
1.3
13.9
8
17
158
2.1
20.2
18
40
371
2.1
20.2
48
109
1096
2.3
23.0
14
40
356
2.8
25.0
12
33
314
2.8
26.8
6
10
96
1.6
16.4
1
4
34
2.8
27.3
107
252
2434
2.3
22.6
Source:EstimatedfromCMAPTravelTracker2007
Thegreatestdifferenceinthefatalityratesbetweenmalesandfemalesisforcyclistsolderthan
34(Table46).Fortheseoldercyclists,therearenofemalefatalitiesbut15malefatalities.A
similarpatternwasfoundinNewYorkCitywithmuchhigherfatalitynumbers,where4554
yearoldmenhadthehighestdeathrateat8.3permillionresidents(NYCDOT).InChicago,
thereisalsoanoticeabledifferenceinthe1014yearold
agecategory.Conversely,thefatalityratesareessentially
thesameforthetwoagecategoriesbetween15and24
yearsinageaswellasthecategory59years.By
combiningthe59and1014agecategoriesintooneage
category514wefindthatbothChicagoandNewYork
hadfivetimesmoremalefatalitiesthanfemale.
Furthermore,Table46clearlysuggeststhatmalecyclists
over 24 years of age are in a special category. For these
cyclists, the ratio of male to female fatalities is 19:1.
Theremaybemoremalecyclistsinthisagerange,butit
ishighlyunlikelythatitisthesameratio,19:1.Theinjury
ratiofortheageover24groupiscloserto3:1(Table47).
Like the number of fatalities, the number of injuries

increases with age and again peaks at the 2534 age
group. But unlike fatalities, injuries decline consistently
withincreasingage(Table47).Fatalitiesseemtopeakat
numerous age categories including 4554 (the highest
number)and6574yearagegroups.
22
Table46:BicyclistfatalitiesbyageandgenderinCityofChicago,20052010
Age(years)
Male
Female
Total
Total
killed
<5
59
1014
1519
2024
2534
3544
4554
5564
6574
7584
85+
Total
Population
Fatality
rate*
0 107,904
1
88,712
4
92,581
1
95,562
2 109,645
4 265,102
3 204,779
6 175,753
2 119,382
3
66,998
1
38,504
0
11,046
27 1,375,968
0.0
1.9
7.2
1.7
3.0
2.5
2.4
5.7
2.8
7.5
4.3
0.0
3.3
Total
Killed
Population
Fatality
rate
0 103,359
1
88,685
0
88,160
1
93,533
2 112,518
1 267,347
0 198,982
0 182,307
0 138,883
0
87,541
0
59,902
0
26,879
5 1,448,096
0.0
1.9
0.0
1.8
3.0
0.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
Total
killed
Population
Fatality
rate
0 211,263
2 177,397
4 180,741
2 189,095
4 222,163
5 532,449
3 403,761
6 358,060
2 258,265
3 154,539
1
98,406
0
37,925
32 2,824,064
0.0
1.9
3.7
1.8
3.0
1.6
1.2
2.8
1.3
3.2
1.7
0.0
1.9
*20052010averageannualfatalitiesdividedbymillionsofresidentsintheagegroup
Source:Populationdata:20052009AmericanCommunitySurvey5YearEstimates
Fatalitydata:IDOTMotorVehicleCrashData
Withmoreinjurydatathanfatalitydata,therelationshipbetweenageandinjurycrashesis
moreevident.Forbothmalesandfemales,therateperpopulationincreaseswithageuntilthe
2024agegroup.Withincreasingagebeyondthe2024group,bothratesdecline.Moreover,
thesecommentsapplytonotonlytheratebutalsothenumberofinjurycrashesineachage
category.
23
Table47:BicyclistsinjuredbyageandgenderinCityofChicago,20052010
(Genderisnotrecordedfor286injurycrashes;thereforethesedataarenotincludedhere)
Age
Male
Injured
Avg.
Female
Population*
annual
Injury
Injured
rate*
Avg.
Total
Population
annual
injured
Injury
Injured
rate*
Avg.
Population
annual
injured
Injury
rate*
injured
<5
18
3.0
107,904
28
1.0
103,359
10
24
4.0
211,263
19
5-9
243
40.5
88,712
457
83
13.8
88,685
156
326
54.3
177,397
306
10-14
668
111.3
92,581
1203
179
29.8
88,160
338
847
141.2
180,741
781
15-19
664
110.7
95,562
1158
209
34.8
93,533
372
873
145.5
189,095
769
20-24
971
161.8
109,645
1476
503
83.8
112,518
745
1474
245.7
222,163
1106
25-34
1365
227.5
265,102
858
571
95.2
267,347
356
1936
322.7
532,449
606
35-44
826
137.7
204,779
672
231
38.5
198,982
193
1057
176.2
403,761
436
45-54
791
131.8
175,753
750
166
27.7
182,307
152
957
159.5
358,060
445
55-64
338
56.3
119,382
472
48
8.0
138,883
58
386
64.3
258,265
249
65-74
118
19.7
66,998
294
17
2.8
87,541
32
135
22.5
154,539
146
75-84
48
8.0
38,504
208
1.0
59,902
17
54
9.0
98,406
91
85+
12
2.0
11,046
181
0.0
26,879
12
2.0
37,925
53
425
70.8
100
16.7
525
87.5
6487
1081.2
1,375,968
786
2119
353.2
1,448,096
244
8606
1434.3
2,824,064
508
Unknown
Total
*20052010averageannualinjureddividedbymillionsofresidentsintheagegroup
Source:Populationdata:20052009AmericanCommunitySurvey5YearEstimates
Fatalitydata:IDOTMotorVehicleCrashData
Moreimportantly,thereisaverydramaticdecreaseininjurycrashesfromthe2024groupto
the2534group.Thereisa45percentdropintheinjuryrateforallcyclistsanda52percent
dropforfemales.Thisiscompellingevidencethatcountermeasurestoreducinginjurycrashes
needtofocusontheyoung,targetingmainlythoseovertenyearsofageandincreasingthe
focusasageincreasesuntilatleastage24.Still,allcyclistswouldbenefitfromsafetytraining
andrefreshers,regardlessofage.
Finally,thegenderdifferencewithrelationtoinjurycrashesis,again,ratherstriking.Females
accountfor24percentofinjuriesfromcrashesbutonly16percentofthefatalities.Thereare
morethanthreetimesasmanyinjurycrashesamongmalesthanfemales.Thehighestratios
areforcyclistsover55yearsofage(Figure41).Therearealsoaboveaverageratiosinthe10
19agegroup.Themajorexceptiontothistrendisinthehighriskcategory,2024.Inthisage
grouptheratioisjustunder2.0.Thissuggeststhatwhilefemalecyclistshavemuchlower
injurycrashrates,the2024agegroupmaymeritspecialattentioninimprovingbicyclesafety,
forbothmalesandfemales.
24
Figure42illustratestherelationshipbetweenmaleandfemalecyclistinjurycrashratesbyage
shownaboveintabularform.Thereisgenerallyaconsistentpatternwithmalesexperiencing
higherratesandnumbersforeachagegroup.Thereare,however,twoagecategoriesthat
seemoutofstep:1014and4554years.Inthesetwoagegroups,maleshavehigherrates
thanthepatternimpliedbytheshapeofthelineforfemalecyclists,anddonotconformto
steadilyincreasinganddecreasingratesfoundforfemales.Lastly,bothlinespeakat2024
yearsofage.
Figure41:Ratioofmaletofemaleinjuryrates
(Rateisinjuryperpopulationintheagecohort,thereisnodatapointfor85+
sincetherewerenoinjuriesforfemales)
Source:PreparedbytheauthorsfromIDOTMotorVehicleCrashData
Figure42:Annualaverageinjurycrashrateper100,000residents
25
Source:PreparedbytheauthorsfromIDOTMotorVehicleCrashData
4.2:EducationLevelofCyclists
Educationlevelsattainedmayalsoprovideuswithinformationregardinghowwemight
developcrashcountermeasures.TheCMAPTravelTrackerdatasuggestthatthereisan
apparentrelationshipbetweeneducationalattainmentandcyclingactivity,butthesamplesizes
donotpermitdefinitiveanalysis.Thepositiveassociationbetween(1)levelofeducation
attainedand(2)theamountofcyclingisconsistentwiththeinformationinChapter8that
includesmapsdepictingthehighnumberofcrashesontheNorthSideofChicagobetweenthe
KennedyExpresswayandLakeMichigan.Thisisanarearepletewithyoungprofessionals.
26
Chapter5: VehiclesandOperatorsInvolvedinBicycleCrashes
Inthischapterweexaminetheconditionofvehicles,driversandbicyclistsatthetimeofthe
crashaswellashitandrunstatistics.
5.1:AlcoholandBicycleCrashes
HighBACofdriversinvolvedintrafficfatalitieshasbeenalongstandingproblem.Nationally,
thepercentageofmotorvehicledriversexceedingthepermittedBAClevelof0.08has
remainedsteadyforoveradecade(http://www.fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Trends/TrendsAlcohol.aspx)
atapproximately32percentandaccountedforover10,000fatalitiesin2009.
5.1.1:BloodAlcoholContentofMotorists
Ofthe32bicyclefatalitiesinourstudyperiod,onlysixmotoristsreceivedafieldsobrietytest,
andonerefusedtobetested.Ofthesesix,fourhadnoalcoholintheirsystemandtwohad
positiveresults,butwithinthelegallimit(Table51,usingFARSasadatasource).Thesetwo
positivelevelswere0.1and0.7,thelatterbeingclosetothelegallimit.
Table51:Bloodalcoholcontentofdriversinvolvedinfatalbicyclecrashes
BAClevelfordrivers
Frequency
(g/dL)
BAC=0
4
0.001<BAC<0.08
2
BAC>0.08
0
Testrefused
1
Testnotoffered
22
Total
29
Source:FARS
27
Regardinginjuries,theIDOTdatareportnearly9,000crashinjuries,butlessthanonepercent
wereclassifiedashavingadriverimpairedbyalcoholordrugs,medicatedorhadbeen
drinking(Table52).Over99percentofmotoristsareidentifiedasappearingnormal,i.e.,
thecontributingcausewasnotduetodruginducedimpairment.
Table52:Apparentphysicalconditionofdriversinbicycleinjurycrashes
Condition
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent Percent
known
Normal
892 983 1283 1063 981 1101 6303 70.73% 99.24%
Impaired
5
4
5
4
4
6
28
0.31%
0.44%
alcohol
Impaireddrugs
0
0
2
2
1
0
5
0.06%
0.08%
Illness
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
0.02%
0.03%
Asleep/fainted
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.00%
0.00%
Medicated
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0.01%
0.02%
Hadbeen
1
2
2
0
2
1
8
0.09%
0.13%
drinking
Fatigued
0
2
0
0
0
2
4
0.04%
0.06%
Other/unknown
347 406 499 444 403 461 2560 28.73%
Total
1245 1397 1794 1513 1391 1571 8911 100.00% 100.00%
5.1.2:BloodAlcoholContentofCyclists
Ofthe27fatalitiesforwhichBACisavailable(sevenwerenottestedforalcohol),eightbicyclists
showedmeasureablealcoholintheirsystem(Table53).Fourofthesehadlevelsover0.08,
whichisthelegallimitformotorvehicledriversinIllinois,oralmost15percentofthosewho
weretested.Twohadlevelsof0.06,justbelowthe0.8level.
Using0.08asabenchmark,theDUIpercentageforbicyclistsis14.8percent.Thiscomparesto
32percentformotorvehiclefatalitiesintheU.S.and35percentinIllinoisin2009
(http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and
_fatalities.html).Usingalowerlevelof0.06,thestatisticrisesto22percentforbicyclists.The
percentageforbicyclistscomparedtomotorvehicleoperatorsmaybelowerinpartduetothe
lackofagelimitforbicycleuse,unlikemotorvehicledriverswhoneedtobeatleast15yearsof
age.InChicago,sixcyclistsunderthelegaldrivingagewerekilledinbicyclecrashes.
28
Table53:BloodAlcoholContentofbicyclistsinfatalcrashes,2005to2010
BACtestresult(g/dL)
Frequency
0.00
19
0.01
1
0.02
1
0.06
2
0.11
1
0.14
1
0.18
1
0.25
1
Total
27
14.8percentDUIamongtotaltestedbicyclists
Source:FARS
5.1.3:HitandRunCrashes
Hitandruncrashescontinuetobeavexingproblemforbicyclecrashes(Figure51).They
accountforapproximatelyaquarterofallfatalitiesandbicycleinjurycrashes.Whilethese
proportionsmayseemhigh,theyarelowerthaninthecaseofpedestriancrashes.From2005
to2009,33percentofthepedestrianinjurycrashesand41percentofthepedestrianfatalities
werehitandrun.
Figure51:Hitandrunbicyclecrashes,2005to2010
29
5.2:AgeandGenderofMotorists
5.2.1:AgeofMotorists
Over60percentofthedriversinvolvedinfatalcrasheswerebetween25and44yearsofage
(Table54).Onlyoneinfourwasover44yearsofage.Malesaccountedforapproximatelytwo
thirdsofthefatalcrashes,andonlyinthe25to34agegroupdidfemaledriversoutnumber
maledrivers.
Table54:Knownageofdriverinvolvedinfatalcrash
Age
Male Female Total Percent
1524
3
0
3
11.1%
2534
3
4
7
25.9%
3544
9
1
10
37.0%
4554
3
0
3
11.1%
5564
1
3
4
14.8%
65+
0
0
0
0.0%
19
8
27
Source:FARS
5.2.2:GenderofMotoristsInvolvedinBicycleCrashes
Itisalsoinformativetoexaminethegender
mixofmotorvehicledriversinvolvedin
bicyclecrashes.Table55showsthatmales
comprisethemajorityofdriversinvolvedin
bicyclecrashes.Theyaccountforalmost
twothirdsofthedriversinvolvedininjury
bicyclecrashes.Thisratioseemstobe
constantoverthesixyearstudyperiod.
Table55:Genderofdriversinvolvedinbicycleinjurycrashes
30
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Total Percent Percent

known
Male
Female
Unknown
Total
635 703 880 752 670 801 4441

331 399 545 414 394 425 2508
279 295 369 347 327 345 1962
1245 1397 1794 1513 1391 1571 8911
49.84% 63.91%
28.14% 36.09%
22.02%
100%
100%
5.3:VehicleTypeandUse
Typicalhouseholdvehicles,including
passengercars,SUVsandvans,
accountforapproximately90percent
ofbicycleinjurycrashes(Table56).
Busesaccountforanothertwo
percent.Largevehiclessuchasbuses
andtrucksmayinflictseriousdamage,
buttogetheraccountforlessthanfive
percentoftheinjuries.Wepursuethis
lineofexaminationbecausethe
literatureisrepletewithsimilarstudies,suchastheassociationbetweenbicyclecrashes,buses
andtaxisandtheiruse(Pai,2010).
Table56:Vehicletypeinvolvedinbicycleinjurycrashes
Vehicle type involved in 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent Percent
bicycleinjurycrashes
known
Passengercar
880
921 1167
980
937 1109
5994
71.45%
74.16%
Sportutilityvehicle(SUV)
87
91
122
120
130
165
715
8.52%
8.85%
Van/minivan
93
100
103
82
83
106
567
6.76%
7.02%
Pickuptruck
30
41
40
45
38
54
248
2.96%
3.07%
Bus
25
18
26
20
20
38
147
1.75%
1.82%
Trucksingleunit
16
14
26
18
14
97
1.16%
1.20%
Tractorw/semitrailer
27
0.32%
0.33%
Motorcycle(over150cc)
20
0.24%
0.25%
Motordrivencycle
0.10%
0.10%
Tractorw/osemitrailer
0.08%
0.09%
Othervehiclewithtrailer
0.06%
0.06%
Allterrainvehicle(ATV)
0.04%
0.04%
31
Other
39
40
51
40
35
39
244
2.91%
3.02%
Unknown/NA
40
51
64
59
56
37
307
3.66%
Total
1219 1283 1611 1374 1325 1577
8389 100.00% 100.00%
Thetotalnumberofinjurycrasheshas
fluctuatedfromyeartoyear,butafewofthe
vehicletypesshowevidenceofatrendover
thestudyperiod.Duringthelastfouryear
period,thenumberofsingleunittrucks
involvedinbicyclecrasheshassteadily
declined.Theydecreasedfrom26in2007to
onlyninein2010.
Increaseshavebeenregisteredbypickup
trucks.Thoughtheincreasesarenotsteady,
theriseintheirinvolvementhasbeenfrom30
in2005to54in2010.Themostnoticeable
increase,however,hasbeenwithSUVs.Figure
52showstherisefrom87in2005to165in
2010.Notonlyhastherebeenanincrease
everyyear(modestinsomeyears)butthere
hasbeenalmostadoublinginthenumber
duringthestudyperiod.
Figure52:NumberofSUVsinvolvedinbicyclecrashes
32
Table57examinestheroleofmotorvehiclesmorecloselybynotingthetypeofuseduringthe
injurycrash.Asanticipatedfromtheprevioustable,personaluseisthemostcommonvehicle
use.Thisisfollowedbytaxis(togetherwithotherforhirevehicles).Thisgroupaccountsfor
onein12bicyclecrasheswithinjuries.CTAbuses,commercialvehiclesandpoliceallaccount
formorethanonepercentofthecrashes.
ManyoftheindividualusesshowninTable57trendwiththetotalnumberofbicycleinjury
crashes,makingitdifficulttoidentifytheirindividualtrends.Policevehicles,however,showa
steadydeclinesince2007.Thenumbershavedeclinedfrom20in2007to12in2010,twoyears
thathadahighnumberofinjurycrashes,1611and1577respectively,showinglittleoverall
decreaseincrashes.
Table57:Vehicleuseduringcrash
Typeofuse
Notinuse
Personal
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent

50
810
38
54
51
846 1084
885
Percent
known
50
296
3.53%
4.21%
855 1024
5504
65.61%
78.36%
53
Taxi/forhire
80
91
110
114
90
107
592
7.06%
8.43%
Citybus
19
15
23
11
13
31
112
1.34%
1.59%
14
20
11
16
15
104
1.24%
1.48%
12
13
20
17
14
12
88
1.05%
1.25%
37
0.44%
0.53%
Commercialsingleunit
Police
Construction/maintenance
33
Othertransit
33
0.39%
0.47%
Masstransit
32
0.38%
0.46%
Stateowned
12
0.14%
0.17%
Schoolbus
0.10%
0.11%
Towtruck
0.08%
0.10%
Camper/RV
0.06%
0.07%
Fire
0.05%
0.06%
Drivereducation
0.04%
0.04%
Ambulance
0.04%
0.04%
Housetrailer
0.02%
0.03%
27
33
39
35
33
36
203
2.42%
2.89%
187
211
235
223
236
273
1365
16.27%
Other
Unknown/NA
Total
1219 1283 1611 1374 1325 1577

8389 100.00% 100.00%
34
5.4:DriverandVehicleManeuvers
In24ofthe32fatalities,theactiontakenbythemotorvehicledriverisknown.Inhalfofthese
cases,thedriverisreportedtohavecontributedtothefatalitybyeitherfailingtoyield,driving
toofastorengaginginanimproperlanechange(Table58).Inonethirdofthecases,there
wasnoidentifiedactionandinanotherfourcasestheactionwasclassifiedasother.
Table58:Driveractioninfatalcrashes,CityofChicago,20052010
Driveraction
Frequency
Percentknown
None
Failedtoyield
Toofastforconditions
8
10
33%
42%
4%
Improperpassing
1
Other
4
Unknown
8
Total
32
4%
17%
100%
Failuretoyieldrightofwaywasalsoa
majorfactorinapproximately40
percentoftheinjurycrashes(Table5
9),similartothetrendshownforfatal
crashesshownintheprevioustable.
Improperactionsassociatedwithlane
change,backing,passing,parkingand
turningarealsocontributors,but
collectivelyaccountforapproximately
onlyfivepercentoftheinjurycrashes.
Injustoverathirdofthecrashes,the
driverwasnotinvolvedinamaneuver
listedinTable59.Inessence,the
drivermaneuversinbothfataland
injurycrashesarerathersimilar.The
differencemaybeattributedtothemuchlargerdatabaseofinjurycrashesthatpermitsmore
detailregardingothermaneuvers.
35
Driveraction
None
Failedtoyield
Disregardedcontrol
devices
Toofastforconditions
Improperturn
Wrongway/side
Followedtooclosely
Improperlanechange
Improperbacking
Improperpassing
Improperparking
Licenserestrictions
Stoppedschoolbus
Emergencyvehicleon
call
Evadingpolicevehicle
Other
Unknown
Total
Table59:Driveractioninbicyclevehicleinjurycrashes
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent
360
357
21
390
385
38
477
551
34
368
452
26
358
463
25
9
15
3
12
12
13
7
3
1
0
0
14
23
8
11
10
16
10
2
1
2
1
19
24
8
15
15
15
10
2
0
2
1
16
35
4
10
16
10
10
2
0
1
1
13
27
2
16
15
9
6
0
0
1
4
431 2384
525 2733
14
158
11
33
6
13
14
8
9
4
0
2
0
82
157
31
77
82
71
52
13
2
8
7
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
136 155 165 165
137 138
896
296 331 454 397
315 363 2156
1245 1397 1794 1513 1391 1571 8911
Themotionordirectionofthevehicleisgivenin
Table510.Theprevioustable(Table59)
describedtheactionofthedriver.Accordingto
availabledata,themotorvehiclewasmoving
straightaheadinnearlyallcases.Bothturning
vehiclesandenteringtrafficfromparkingeach
accountedforlessthanonepercentofdriver
actions.
Percent
known
26.75%
30.67%
1.77%
35.29%
40.46%
2.34%
0.92%
1.76%
0.35%
0.86%
0.92%
0.80%
0.58%
0.15%
0.02%
0.09%
0.08%
1.21%
2.32%
0.46%
1.14%
1.21%
1.05%
0.77%
0.19%
0.03%
0.12%
0.10%
0.02%
0.03%
10.05% 13.26%
24.19%
100.00% 100.00%
36
Table510:Vehiclemaneuverpriortobicycleinjurycrashes
Vehiclemaneuver
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent
Straightahead
Passing/overtaking
Turningleft
Turningright
Turningonred
Uturn
Startingintraffic
Slow/stopleftturn
Slow/stoprightturn
Slow/stop
load/unload
Slow/stopintraffic
Drivingwrongway
Changinglanes
Entertrafficfrom
parking
Unknown/NA
Total
735
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
6
0
0
0
0
2
803 1014
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
0
0
0
1
0
4
1
0
1
10
825
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
1
791
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
3
918 5086 56.81%

2
6 0.07%
1
3 0.03%
0
2 0.02%
0
1 0.01%
0
2 0.02%
0
1 0.01%
0
2 0.02%
1
16 0.18%
0
1 0.01%
0
0
0
3
1
1
1
24
Percent
known
98.81%
0.12%
0.06%
0.04%
0.02%
0.04%
0.02%
0.04%
0.31%
0.02%
0.01%
0.01%
0.01%
0.27%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.47%
501
587 774 689 602 652 3805 42.50%
100%
1249 1402 1805 1521 1398 1577 8952
5.5:Dooring
Whenabicyclistrunsintoamotorvehicle
doorthatisopenedunexpectedly,itis
knownasacaseofdooring.Weusethe
IDOTdataondooringstartingwith2010;
thereforethesummariesreportedbeloware
forarelativelyshortperiodoftime.Itshows,
however,thatdooringisassociatedwith
disproportionatelymoreTypeBinjuries
(Table511).AddingTypesAandBtogether
showsthehighdegreeofsevereinjuries
commonwithdooring(TypeCinjuriesare
theleastserious).
100%
37
(Thephotographsarethrougharearviewmirror).
Table511:Allversusdooringbicyclecrashes,byinjurytype
Injurytype Allnondooringcrashes
Dooringcrashes
TypeA
11%
8%
TypeB
51%
61%
TypeC
38%
31%
Source:IDOTMotorVehicleCrashData20052010andIDOTDooringData20102011
5.6:BicyclistActivity
Inthissectionweexploretheactionsof
bicyclistsandwherethecrashoccurred.
Itconcludesbyexaminingthe
propensitytowearahelmet.
5.6.1:BicyclistAction
Wefirstconsiderfatalcrashesfollowed
byinjurycrashes.Over45percentof
the32fatalitiesoccurredwhile
bicyclistsweremovingintraffic.Inover
onethird(11)ofthefatalitiesthecyclist
wasmovingwiththeflowoftraffic
(Table512)andinonlytwocaseswasthecyclistmovingagainsttheflow.Signalized
intersectionsrepresentasignificantproblemarea.Atsignalizedintersectionswherefatalities
occurred,cyclistscrossedagainstthesignalinsixofthecases,or20percentofthetime.Lastly,
leftturnswerethecontributingfactorinthreeof32fatalities.
Table512:Bicyclistactioninfatalcrashes,20052010
Bicyclistaction
Fatalities Percent
Percent
known
Turningleft
3
9.4%
10.3%
Enterfromdrive/alley
1
3.1%
3.5%
Crossingwithsignal
2
6.3%
6.9%
Crossingagainstsignal
6
18.8%
20.7%
Walking/Ridingwithtraffic
11
34.4%
37.9%
Walking/Ridingagainst
2
6.3%
6.9%
traffic
Playinginroadway
1
3.1%
3.5%
Otheraction
3
9.4%
10.3%
Unknown/NA
3
9.4%
Total
32
100%
100%
38
Likefatalcrashes,asimilarlyhighpercentageofinjurycrashes(50percent)alsooccurredwhile
thecyclistwasmovingintraffic(Table513percentknown).Again,asimilarlyhighproportion
oftheseintrafficinjuriesoccurredwhenmovingagainsttraffic,approximately20percent.
Thelackofexposuredatamakeitimpossibletoknowifthisisdisproportionatetoactualtraffic.
Also,crossingatsignalizedintersectionsisthesecondhighestcontributortobicyclecrashes,
accountingfor20percentofthecrashes.Inslightlymorethanonethirdofthesecrashes,the
cyclistwascrossingagainstthesignal.
Table513:Bicyclistactionininjurycrashes
Bicyclistaction
Injurytype
Total
A
B
C
Turningleft
25 107
86
218
Turningright
15
46
40
101
Enterfromdrive/alley
33 209 147
389
Noaction
26 119 112
257
Crossingwithsignal
91 505 372
968
Crossingagainstsignal
69 275 185
529
Entering/Leaving/Crossingschoolbus
0
0
1
1
(within50ft)
Entering/Leaving/Crossingparkedvehicle
1
13
9
23
Entering/Leaving/Crossingnotat
13
52
38
103
intersection
Walking/Ridingwithtraffic
288 1624 1084 2996
Walking/Ridingagainsttraffic
94 374 296
764
Walking/Ridingto/fromdisabledvehicle
0
6
2
8
Waitingforschoolbus
0
2
3
5
Playing/workingonvehicle
0
1
1
2
Playinginroadway
7
25
29
61
Standinginroadway
0
5
10
15
Workinginroadway
0
1
4
5
Otheraction
87 483 382
952
Intoxicated
2
10
8
20
Unknown/NA
176 658 658 1492
Total
927 4515 3465 8907
Percent Percent
known
2.45% 2.94%
1.13% 1.36%
4.37% 5.25%
2.89% 3.47%
10.87% 13.05%
5.94% 7.13%
0.01% 0.01%
0.26%
1.16%
0.31%
1.39%
33.64% 40.40%
8.58% 10.30%
0.09% 0.11%
0.06% 0.07%
0.02% 0.03%
0.68% 0.82%
0.17% 0.20%
0.06% 0.07%
10.69% 12.84%
0.22% 0.27%
16.75%
100%
100%
39
5.6.2:BicyclistLocation
Overtwothirdsoffatalitiesoccurredinroadways(Table514).Nextinfrequencyarecrashes
thatoccurredinalocationwhereacrosswalkwasnotavailable.
Table514:Bicyclistlocationinfatalcrashes,CityofChicago,20052010
Bicyclistlocation
Number Percentage
Inroadway
22
68.8%
Incrosswalk
9.4%
Notinavailable
crosswalk
Crosswalknotavailable
3.1%
12.5%
Drivewayaccess
3.1%
Notinroadway
3.1%
Total
32
100%
Injurieswerealsomostprevalentinroadways,butthesecondmostcommonlocationwasin
crosswalks(Table515).Studieshaveshownthatmarkedcrosswalksareperceivedby
individualsassafezones,andtheymaynotbeasattentivetomotoristswhoarenotfully
engagedindriving.
Table515:Bicyclistlocationinbicycleinjurycrashes
Bicyclistlocation
Injurytype
Total Percent
A
B
C
Inroadway
604 2877 2052
5533 62.12%
Incrosswalk
128 724
539
1391 15.62%
Notinavailablecrosswalk
17
55
57
129
1.45%
Crosswalknotavailable
10
27
10
47
0.53%
Drivewayaccess
10
78
93
181
2.03%
Notinroadway
22 127
103
252
2.83%
Bikeway
15 110
71
196
2.20%
Unknown/NA
121 517
540
1178 13.23%
Total
927 4515 3465
8907
100%
Percent
known
71.59%
18.00%
1.67%
0.61%
2.34%
3.26%
2.54%
100%
40
5.6.3:BicyclistHelmetUse
Oneoftheprovenmeansofminimizing
seriousinjuriesfrombicyclecrashesis
helmetuse.Amongthe29fatalities
recordedbetween2005and2009,onlyone
cyclistisknowntohaveusedahelmet
(Table516).Importantly,thereportingfor
theremaining28crasheswasnotconclusive
astowhetherahelmetwaswornornot
(recordedoncrashreportsasnone
used/notapplicable).Forthisreason,
conclusionsregardingthetruerateof
helmetuseinthesecrashes,ortheimpact
oncrashseveritycannotbedrawnfrom
thesedata.
Table516:Helmetuse,2005to2009
Helmetuse
Number Percent
known
NoneUsed/NotApplicable
26
97%
Used
Unknown
Total
1
2
29
4%
100%
Source:FARSftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/fars/
However,nationaltraumadataindicatethatthepercentageofincidentsinwhichhelmetsare
usedhasrangedfrom22to24percent(basedonapproximately50,000traumaincidents
between2007and2010).
41
Chapter6: EnvironmentalFactorsandRoadConditions
Inthischapterweexaminetherelationshipofbicyclecrashestoenvironmentalfactorssuchas
weatherandlightconditions.Thisisfollowedbyadiscussionofroadconditions.
6.1:EnvironmentalFactorsduringCrashes
Previousresearchsuggeststhatbicycle/motorvehiclecrashesareassociatedwithpoorlylit
streets,streetswithoutmediansandhighspeedlimits.Weexploresomeofthesepointsinthis
section.
6.1.1:WeatherRelatedFactors
Perhapssurprisingly,inclement
weatherdoesnotseemtobea
majorcontributortobicycle
crashes.Thismaybeduetothefact
thatcyclinglevelsarelowduring
inclementweather;however,we
havenoexposuredata(miles
traveledininclementweather)to
assesshowweathermay
disproportionatelycontributeto
crashes.
Thegreatmajorityofinjuryand
fatalcrashesoccurredinclearweather(Table61).Rainwaspresentinlessthantenpercentof
crashes,suggestingthatbicyclingpredominantlyoccursduringgoodweather.
Weather
Clear
Rain
Snow
Fog/smoke/haze
Sleet/hail
Severecrosswind
Other
Unknown
Total
Table61:Weatherconditionsduringbicyclecrashes
Fatal
Injurycrashtype
Injury Percent
crashes
A
B
C total
29 807
3932
2939
7678
86.65%
2 93
320
252
665
7.50%
11
22
23
56
0.63%
20
91
69
180
2.03%
4
8
12
24
0.27%
1
3
3
7
0.08%
1
6
30
10
46
0.52%
19
86
100
205
2.31%
32 961
4492
3408
8861 100.00%
Percent
known
88.70%
7.68%
0.65%
2.08%
0.28%
0.08%
0.53%
100.00%
42
6.1.2:LightConditions
Inadditiontoclearweather,the
majorityofbicyclecrashesoccurred
duringdaylighthours,innearlythree
offourcrashes(Table62).Mostof
theremainingcrashesoccurred
duringhoursofdarkness,butin
locationswheretheroadwayis
lighted.Thisisthecasein18percent
ofinjurycrashesandmorethanone
thirdoffatalcrashes.InChapter7,
thedisproportionatenumberoffatal
crashesintheeveninghoursis
exploredfurther.
Table62:Lightconditionsduringbicyclecrashes
LightConditions
Injurycrashes
Injurycrashtype
Total
Injury
percent
A
B
C
Daylight
635
3269
2479
6383
72.03%
Dawn
18
54
45
117
1.32%
Dusk
35
168
126
329
3.71%
Darkness
53
154
137
344
3.88%
Darkness,lightedroad
209
794
566
1569
17.71%
Unknown
11
53
55
119
1.34%
Total
961
4492
3408
8861 100.00%
Percent
known
73.02%
1.34%
3.76%
3.94%
17.95%
100.00%
Fatal
crashes
17
2
2
11
0
32
43
6.1.3:WeatherRelatedRoadSurface
Expectedly,thedataonroadsurfacescanbeinferredfromthefindingsrelatingtotheweather
data(Table63).Nearly90percentofcrashesoccurredwhentheroadsurfacewasdryandten
percentwhenitwaswet.Again,asexpected,snoworslushwasrarelythecontributingfactor.
Table63:Roadsurfaceconditionsduringbicyclecrashes,20052010
Roadsurface
Fatal
Injurycrashtype
Injury
Injury Percent
total
percent
known
A
B
C
Dry
29 802
3875
2878 7555
85.26%
89.16%
Wet
2 114
415
322
851
9.60%
10.04%
Snoworslush
5
18
22
45
0.51%
0.53%
Ice
1
2
6
9
0.10%
0.11%
Sand,mud,
1
3
2
6
0.07%
0.07%
dirt
Other
1
7
0
8
0.09%
0.09%
Unknown
1
37
172
178
387
4.37%
Total
32 961
4492
3408 8861 100.00% 100.00%
6.2:RoadwayEnvironment
6.2.1:RelationtoIntersections
Intersectionsrepresentagreaterhazard
tobicyclistscomparedtootherroadway
sections.Table64showsthatoverhalf
ofbothfatalandinjurycrashesoccurred
atintersections.Thedatareflectthe
natureoftheChicagostreetsystem,
withmanydiagonalstreetscreating
complexintersections.
Intersection
related
Yes
No
Total
Table64:Bicycleinjurycrashesatintersections
Fatalcrashes
Injurycrashtype
Total Percent
Number
Percent
A
B
C
18
56.3%
541
2436
1836
4813
54.3%
14
43.8%
420
2056
1572
4048
45.7%
32
100%
961
4492
3408
8861
100%
44
Intersectionsrepresentapotentialhazardforalltraffic,andparticularlytobicyclesand
pedestrians.Map61showsintersectionsthatrecordedatleasttencrashes.Thevastmajority
oftheseintersectionsarelocatednorthwestofdowntownChicago.Onlyoneintersectionis
locatedsouthoftheLoopandoutsidethegreaterdowntownarea,atArcherandWestern.
Map61:Intersectionswithatleastteninjurycrashes
Thesizeofanintersection(geographicscope)isnotfixedandvariesbyintersectiondesignand
complexity.We,however,usethesamesizedefinitionforallintersections.Specifically,ifa
crashoccurswithin125feetofthecenterpointoftheintersection,itiscountedasan
intersectioncrash.
Table65showsthatnoneofthe12intersectionswiththehighestnumberofcrashesare
locatedintheimmediatedowntownarea.TheintersectionatChicagoandHalstedisthesite
closesttotheLoop.
Thetwointersectionswiththehighestnumbersofcrashesarelarge,complexintersections
wherethreemajorarterialroadwaysconverge.Thehighestnumberofintersectioncrashes
occursattheintersectionofDamen,FullertonandElstonAvenues,followedcloselybythe
intersectionofChicago,MilwaukeeandOgdenAvenues.Manyofthehighcrashintersections
areassociatedwithdiagonalstreets,includingMilwaukee,ClybournandLincoln.Thelargest
numberofcrashesatanondiagonalintersectionisatChicagoandHalsted.
45
Crash
count
Table65:Intersectionswiththegreatestnumberofinjurycrashes
N/Sstreet
E/Wstreet
Diagonalstreet/Avenue
Communityarea
20
19
DamenAve
n/a
FullertonAve
ChicagoAve
17
16
16
15
15
14
HalstedSt
LakeShoreDr
CaliforniaAve
HalstedSt
DamenAve
DamenAve
ChicagoAve
MontroseAve
n/a
FullertonAve
NorthAve
DiverseyAve
14
14
14
14
14
n/a
AshlandAve
HalstedSt
DamenAve
ClarkSt
ElstonAve
MilwaukeeAve&Ogden
Ave
n/a
n/a
MilwaukeeAve
LincolnAve
MilwaukeeAve
ClybournAve
FullertonAve
MilwaukeeAve
CortlandSt
n/a
ArmitageAve
n/a
n/a
WickerParkAve
n/a
RidgeAve
LoganSquare
WestTown
WestTown
Uptown
LoganSquare
LincolnPark
WestTown
NorthCenter/Lincoln
Park
LoganSquare
LoganSquare
LincolnPark
WestTown
Edgewater
Map62showsthe
locationsofthehighcrash
intersectionsmoreclearly.It
isevidentthatthediagonal
arterialsaccountforthe
vastmajorityofcrashes.
ThisincludesMilwaukee,
Elston,Clybourn,Lincoln
andClark.Theseareall
importantarterialsradiating
fromdowntownChicago.
Halstedisthemajor
exception,followedby
NorthAvenue.
Amongtheintersectionsclosesttodowntownareat(1)HalstedandMadisonand(2)Roosevelt
andState.Theyarenot,however,inthelistofthe12highestcrashintersections.
46
Map62Intersectionswithlargenumberofinjurycrashes
47
6.2.2:RoadDefects
Theroadcircumstancesseemnottobeanimportantelementinbicyclecrashes.Nodefects
werereportedin97percentofthecrashes(Table66).SomeofthedefectslistedinTable66
areinevitableovertheshorttermbeforemaintenancecrewscanact,suchasdebrisonthe
road.
Roaddefects
Nodefects
Constructionzone
Maintenancezone
Utilityworkzone
Workzoneunknown
Shoulders
Rut,holes
Wornsurface
Debrisonroadway
Other
Unknown
Total
Table66:Roaddefects
Fatal
Injurycrashtype
Injury
total
A
B
C
30
864 4000
2770 7634
0
10
46
28
84
0
0
2
2
4
0
0
0
3
3
0
2
3
2
7
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
11
9
22
0
3
11
10
24
0
6
19
38
63
0
3
13
6
22
1
71
387
539
997
32
961 4492
3408 8861
Injury
percent
Percent
known
86.15%
0.95%
0.05%
0.03%
0.08%
0.01%
0.25%
0.27%
0.71%
0.25%
11.25%
100.00%
97.08%
1.07%
0.05%
0.04%
0.09%
0.01%
0.28%
0.31%
0.80%
0.28%
100.00%
6.2.3:RoadwayTypeandNumberofLanes
Mostfatalbicyclecrashesoccurontwowaystreets.Over80percentareonsuchstreets(Table
67).Onewaystreetsaccountforoneineightfatalities.Thelackofexposuredatapreventsus
fromassessingthedegreetowhichonewaystreetsaresafer.
Table67:Locationrelatedfactorsforfatalbicyclecrashes,20052010
RoadwayType
Fatalities Percent
Twoway,Notdivided
10
31.3%
Twoway,Divided,nomedianbarrier
11
34.4%
Twoway,Dividedw/medianbarrier
5
15.6%
Onewayorramp
4
12.5%
Alleyordriveway
1
3.1%
Other
1
3.1%
Total
32
100.00%
Injurycrashestendtooccuronthesameroadwaytypesasfatalities(Table68).Thelargest
differenceappearstobeontwowaydividedstreetswithamedian.Only6.2percentofthe
48
injurycrashesoccurontheseroadwaysincontrastto15.6percentoffatalcrashes,morethan
twiceasmany.
Roadwaytype
Table68:Roadwaytype
Injurycrashtype
Total
Percent Percent
known
A
B
C
282
1352
1028
2662 30.04% 32.44%
369
1713
1093
3175 35.83% 38.70%
Twoway,NotDivided
Twoway,Divided,nomedian
barrier
Twoway,Dividedw/median
63
269
180
barrier
Twoway,Centerturnlane
5
19
17
Onewayorramp
105
526
357
Alleyordriveway
41
230
182
Parkinglot
5
19
23
Other
37
167
123
Unknown
54
197
405
Total
961
4492
3408
512
5.78%
6.24%
41
0.46%
0.50%
988 11.15% 12.04%
453
5.11%
5.52%
47
0.53%
0.57%
327
3.69%
3.99%
656
7.40%
8861 100.00% 100.00%
Thedataonnumberoflanesis
noteasilyinterpreted,since
overhalfofthefatalcrashesfall
intothenotapplicable
category(51.7percent).What
standsout,however,asseen
fromTable69,isthat
approximatelyhalfofthenon
intersectionfatalcrashes
occurredonfourlanefacilities
(24.1percentofallcrashes).
Nonfatalinjurycrashesare
muchmorelikelytooccuron
fourlanestreets.Fourlane
facilitiesfrequentlyhavehigher
speedlimits;therefore,speedmaybeacontributingfactortothehighproportionoffatal
crashes.
49
Table69:Numberoftravellanes
Totalno.oftravel Fatal Percent Injurycrashtype
Total
lanes(both
known
A
B
C
directions)
NAUsedfor
15 51.7%
183 781
636
1600
intersection
1
4 13.8%
121 675
558
1354
2
3 10.3%
328 1632
1187
3147
3
30 102
73
205
4
7 24.1%
189 775
570
1534
5
5
27
16
48
6
18
83
30
131
7
0
8
2
10
8
1
7
4
12
9
3
8
5
16
10+
3
0
1
4
Unknown
3
80 394
326
800
Total
32
100%
961 4492
3408
8861
Percent
Percent
known
18.06%
19.85%
15.28%
35.52%
2.31%
17.31%
0.54%
1.48%
0.11%
0.14%
0.18%
0.05%
9.03%
100.00%
16.80%
39.04%
2.54%
19.03%
0.60%
1.63%
0.12%
0.15%
0.20%
0.05%
100.00%
6.2.4:RoadwayClassification
Inmosturbanareas,localstreetsaccount
forovertwothirdsofroadwaymilesand
serveprimarilyresidentialareas.
Collectorsaccountforgenerallylessthan
tenpercentofroadmilesandtypically
connectresidentialareaswithhigher
orderroadwaysandcommercialareas.
Arterialsusuallyaccountforonequarter
ofroadwaymilesbutconsiderablymore
traffic.
InChicago,collectorsandminorarterials
accountforthegreatmajorityoffatal
andTypeAbicyclecrashes(Table610).
Principalarterialandlocalroadsshow
roughlyequivalentnumbersofthese
crashes.Trendsfrom2005to2010are
notimmediatelyapparent,butfrom2006
to2010thenumberoffatalandTypeA
50
crashesshowsignsofdecreasing.Thesameholdsforprincipalarterials,downfrom40to23,
andforcollectors,decreasingfrom77to53.FatalandTypeAcrashesonminorarterialshave
heldsteadyoverthelastfouryears.
Table610:FatalandTypeAcrashesbyroadwayclassification
Roadwayclass
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total
Percent
PrincipalArterial
22
40
37
25
32
23
179
18.0%
MinorArterial
32
39
45
45
43
46
250
25.2%
Collector
50
77
61
68
50
53
359
36.2%
LocalroadorStreet
28
35
32
26
34
28
183
18.4%
Interstate
0.8%
Unknown
14
1.4%
134
193
178
167
167
154
993
100.0%
Total
Consideringallcrashes(Table611),minorarterialsandcollectorsagaindominate,butlocal
streetshaveahigherpercentageofthecrashesthanprincipalarterials.Sincelocalstreetstend
tohavelowerspeeds,thecrashesapparentlyareproportionatelylessserious.Subtracting
Table610datafromTable611yieldsTypeBandTypeCinjuries.Thesedatashowthatlocal
streetshave46percentmoreTypeBandCinjurycrashesthanprincipalarterials,whereasfatal
andTypeAcrasheswereverysimilar,183versus179.
Table611:Allinjurycrashesbyroadwayclassification
Roadwayclass
2005
2006
2007 2008 2009
2010
Total
Percent
PrincipalArterial
201
197
264
226
227
259
1374
15.5%
MinorArterial
293
346
447
377
357
416
2236
25.2%
Collector
403
501
654
546
485
570
3159
35.7%
LocalroadorStreet
323
318
386
328
282
293
1930
21.8%
Interstate
12
14
53
0.6%
Unknown
12
18
22
17
21
19
109
1.2%
1236
1385
1782 1506
1386
1566
8861
100.0%
Total
6.2.5:TrafficSignalControl
AsseeninTable612,50percentoffatalbicyclecrashesoccurredatlocationswithnotraffic
signals.About34percentofthecrashesoccurredatsignalizedlocationsandanothernine
percentoccurredatstopsigns.Giventhesmallnumberoffatalcrashesversustheinjury
crashes,therearenonoteworthydifferencesbetweenTables612and613,i.e.,thepresence
oftrafficcontroldevicesseemedtobesimilarinfatalandinjurycrashes.Apossibleexceptionis
laneusemarkingsthataccountedforsixpercentofthefatalcrashesbutlessthanonepercent
injurycrashes.Still,thisdescribesonlytwofatalities,whichmayhavebeenanaberration.
Table612:Trafficcontroldeviceatfatalcrashes
Trafficcontroldevice
Frequency
Percent
Nocontrols
16
50.0%
Trafficsignal
11
34.4%
Stopsign/flasher
3
9.4%
Laneusemarking
2
6.3%
Total
32
100.0%
Table613:Trafficcontroldeviceatinjurycrashes
Trafficcontroldevice
Injurycrashtype
Total
Percent Percent
known
A
B
C
Nocontrols
468
2207
1665
4340 48.98% 50.37%
Trafficsignal
303
1316
956
2575 29.06% 29.89%
Stopsign/flasher
148
760
596
1504 16.97% 17.46%
Yield
3
16
14
33
0.37%
0.38%
Police/flagman
2
4
0
6
0.07%
0.07%
Railroadcrossinggate
0
3
0
3
0.03%
0.03%
OtherRailroadcrossing
0
0
1
1
0.01%
0.01%
Schoolzone
0
1
0
1
0.01%
0.01%
Nopassing
3
18
13
34
0.38%
0.39%
Otherregulatorysign
2
4
4
10
0.11%
0.12%
Otherwarningsign
1
0
0
1
0.01%
0.01%
Laneusemarking
4
33
17
54
0.61%
0.63%
Other
5
23
25
53
0.60%
0.62%
Delineators(addedin
0
1
0
1
0.01%
0.01%
2008)
Unknown
22
106
117
245
2.76%
Total
961
4492
3408
8861 100.00% 100.00%
Thefollowingtable(Table614)showsthe
conditionofthetrafficcontroldeviceduringthe
crash.Inbothfatalandinjurycrashestherewere
nocontroldevicesinhalfofthecrashes.Inplaces
wheretherewasacontroldevice,itwas
improperlyfunctioninginbothfatalandinjury
crashesinaboutthreepercentofthecases.While
thisisalowpercentage,itclearlyneedstobe
addressed.
51
52
Table614:Conditionoftrafficcontroldeviceatfatalandinjurycrashes
Traffic Control Device
Fatal
InjuryCrashType
Total
Percent
Percent
crash
Known
Condition
A
B
C
Nocontrols
Notfunctioning
Functioningimproperly
Functioningproperly
Wornreflective
material
Missing
Other
Unknown
Total
15
0
1
15
0
480
10
32
391
0
2265
43
158
1769
4
1706
36
106
1337
2
4451
89
296
3497
6
0
0
1
1
2
0
13
60
49
122
1
35
192
171
398
32
961
4492 3408
8861
50.23%
1.00%
3.34%
39.47%
0.07%
52.59%
1.05%
3.50%
41.32%
0.07%
0.02%
0.02%
1.38%
1.44%
4.49%
100.00% 100.00%
53
6.3:WorkZones
Noneofthe32fatalitiesoccurredinaworkzone.Onlyonepercentofinjurycrashesoccurred
inworkzoneswiththemajorityincurringTypeBinjuries(Table615).Therewerealso12
seriousinjurycrashes(TypeA)inworkzones.Itislikelythatcyclistsareespeciallycarefulas
theyproceedintoroadconditionswhichareuncertain,commonlythecaseinworkzoneareas.
Table615:Injurycrashesinworkzones,20052010
Workzones
related
Yes
No
Total
Injurycrashtype
A
B
C
12
51
35
949
4441
3373
961
4492
3408
Total
Percent
98
8763
8861
1.1%
98.9%
100.0%
54
Chapter7: TemporalDistributionsofCrashes
Trafficsafetypatternshaveseasonalandtemporalvariations,reflectingbothlevelsofuseas
wellasinherentrisksthataffectcrashcausationandseverity.Inthischapter,weconsidersuch
variations,intermsofquarteroftheyear,month,dayofweekandhourofday.
7.1:CrashesbyQuarter
Table71showsthatfortheyears
considered,fatalitiesandinjuriesare
highestduringthethirdquarter.Since
weather(temperature)tendstobeafactor
inbiking,itisexpectedthatthisisthe
periodwiththehighestlevelofbiking
activity.Accordingly,thewintermonthsof
JanuarytoMarchhavethelowestlevelsof
injuries.Thefourthquarterhasthesecond
lowestfollowedbythesecondquarter.The
numberoffatalitiestendstofollowthis
patternwiththeslightexceptionthatthe
fourthquarterhasonefewerfatalityduring
thestudyperiodthanthefirstquarter,yetthefirstquarterhasthefewestinjurycrashes.
Table71:BicycleinjurycrashesbycalendarquarterinChicago,20052010
Quarter Crashes 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Average
1
Injury
67 117 134 100 119 117
109.0
JanMar Fatal
0.8
Injury
345
442
524
491
390
485
446.2
AprJun Fatal
1.8
Injury
614
598
803
710
626
684
672.5
JulSept Fatal
2.0
210
228
321
205
251
280
249.2
0.7
Injury
OctDec Fatal
Total
Injury
Fatal
1236 1385 1782 1506 1386 1566

7
55
7.2:BicycleCrashesbyMonth
Theseasonalpatternofinjurycrashesisquite
predictable.CrashesarelowinDecemberthrough
February,startbuildinginMarchandincrease
almostlinearlyuntilJuly.Injurycrashesbeginto
declinerapidlyfromAugustuntilDecember.
TypeAinjurycrashesaretheexception.Rather
thanpeakinginJulyasTypesBandCinjury
crashes,theypeakinAugust.Butthethreeinjury
typesareverysimilarinthatthemonthsof
December,JanuaryandFebruaryhavefewcrashes.
Thisimpliesthatwintermonthshavefewercyclists.
Theannualpatternsuggeststhatanaturaldivisionoftheyearintofourquarterswouldinclude
thesethreewintermonthsDecember,JanuaryandFebruaryintoonequarter,andthethree
summermonthsofJune,JulyandAugustintoanotherquarter.Theremainingthreemonths
beforeandafterthewintermonthswouldconstitutetheothertwoquarters.Withthis
alignmentofquarters,theautumnquarterofSeptember,OctoberandNovemberhashigher
injurynumbersthanthespringquarterofMarch,AprilandMay.Thissuggeststhattheinertia
ofcyclingactivitycontinuesfromthesummerintothecolderfallmonths,butisslowtostartin
thespringmonths.
Figure71:Injurycrashesbymonthandinjurytype,2005to2010total
56
Whilethemonthlyinjurydatarevealsa
patternofincreasingandthen
decreasingnumbers,thelowoverall
fatalityfigurescausethepatterntobe
lessdiscernible(Figure72).Again,
perhapsduetothesmallnumberof
winterbicyclistssuggestedinthe
previoustable,itisnotsurprisingthat
NovemberandDecemberhavethe
fewestnumberoffatalities.Still,
Novemberisnotamongthefour
lowestinjurycrashmonths.Likewise,
thefourfatalitiesinthefirsttwo
monthsoftheyear,Januaryand
February,versusnoneinthelasttwo
monthsoftheyear,mayhavemoreto
dowiththesmallnumberoffatalities
thanwithweatherrelatedfactors.
Figure72:Fatalbicyclecrashesbymonth,20052010
57
7.3:CrashesbyDayofWeek
Regardingwhenduringtheweekbicyclecrashesoccur,
fatalitypatternsaresomewhatdifferentthaninjury
crashpatterns.ThemaindifferenceisonSunday.
Sundaysarelikelytobecharacterizedbyrecreational
cycling,andperhapscorrespondinglytheyaccountfor
overonefifthofthefatalities.Indeed,itisthedaywith
thelargestnumberoffatalities(Figure73).Thelow
numberofinjurycrashesonSundaysfurthersuggests
thatthefatalityratesareunusuallyhigh.Closerscrutiny
showsthatfourofthesevenSundayfatalitiesoccurred
wellafter8:00pmorbefore2:00am,implyingthat
darknesswasafactor.
Remarkably,Saturdayshavelessthanhalfthenumber
offatalitiesthanrecordedonSundays.Sundaysdeserve
furtherconsiderationinestablishingcountermeasures.
SaturdaysaretiedwithMondaysandThursdaysforthe
lowestnumberoffatalities.Theinjurydatabelowsuggestthattheselattertwodayshavethe
lowestweekdaytrafficlevels.Inthisregard,MondaysandThursday,areinsyncwiththelow
numberoffatalitiesandinjurycrashes(thoughTypeCinjuriesarerelativelyhighonThursdays).
Figure73:Fatalbicyclecrashesbydayofweek,20052010
Injurycrashesshowmoreuniformitythanfatalitiesoverthedaysoftheweek(Figure74).
WednesdaysandFridayshavethelargestnumberofTypeBinjuries.Fridaysshowthehighest
numberofTypeAandTypeCinjurycrashes.Collectively,Fridayshavethehighesttotalnumber
58
ofinjurycrashes.Conversely,Sundayshavethelowestinjuriesofeachofthethreeinjurytypes,
underscoringtheanomalousfatalitynumbersofSundays(thoughthesmalloverallnumberof
fatalitiesmaybeafactor).Mondayshavethelowestweekdayinjurycrashesforeachofthe
threeinjurytypes.BasedonTypeBinjuries,bicycletrafficappearstobuildduringthefirst
threedaysoftheweek(MondaytoWednesday).
Figure74:Injurycrashesbytypeofinjuryanddayofweek
(thepercentagessumto100overthesevendayweekforeachinjurytype)
59
7.4:TimeofDay
Thetimeofdayisdividedintofiveperiodswiththelastone
consistingoffourhours.Hourlydataarealsopresentedto
providesomedetail.
7.4.1:FatalCrashesbyTimeofDay
Whilethenumberofinjuriespeaksearlierintheday,the
numberoffatalitiescontinuestoriseintoeveninghours.
Thehighesttotalisinthe8:00pmtomidnighttime
interval,eventhoughitistheonlyfourhoursinlength.The
othertimeperiodsinFigure75arealsodividedintofour
hourincrements.Duetothelikelihoodthatthereisless
cyclinglateintheevening,thehighnumberoffatalities
warrantsfurtherstudy.
Figure75:Fatalbicyclecrashesbytimeofday,20052010
7.4.2:InjuryCrashesbyTimeofDay
Crasheswithinjuries(Figure76)tendtoreflectthatsame
patternasfatalcrasheswiththeimportantexceptionthatthe
8:00pm12:00amtimeperioddoesnothavethelargest
numberofinjurycrashes,althoughitrepresentsthelargest
shareoffatalitycrashes.Foreachofthethreeinjurytypes,the
latenighttimeslothasthethirdlowestnumberofinjuries
amongthefivetimecategories.Inessence,itfallsintothe
medianrange.Thistemporaldistributionofcrashesisvery
similartothepatterninNewYorkCity,wheremorecrashes
occurbetween3:00pmand8:00pmthananyotherperiod
(NYCDOT).
Figure76:Injurybicyclecrashesbytimeofday,20052010
7.4.3:DooringCrashes
Inlargepart,dooringincidentsreflectthesametimeofday
patternasforallotherinjurycrashes(Figures76and77).
Theygrowduringthecourseofthedayandpeakinthe
3:008:00pmtimeslot.Thistimeperiodaccountsfor
nearlyhalfofalldooringcrashes.Thispercentage,45.7
percent,islowerthanforTypeBandCcrashesbuthigher
thanTypeAcrashesinFigure76.Butinallfourcaseson
Figure76and77,thelasttimeperiod,8:00pmto
midnight,hasthethirdhighestproportionofcrashes.
60
61
Figure77:Dooringcrashes,20102011
Source:IDOTDooringData20102011
7.4.4:FatalandInjuryCrashesbyHour
Giventhelatenightdifferences
citedabove,moreexaminationis
merited.Wethereforepresent
hourlydata,initiallyforfataland
TypeAdatatogether,since
graphingonly32fatalcrashesover
24hourswouldnotbevery
enlightening.NotethatFigure75
abovedepictsonlyfatalcrashes;
thereforeitlooksdifferentthan
Figure78.Figure78showsthat
seriousinjuryandfatalcrashes
seemtogrowsteadilyfrom4:00
amandpeakat5:006:00pm(17
onFigure78).Thesharpestriserunsfromveryearlymorninguntil8:00am,whilethesharpest
declineoccursafter9:00pm.Theoverallhighestlevelsarefrom2:00pmuntil9:00pm.
62
Figure78:FatalandTypeAinjurycrashesbyhour,2005to2010
Anexaminationofonlyfatal
crashesrevealsthatnineofthe
fatalitiesoccurredfrom8:00pm
tomidnight,withtwooccurring
eachhourwithoneexception
(threefatalitiesfrom11:00pmto
midnight).Thebusyfourhour
cyclingperiodfrom3:00pmto
7:00pmshowseightfatalities.
Darknessmaybeafactorinthe
largenumberoffatalcrashesafter
8:00pm.
ThegraphshowingTypeBandCinjurycrashes(Figure79)resemblesinlargeparttheprevious
graph(Figure78).Themostdistinctivedifferenceistheminipeakat8:00amonFigure79.
Overallitisevidentthattheafternoonperiodhasthehighestnumbersofcrashesofalltypes.
63
ItisalsoagainevidentthateveninghourshaveadisproportionatenumberoffatalandTypeA
injurycrashes.OnFigure78thenextthreehoursafterthe5:006:00pmpeakallhadvery
highnumbers,notsoonFigure79(forlessseriouscrashes).
Figure79:TypeBandCinjurycrashesbyhour,2005to2010
7.5:SpecialEvents
Crashesduringmajorholidaysprovidesuswithauniqueopportunitytoexaminethespatial
patternofcrasheswhencommercialandworktriprelatedcyclingisamuchsmallerpartof
bicycletravel.WethereforeselectedJuly4thasadayinwhichmuchofthecyclingislargelyfor
recreationalandpersonalbusinesspurposes.
Map71showsthepatternforthesixFourthofJulyholidaysfrom2005to2010.Onthosedays
therewereatotalof24injurycrashes.Therewerenofatalcrashesonthesesixdays.Itshows
apatternthatisverydifferentfromothermapsinthisreport.
First,thecrashesseemtobescatteredthroughoutthecity.Second,thelargestclusterisinthe
generalvicinityof71stStreetandAshland.Thereareeightcrasheshere,countingtheserious
crashnear63rdandCalifornia(reddot).Thisvicinityaccountsforonethirdofthecrashes.
Third,thereareveryfewcrasheseastoftheKennedyExpressway.Alargenumberofcrashes
occurredinthisareaoverthesixyearperiod(seeMap81).Fourth,therearenocrashesinthe
LoopandonlytwointheCentralArea,onetothenorthnearDivisionandonetothesouthon
Roosevelt.Whatissimilartoothermapsinthisreport,however,istheMilwaukeeAvenue
corridor.TherearefourcrashesonMilwaukeewithoneseriouscrashplusthreeothersinclose
proximity.MilwaukeeAvenuemaythenbeoneofthefewallpurposearterialsthatservices
bothdailyandspecialoccasiontraffic.NootherarterialstandsoutonMap71.
64
Map71:BicycleinjurycrashesonthesixFourthofJulysfrom2005to2010
65
Chapter8: SpatialDistribution
Thischapterpresentsaseriesofmapsdepictingthespatialpatternoffatalandinjurycrashes.
8.1:OverallSpatialDistributionofCrashes
Duringthesixyearstudyperiodtherewere32fatalitiesand961seriousinjury(TypeA)
crashes.AsisevidentonMap81,mostoftheseseriouscrasheswerejustnorthandnorthwest
ofthedowntownarea.ThenumberofcrashesseemstocontinuenorthnearLakeMichiganall
thewaytothenorthernboundarywithEvanstonatHowardStreet.Thisfindingisconsistent
withpreviousresearchonothercitiesthathasfoundthatcrashfrequency,severityand
circumstancesdifferedsystematicallyindifferentpartsofthesecities(Loo,2010).
Map81:Fatalandserious(TypeA)injurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010
66
TherearescatteredclustersontheWestSideandfewontheSouthSide.TheHyde
Park/UniversityofChicagoneighborhoodandtheareaalongArcherAvenueappeartohavea
smallclusterofcrashes.Asawhole,theSouthSidehasrelativelyfewerseriouscrashes,though
someofthevoidareasareindustrialandgeneratefewbicycletrips.
AllotherinjurycrashesareshowninMap8.2,includingTypeBnonincapacitatinginjuriesand
TypeCpossibleinjuries.Theheavyconcentrationsaremoredifficulttoseehereversusthe
previousmap.Map82bettershows,however,thelocationsoflanduseswherebicyclingis
uncommon,suchasOHareAirport,thefarsouthLakeCalumetareaand,toalesserextent,the
southwestindustrialcorridorandMidwayAirport.Itagaindisplaysahighconcentrationof
crashesinthedowntownarea.
Map82:TypeBandCinjurycrashesinCityofChicago,20052010
67
8.2:ChicagoCommunityAreas
Map83showsthepatternoffatalandTypeAcrashesbycommunityarea(seeMap84for
communityareanames).Asabove,thedistributionoffatalandTypeAcrashesshowsalarge
numberofcrashesinthecommunityareasnorthofthedowntownarea.
Map83:FatalitiesandTypeAinjurycrashes,20052010
68
Ininterpretingthismap
itisimportanttonote
thatpopulationshave
shiftedsincethese
communityarea
boundarieswere
drawn.Therearefour
communityareason
theNorthSideeach
withpopulationsover
80,000,andsixonthe
SouthSideeachwith
fewerthan10,000
residents.
Therehasalsobeena
populationshiftinthe
downtownareaduring
thestudyperiod.From
2000to2010,theLoop
andthethreeadjacent
communityareashadacombinedpopulationincreaseofapproximately41,000residentsata
timethattherestofthecityexperiencedadropof240,000residents.
Consideringtheunderlyingpopulationdata,Map8.3expectedlyshowsthattherearesixnear
NorthSidecommunityareasthathave34percentofthefatalandseriouscrashes(Table8.1).
Thesesixcommunityareasaccountfor333ofthesecrashes,ormorethanonethirdofthecity
totalof961.Butitisestimatedthatthesixcommunityareasalsoaccountfor40percentofthe
bicyclemilestraveledbyChicagoresidents(CMAP,TravelTrackerSurvey).
Table81:Bicyclecrashesandmilescycledinsixcommunityareaswiththemostcrashes
(bycrashlocation;milesbyplaceofresidence)
Bicyclecrashes 000s
miles/
Fatal+
Total
day
TypeA
TotalofsixhighestCCAs
333
3206
129
Citytotal
976
8740
320
SixCCAsaspercentofcitytotal
34%
37% 40%
Source:2007CMAPTravelTrackerdataandIDOTMotorVehicleCrashData.
Communityarea(CCA)
Themilestraveledarecalculatedestimatesbytheauthorsusingpublicallyavailablefiles.
69
TheLoop,with35crashes,couldbeadded
asaseventhcommunityareatothesixin
thepreviousparagraph,butitsmain
reasonforexclusionisitssmallpopulation
baseandhighbicycletrafficvolumes.Still,
thehighestcategoryneedstobedefinedat
somevalue(over45onMap83)andthere
mayalwaysbecommunityareasthatcould
beontheothersideofthedividingline
(categorydefinition).Thisneedstobe
consideredininterpretingthedataonMap
8.3,wherethehighestcategoryisover35,
aswellasothermaps.Specifically,some
areashavesmallnumbersofcrasheseither
becausetheyaresmallinareaorless
visuallyobvious;theyhavefewresidentsor
fewtrafficgenerators.Moreover,someareasexperienceheavythroughtrafficthatisnot
attributabletothelanduseordensitywithinthearea.
Map8.3alsoshowsaconcentricpatternonthenorthside.Asthedistancefromthedowntown
increases,thenumberofseriouscrashesdeclines.Thisconcentricpatternextendsfarthernorth
alongthelakeandnorthwestincontrasttothewest.
70
8.2.1:HighestandLowestNumberofBicycleCrashes
ThecommunityareaswiththehighestnumberofcrashesaredisplayedinTable82.Thedatain
thefatalandTypeAcolumnsofTable82areshownonMap83andthepercentofall
bicyclecrashesinthecommunityareathatfallintothesetwocategoriesisgiveninthelast
columnofTable82.Notethatmostofthepercentagesareclosetotenpercent(seeMap84
forcommunityareanames).Thistenpercentlevelisrelativelylowincontrasttocommunity
areaswithlowerlevelsofcycling.
Table82:Fifteencommunityareaswiththehighestnumberofinjurycrashes
No. Communityarea
Fatal
A
B
C
Total
Percent
fatal+A
24
WestTown
72
387
300
761
9.72%
NearNorthSide
51
287
217
557
9.52%
22
LoganSquare
50
277
215
546
9.89%
LincolnPark
59
241
182
482
12.24%
LakeView
47
229
193
469
10.02%
28
NearWestSide
46
197
148
391
11.76%
32
Loop
35
190
106
331
10.57%
Uptown
29
127
108
264
10.98%
25
Austin
18
116
91
227
8.81%
23
HumboldtPark
31
95
67
193
16.06%
19
BelmontCragin
19
85
88
192
9.90%
77
Edgewater
20
85
83
188
10.64%
15
PortagePark
18
92
68
178
10.11%
21
Avondale
16
83
76
176
9.66%
RogersPark
17
85
73
175
9.71%
71
Table83showsthenumberofcrashesforthe15communityareaswiththelowestnumberof
crashes.Collectivelytheyhave237crashes.Thistotalisconsiderablylessthanthehighest
valuesforindividualcommunityareasatthetopofTable82.Eachofthetopthreecommunity
areasinTable82hasover500bicyclecrashes.
Table83:15communityareaswiththelowestnumberofinjurycrashes
No. Communityarea
Fatal
A
B
C
Total
Percent
fatal+A
52
EastSide
20
25
0.00%
62
WestElsdon
12
10
25
12.00%
EdisonPark
13
23
13.04%
18
Montclare
10
23
17.39%
45
AvalonPark
11
23
17.39%
48
CalumetHeights
11
21
9.52%
74
MountGreenwood
20
20.00%
51
SouthDeering
10
17
17.65%
37
FullerPark
13
0.00%
76
OHare
13
15.38%
55
Hegewisch
11
27.27%
36
Oakland
14.29%
50
Pullman
14.29%
47
Burnside
16.67%
54
Riverdale
0.00%
Thepercentageofthecrashesthatareeither
fatalorhaveseriousinjuries(TypeA),however,is
considerablyhigherinTable83thanTable82.
Threecommunityareas(Table83)haveno
crashesthatareeitherfatalorTypeA;therefore
thepercentageiszero.Still,manyofthe
percentageshoveraround15percent,higher
thanonTable8.2.Someofthehighpercentages
maybeattributabletosmallvalues,but
collectivelytheyshowthatintheseareas,where
therearefewcrashes,highproportionstendto
beeitherseriousorfatal.
72
8.2.2:PerCapitaCrashes:MappedbyCommunityAreas
Giventhediscussiononvariablepopulationlevelsineachcommunityarea,fromlessthan
3,000toalmost100,000,itwouldbeusefultoexaminemapsthatshowperpopulation
patterns.Map84showsthecumulativenumberoffatalitiesandTypeAbicyclecrashesfrom
2005to2010dividedbythe2010populationpercommunityarea.Inthisregarditisnotan
annualfigurebutrathermoreakintoanindexthatshowsthepatternofhighestpercapita
crashes.
Map84:FatalitiesandTypeAcrashesfrom20052010per2010population
ThepatternonMap84resemblesMap83withseveralnoteworthydifferences,atleastonein
presentation.Specifically,inMap84thedataaredividedintofiveequalquintiles;each
categoryhasapproximately15communityareas.OnMap84thecategoriesarechosenbythe
mappingsystemsearchingfornaturalbreaksinthedata.
Map84showsthatmanyoftheareasthathavelargenumbersofbicyclecrashes(Maps81
and82)alsohavehighpercapitanumbers.WestEnglewoodontheSouthSideisanareawith
73
highcrashespercapita.Also,JeffersonParkstandsoutonthefarNorthwestSide.Itisa
transportationhubwithnumerousChicagoTransitAuthority(CTA)andPacebuslines
convergingonaCTAstation,withawellusedprotectedbicyclerack(seephotoonpage70).
ThemapofallTypeBandCcrashes(Map85)showstwodistinctionsfromMap84ofthefatal
andTypeAcrashes.First,thehighestcategoryreachesfromtheLoopallthewaytothe
northerncitylimits.Second,inthesouthernpartofthecitythereareproportionatelyfewType
BandCinjurycrashes.
Map85:TypeBandCcrashesfrom20052010per2010population
8.3:Hotspots
Thereareseveralconcentrationsofbicyclecrashesthroughthecity.Theseareplaceswhere
thereareunusuallyhighnumbersofcrashesthatwarrantfurtherexaminationtoascertainthe
74
propercountermeasurestoreducecrashes.Map86identifiesthelocationsofmanyofthese
clustersandtheyarecalledhotspots.
Thehotspotsarecalculatedbyfirstmappingthelocationsofthecrashes.Theseplacesare
shadedinlightblueagainstthedarkbluebackground.Ateachcrashsitethesystemsearchesa
radiusofonehalfmile,andasitidentifiesadditionalcrashes,thecolorchangesinitiallytolight
Map86:Allinjurycrasheshotspots
green,yellow,orangeandfinallytored,signalizinganincreasingnumberofcrasheswithinthe
searchradius.OnMap86weuseasearchofallinjurycrasheswithinaradiusofonehalfmile,
butintheChicagoLoop,wherethereisahighconcentrationofcrashes,weusearadiusofone
eighthmile.
75
Map86showsgraphicallywhatwehaveseenonprevioustablesandmaps.Thedowntown
areastandsoutasdoseveraldiagonalcorridors.MilwaukeeAvenueismostprominent,but
partsofElston,Clybourn,ClarkandLincolnarealsohotspots.
Map87issimilartoMap86butdisplaysonlythehotspotsforfatalandTypeAinjurycrashes.
AgainthedowntownareaandMilwaukeeAvenuestandoutasdoesLincolnAvenue,especially
whereitbeginstoconvergewithClarkStreet.
Map87:FatalandTypeAinjurycrashhotspots
76
8.4:MajorCrashCorridors
Inadditiontothemapofintersectionswithhighnumbersofcrashesandhotspotareas,dot
mapsofindividualcrashesareinformative.Map88showsthattherearealmostacontinuous
seriesofsitesthathaveexperiencedbicyclecrashes.Theseareshownonamapthatranges
fromGrandonthesouthtoBelmontonthenorthandwesttoeastfromapproximatelyKedzie
toHalsted.Damen(northsouthstreetinthemiddleofthemap)andMilwaukeeAvenueshave
particularlyhighconcentrationsofcrashes.Similarly,Halstedhasalargenumberofcrashes,
butthedensityislower.
Map88:Majorarterialsofinjurycrashes
(TypeBinjuriesarelargebluedotsandTypeCinjuriesaresmallreddots)
77
8.5:MajorArterialHotspots
Otherthantheconcentrationsofcrashesatintersections(55percent),theremaybestreet
segmentsthathavehighnumbersofcrashes.Map89depictsthosestreetsegmentsthathave
thegreatestconcentrationsofcrashesnotassociatedwithintersections.MilwaukeeandClark
appeartohavethehighestlineardensitiesofcrashesthoughthehighestoverallareaisin
downtownChicagoandtheimmediateareatothenorth.
Map89:Nonintersectioninjurycrashes
8.6:DooringCrashes
78
Somearterialsaremorepronetodooringcrashesthanothers.Sincewedonothaveexposure
data,weusethenumberofinjurycrashesasasurrogate.Onthisscale,arterialssuchas
Milwaukee,ClarkandHalstedhavethehighestlevelsofbicycleactivity.MilwaukeeandClark
alsohavethehighestnumberofdooringcrashes,butLincolnhasalmosttwiceasmanydooring
crashesasHalsted,eventhoughithaslessthanhalfasmanyoverallbicyclecrashes.We
thereforepresentaratioofdooringtoallbicyclecrashes.
Inthisratio,Lincolnhasthehighestvalue,6.0,followedbyClarkandMilwaukee.Otherarterials
withhighvaluesareArmitage,DamenandBelmont.Conversely,lowestratiosamongtheten
arterialswiththehighestnumberofbicyclecrashesarefoundonFullerton,Chicago,Western
andAshland.Thesearerelativelywidearterials.Morestudy,however,issuggestedtoidentify
someoftheunderlyingreasonsforthesedifferences,suchasparkingratesanddensities.
Table84:Dooringcrashescomparedtoallinjurycrashesbymajorarterials,2010
Thereexistsdoublecountingsinceintersectioninjurycrashesareattributedtomorethanonearterial.
Arterial
Fatalities
Injury
Dooring Ratio*
crashes
Milwaukee
Halsted
Clark
Western
Ashland
Damen
North
Fullerton
Chicago
Division
Diversey
Belmont
Lincoln
California
Kedzie
State
Grand
Elston
LakeShore
IrvingPark
Armitage
Cicero
0
834
33
0
715
11
4
658
28
4
590
5
2
520
4
4
509
19
0
494
7
0
454
1
5
428
2
2
367
7
1
350
4
0
332
12
2
331
20
0
319
5
4
302
6
0
294
6
0
277
2
3
255
0
0
255
0
2
241
4
4
238
9
4
225
0
*(Dooringx100/Injurycrashes)
4.0
1.5
4.3
0.8
0.8
3.7
1.4
0.2
0.5
1.9
1.1
3.6
6.0
1.6
2.0
2.0
0.7
0.0
0.0
1.7
3.8
0.0
Source:IDOTDooringData20102011andIDOTMotorVehicleCrashData,20052010
79
8.7:LandUsesnearCrashLocations
Inthissection,weexploretheassociationbetweenbicyclecrashesandlanduses.
8.7.1:SchoolsandUniversities
Inassessingwhethertheremaybeanunusualprobleminthevicinityofschools,wesearched
forcrashesincloseproximitytoschoolsduringthebeginningandtheendoftheschoolday.We
haveselectedtheperiod7:00amto9:00amforthebeginningofschooland1:00pmto4:00
pmastheperiodassociatedwithdismissal.Wehavealsoselectedaquartermileradiusaround
theschoolastheprimarytargetarea.
Forhighschools,wehaveincludedbicyclecrashesthatfittheabovecriteriaforridersaged15
to18.TheresultisMap810.Itshowsthelocationsofthesecrashesandliststhethreehigh
schoolswiththreesuchcrashesandanother12withtwocrasheseach.Thehighschoolsthat
havethreecrashesarescatteredacrossthecitywithoneeachonthenorth,westandsouth
sides.Ingeneral,thedistributionofcrashesonMap810showsmorecrashesonthenorthern
peripheryofthecitythanpreviousmaps.
Map810:Highschoolvicinitieswithinjurycrashes
80
Forprimaryschools,weusetheagegroup5to14.Therearefarmoreprimaryschoolsthan
highschoolsinChicago,andmorepotentialareasforanalysis.Indeed,Map811showsa
scatteringofhotspotsthroughoutthecity.Ofallthemapspresentedinthisreport,thisseems
todisplaythegreatestbalanceacrossthestudyarea.Therearefewoverwhelmingpockets
thoughwewillfocusinthenextparagraphonaclusteronthefarwestside.Thisbalance
impliestwothings.First,theproblemisuniformacrossthecity,notjustprimarilyinone
region.Second,itsuggeststhatyoungresidentsthroughoutthecityarebecomingbicycle
riders,whichcouldtranslatetomorebicycletrafficthroughoutthecityinthefuture.
Map811:Primaryschoolhotspots
81
82
AcloserexaminationofthefarWest
Sideshowsthattheareabetween
83
MadisonandOgdenatCentralParkisaproblemarea(Map812).Perhapsexpectedly,sincethe
bicyclistsinthiscaseareyoung,thecrashesarepredominantlyonneighborhoodstreets.There
aretwodiagonalarterialsonthismap,GrandandOgden,andneitherseemstorepresent
problemarterials.
Map812:Primaryschoolhotspotsinthefarwestside
8.7.2:CentralBusinessDistrict
TheChicagodowntownclearlyhasalargenumberofbicyclecrashes.Manyoftheseareon
northsouthstreetsfromMichiganAvenuetoWellsincludingState,Dearborn,ClarkandLaSalle
(Map813).OutsidetheLoop,Halstedalsohasalargenumberofcrashes.
84
Madisonisoneofthefeweastwestarterialswithalargenumberofcrashes.Justnorthofthe
Loop,GrandAvenueandKinzieStreetalsoareevidentonMap813.Beyondthisimmediate
downtownareaChicagoandMilwaukeeAvenuesappearprominently.
Map813:DowntownTypeBandCinjury
crashes
8.7.3:ResidentialNonCentralBusinessDistrict
CommunityareasfromRogersParktotheNearNorthSide,includingEdgewater,Uptown,Lake
ViewandLincolnPark,haveaconsiderablyhighlevelofbicyclingandbicyclecrashes(Map8
14).ClarkStreetisamajornorthsoutharterialthattendstoparallelthelakeandhasan
unusuallyhighconcentrationofcrashesespeciallynearthesouthend.
Map814:NorthSideTypeBandCinjurycrashes
85
TheUniversityofChicago/HydeParkareaisoneofthefewareasonthesouthernhalfofthe
citythathasasubstantialnumberofcrashes.Map815showstheTypeBandCinjurycrashes.
86
Manyareon55thand57thStreetinandneartheuniversity.Therearealsoalargenumberof
crashesonDorchester,anorthsoutharterialeastofWoodlawn(streetnamenotshownon
Map815).
Map815:HydePark/UniversityofChicagoareaTypeBandCinjurycrashes
Chapter9: SummaryandLimitationsoftheStudy
87
Thissectionreviewsthemajorfindingsofthisstudy.Italsodiscussestheprincipallimitations.
9.1:StudySummary
Thefindingsinthisreportareimportantsincecyclingisgrowinginpopularitynationwide,and
Chicagoremainsaleadingcyclingcommunityamongthelargestcities.Chicagohasahigher
modeshareofbicyclecommutersthanLosAngelesorNewYorkCity.Italsohasalowerfatality
ratethanthesetwocities.Nevertheless,thereisroomforfurthergrowthinbicycleuseand
bicyclesafety.Amongsevenpeercities,bothSeattleandPhiladelphiahaveahigherbicycle
modesshareamongcommuters.TherearealsomorebicyclecommutersinSanFranciscoand
Portland.Also,therearefivetimesasmanycommuterswalkingtoworkversusbicycleusein
Chicago.Inmanyotherplacestheratioismuchsmaller,andinPortland,Oregonthereare
morecommutersusingbicyclesthanwalkingtowork.Walkingtoworkisanindicationofthe
proximitytoplacesofworkandasurrogateforthefeasibilityofbicyclingtowork.
ThemainfindinginthisreportisthatwhilethenumberofbicyclecrashesinChicagohasrisen,
thelevelofbicyclinghasincreasedatagreaterpace.Inthismillennium,thenumberofbicycle
commutershasmorethandoubled,whileduringthesixyearstudyperiodthenumberof
bicyclefatalitieshasincreased,butdeclinedsince2007,thepeakyearofbicyclecrashes.Given
thesharpriseincycling,thefactthatthenumberofinjurycrasheshasincreasedbutonly
modestlyisalsoapositivedevelopment.Still,anyincreaseincrashesrequiresattention.
Anotherpositivesignisthatalcoholismuchlessofaproblemassociatedwithbicyclecrashes
thanwithmotorvehiclecrashes.
Atthesametime,thereareafewareasofconcern.Intersectionsaccountforoverhalfof
bicyclecrashes.Roadwaydesignfeaturesholdpromiseinmitigatingthisproblem.Theevening
hoursareassociatedwithadisproportionatenumberoffatalities.Bettervisibilityandbetter
awarenessamongdriverswouldhelpthissituation.Alackofhelmetusecontinuestobea
factorintheseverityofbicyclecrashes.Whileonlyoneofthecyclistsinvolvedinfatalcrashes
areknowntohavewornahelmet,crashreportsrecordarenumerousunknowns,making
analysisofthisdatadifficult.However,nationaltraumadatashowthatonlyaboutaquarterof
theirbicyclecrashpatientsworeahelmet.
9.2:Limitations
Themainlimitationofthestudyistheunavailabilityofdata.IDOTscrashdataareveryuseful
andextensivesourceofinformationthatwehaveusedthroughoutthisstudy.Ascompleteas
itis,itonlyincludesdataonbicyclecrasheswithmotorvehicles.Theydoesnotinclude
informationoncrasheswithotherbicyclistsorpedestrians(i.e.onbikepaths)noroncrashes
withstationaryobjects.ThishasledustoexaminetheNationalTraumaDataBank(NTDB).
Whilethetraumadataareuseful,thedatasetincludesinformationonlyfromparticipating
hospitalsandwithoutlocationidentifiersforthosehospitals.Hence,wewereonlyabletodoa
nationalscanoftraumaregistrieswithoutbeingabletoinfertrendsfortheCityofChicago
specifically.
88
Also,crashdataaremostusefulwhenthereisacomparabledatasetthatincludesexposure
information.TheChicagoMetropolitanAgencyforPlanningcollectedhouseholdtravel
informationin2007thatincludesover550bicycletripsintheCityofChicago.Thesedatahave
beenremarkablyuseful,eventhoughtheywerecollectedforregionaltraveldemandmodeling
purposesandhadnumerousobjectives,notjusttocollectinformationonbicyclinglevels.
Ideally,alargerdatasourcewouldbeavailableinthefuture.
89
TechnicalAppendixA:DataandStudyArea
A.1:Data
Theanalysispresentedinthisreportusedtwotypesofdata:(A)safetydataand(B)traveltrend
andexposuredata.
SafetyData:Weanalyzedfoursourcesofsecondarysourcesofinformationonsafety:
IllinoisDepartmentofTransportation(IDOT)MotorVehicleCrashData,2005to2010;
IllinoisDepartmentofTransportation(IDOT)dooringdata,20102011;
National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting
System(FARS),2005to2009;
AmericanCollegeofSurgeonsNationalTraumaDataBank(NTDB),20052010).
TheprimarydatasourceusedinthisstudyistheIDOTmotorvehiclecrashfile.Thesedata
includebicyclecrashesthatoccuronroadwayssharedwithmotorvehicles.Therefore,crashes
thatoccuronbicycletrailsorsinglebicyclecrashesthatoccurfromfallsorhittingobstructions
arenotincludedintheanalysisbasedonthisdata.Thedatasetiscomposedofpolicereports.
Inexaminingthesixyearstudyperiod,wehavefocusedonfatalcrashesinvolvingbicyclists
andcrashesinvolvingthreelevelsofinjurycrashes(TypesA,BandC).Wehavenotexamined
bicyclecrashesleadingtopropertydamage.Wehaveanalyzedfatalandinjurycrashesinvolving
cyclistsbythespatialdistributionandcharacteristicsofcommunitiesandneighborhoods,
locationofcrashes,timeofdayandyear,weatherconditionsandtrendsovertime.Results
havebeendisaggregatedbysociodemographicssuchasageandgenderandbycrash
characteristics(typeofcrash,levelofinjury).
WehavecomparedtrendsintheCityofChicagotothoseinanumberofotherareas.These
includeCookCounty,thestateofIllinois,peercitieswhichmostresembleChicagoinsizeand
characterandtheU.S.asawhole.For2010and2011,wewereabletoanalyzedooring
informationcompiledbyIDOT.InordertocontextualizebicyclefatalitiesintheCityofChicago
tonationaltrendsandalsotoobtaingreaterdetailsonfatalitiesthatoccurredinthecitythat
arenotavailablefromtheIDOTdata,weusedtheFARSdata.
Asnotedabove,thesafetydatadonotincludecrashesonbikepaths,singlebicyclecrashes
withstationaryobjectsorpedestrianbicyclecrashes.Inordertoobtaininformationoninjuries
resultingfromthesetypesofsafetyeventsandalsotounderstandhelmetwearingbehaviorto
agreaterextent,weanalyzedtraumadatafromtheAmericanCollegeofSurgeonsNational
TraumaDataBank.TheNTDBcontainstraumaregistrydatafromparticipatingtraumacenters
onanannualbasis,anditisimportanttonotethatthedataarenotofallpersonsadmittedto
hospitals.Atthetimeofwritingthisreport,wewerenotabletoobtainthelocationidentifiers
90
ofthehospitalsinthedataset.Hence,wehaveanalyzedthetraumadataatthenationallevel
only.
TravelTrendandExposureData.Wehavealsodevelopedalimitedamountofexposuredata
forthepurposeofestimatingrelativerisk.Thefollowingsourceswereusedtoestimate
exposures:
U.S.CensusBureau,DecennialCensus(Census2010),
U.S.CensusBureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey(ACS2005to2010),
NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey(NHTS2009)and
ChicagoMetropolitanAgencyforPlannings(CMAP),TravelTrackerSurvey(TTS2007).
TheCensusBureaudataprovidespopulationfiguresandcommutingmodeshares.TheACS
provides,inadditiontopopulation,annualdataonbicycleuseinthejourneytowork,thereby
givingustheabilitytotracktrends.
WehavealsoextensivelyusedtheTravelTrackerSurveyconductedbytheChicago
MetropolitanAgencyforPlanning,theMetropolitanPlanningOrganizationfornortheastern
Illinois.Thissurveyincludesdatafromapproximately10,500householdsinnortheastern
Illinois.Itprovidesdailytraveldiariesandinformationonapproximately550bicycletripsmade
inChicago,regardlessoftrippurpose.CollectedfromJanuaryof2007toMarchof2008,the
datasetisfrequentlyknownastheTravelTrackerSurvey,andincludesinformationontrip
originsanddestinationsandwellasonthecharacteristicsofthetraveler.
A.2:StudyAreaandPeerCities
TheanalysispresentedinthisreportpertainsonlytotheCityofChicago.
Whileinsomestudiesthetermcityisambiguousandsometimes
includessuburbanareas,thefocusofthisstudyisentirelyonthearea
withintheChicagocitylimits.Inthiscontext,itisimportanttonotethat
thereisnonationalstandardonthescopeofcitylimits.Placeslike
Boston,SanFranciscoandMiamiarelessthanonequarterofthesizeof
Chicago(insquaremiles),whileplaceslikeOklahomaCity,Houston,
Phoenix,JacksonvilleandLosAngelesaremorethantwicetheareaof
Chicago.InFlorida,Jacksonvilleismorethan20timeslargerthanMiami
inlandarea,buttheMiamimetropolitanpopulationismorethanfour
timesgreater.Thesedistinctionsneedtobeconsideredinmaking
comparisonswithothercitiesandselectingpeercities.
Ourselectionofpeercitiesincludesthefollowingcriteria(1)population
greater500,000;(2)densitygreaterthan5,000residentspersquare
mile;(3)atleast17percentofthecommutersusepublictransit,bicycle
orwalktowork;and(4)theareaofthecityisatleast75squaremiles.
Forpeercities,therefore,weincludethecitysize(squaremiles)inthe
91
listofcriteria,sinceseveralcitiesareparticularlysmallandencompassonlythehighdensity
core.SanFrancisco,BostonandMiamiarealllessthan50squaremiles.SinceChicagois227
squaremiles,acomparisonwithBostonorMiamiwouldnotbeparticularlymeaningful.A
moreappropriatecomparisonwiththesecitieswouldbewiththecoreareaofChicago,butthe
definitionofsuchanareaislikelytobearbitrary.
Theareasizecriterionis
appliedbecausesmall
citiestendtobeofhigh
density,thereforehaving
disproportionatelyhigher
bicyclemodesharerates
intheircoreareas.Asthe
areaincreases,the
numberofcyclists
increasesbuttheshare
declines.Forexample,
Washington,D.C.hasa
bicyclecommutingmode
shareof3.1percent,
considerablyhigherthan
the1.3percentinChicago.
ButD.C.smetropolitan
shareisonly0.54percent,
actuallylowerthanthe
Chicagometropolitan
figureof0.61percent.
Also,bothBostonandSanFranciscohavehigherpopulationdensitiesthanChicagoduetotheir
smallareas,thoughtheinnerCityofChicagocertainlyhasmuchhigherdensitythantheentire
cityasawhole.
Nodefinitionofpeercitiesmeetsallsituations.SanFranciscoisnot
oneofourpeercities,norisitamongthetwelvelargestU.S.cities,
butithasapproximatelythesamenumberofbicyclecommutersas
Chicago.ThesameistrueforPortland,Oregon.Portlandisa
uniqueplaceinmanyregards.Itistheonlycityamongthe50
largestthathasmorebicyclecommutersthanthosethatwalkto
work.Hence,therearefrequentlylimitationstocomparisonswith
otherlargecities.
92
ThepointthatbicyclingvariesbyregioninthemetropolitanareacanbeseenusingCMAPs
TravelTrackerdata(TableA1).TheCityofChicagoandsuburbanCookCountyareeachdivided
intothreezones.ThecentralareaoftheCityofChicagoextendsfromHydeParkonthesouth
toLincolnParkandLakeviewinthenorthandtoHumboldtParkandNorthLawndale(adjacent
toCiceroAvenue)onthewest.Sinceitcoversaboutonethirdofthecity,thecentralarea
coversmorethanjustthecorearea.Moreover,centralChicagoasdefinedislargerinareathan
Boston,SanFranciscoorMiami.
ThetableshowsthatcentralChicago,withatwopercentbicyclemodeshare,hasamuch
higherrateofbicycleusethanotherpartsoftheregion.NorthChicagoalsohasahighshare
(1.5percent)whilethesouthernpartofthecityhasalowershare(0.1percent).Thus,usinga
smallcoreareayieldsahighermodesharethantheentirecity.
TableA1:CMAPsTravelTrackerSurveymodeshareforselectedmodes
Walk
Bike
Driver
Passenger
CTA
bus
CTA
train
Para
transit
School
bus
CentralChicago
26.4%
2.0%
33.3%
20.0%
10.9%
4.6%
0.1%
0.3%
NorthChicago
15.3%
44.2%
24.4%
6.9%
5.2%
0.0%
0.9%
SouthChicago
13.2%
41.1%
27.5%
11.3%
3.1%
0.2%
0.7%
NorthCook
County
WestCook
County
SouthCook
County
MetroRegion
8.3%
1.5%
0.1%
1.4%
59.3%
25.3%
0.6%
1.0%
0.0%
1.9%
11.0%
0.9%
53.0%
27.0%
1.3%
2.4%
0.0%
1.7%
6.7%
0.5%
59.2%
26.6%
0.5%
0.8%
0.1%
2.5%
10.4%
26.5
3.3
1.8
0.0%
1.8%
1.0% 53.0%
Source:ChicagoRegionalHouseholdTravelInventoryModeChoiceandTripPurposeforthe
2008and1990Surveys,CMAP,June2010
93
TechnicalAppendixB:BackgroundBicyclingSafetyTrendsandLiterature
B.1:BenefitsofBicycling
Bicyclinghasthepotentialtoprovideseveralhealthandenvironmentalbenefits,inadditionto
itsintrinsicrecreationalvalue.Physicalactivityisconsideredtobeacriticalingredientin
reducingtheriskofpoorhealthoutcomessuchasheartdisease,diabetes,highbloodpressure
andimprovingobesitylevelsandhealthybones,musclesandjoints(U.S.DepartmentofHealth
andHumanServices,1996).IntheU.S,anestimated25percentofalladultsarenotactiveatall
andnearlyhalfofyoungpeopleaged1221arenotvigorouslyactiveonaregularbasis(Centers
forDiseaseControl,2011).Althoughrecentresearchhasfocusedonthetradeoffsassociated
withthesebenefitsversusindividualadversehealtheffectssuchashigherexposuretoair
pollutionandriskofatrafficaccident(forexample,seedeHartog,etal,2010),theoverall
opportunityformoderatetovigorousactivitytogetherwiththeabilitytoaccomplishtravel
objectivesmakebicyclinganimportantandsustainableinstrumenttoachievehealthgoals.
Nonmotorizedmodesoftransportationalsooffersignificantpotentialtoreducethenegative
externalitiesassociatedwithmotorizedtravelsuchastrafficcongestionanditsassociated
societalcostssuchasairpollutionandGreenHouseGas(GHG)emissions.Inaddition,cycling
canreducetheoutofpocketcostsassociatedwithmotorvehicletravelandprovidesan
alternativetomotorvehiclesforthosetypesoftripsforwhichtherearenopublic
transportationoptionsandwherethedistancesaretoogreattowalk.Whiletheeconomic
valueoftimesavingsandtravelreliabilitymayoutweighthebenefitsofcyclingincertaintravel
markets,inothertravelmarkets,suchasthoserequiringshortertrips,cyclingmaymake
considerableeconomicsense.IntheU.S.,theaveragebicycletripwas2.26milesin2009,
comparedto9.75milesforalltrips(NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey,2009).Fuel
consumptionandemissionratesonapervehiclemilebasisaremuchhigherforthefirstfew
milesofdrivingwhenvehicleenginesarecold,aphenomenonknownascoldstarts;reductions
inthenumberofshortvehicletripsbydivertingtocyclingandwalkingaremostlikelytoleadto
thelargestemissionreductionbenefitsonapermilebasis.Thesefactorspointtothe
importanceofconsideringstrategiestomakecyclinganintegratedpartofalargermultimodal
passengertransportationnetwork,consistingofwalking,bicyclingandondemandshared
greencompactandultracompactvehicles(forexample,forcarsharingandstationcars)
opportunitiesandfeedingmodesbymeansofwhichthesetransportationoptionscanbeused
withpublictransportation.
Duetoitspotentialtoexpandoptionsforlowcostandhealthypersonaltransportationandto
improvebroadersocietalandenvironmentaloutcomes,policyinterestinpromotingbicyclingas
amodeoftransportationhasincreasedsubstantiallyinthelasttwodecadesintheU.S.The
IntermodalSurfaceTransportationEfficiencyActof1991wasparticularlyresponsiblefor
bringingvisibilitytononmotorizedmodesoftransportation.The1994U.S.Departmentof
TransportationStrategicPlanexplicitlydrewattentiontoconsideringcyclingandwalkingneeds
94
indesigningtransportationfacilities.However,benefitsareonlyapartoftheoverallstimulus
forpeoplepoweredtransportationmodes;astheamountofbicyclingincreases,asignificant
factormotivatingthesepolicyactivitiesissafety.
B.2:OverallTransportationSafetyTrends
In2009,nearlyhalfofallroaddeathsworldwidewereamongvulnerableroadusers
pedestrians,cyclistsandmotorcyclists(WorldHealthOrganization,2009).However,overall
safetylevelsvaryduetoanumberofconditions.Onefactorexplainingaggregatesafetylevelsis
exposurethatasmorepeopledriveinasociety,injuryandfatalityriskstodriversand
motorvehicleoccupantsincreases.However,theWHOreportedthatascountriesmotorize
fromhighlevelsofnonmotorizedmodes,theriskstovulnerableusersinitiallyincreaseand
thenleveloff.Inasimilarfashion,itmaybespeculatedthatashighlymotorizedtravel
environmentbecomemorenonmotorized,withgreaternumbersofpersonscyclingand
walking,riskstosuchusersincreaseatfirst,butthatsuchrisksdeclineovertime.However,itis
tooearly,inmanyways,toconcretelydeduceanytrends.Oneaspectofthistrendwasrecently
speculatedbyJacobsen(2003),whoanalyzedtherelationshipbetweentwodifferentmeasures
(injuriespercapitaandfatalitiespercapita)indiverseU.S.andEuropeansettingsrangingfrom
specificintersectionstocitiesandcountries.Hereportedthatcollisionratesinvolvingbicyclists
andpedestriansshareanegative,nonlinearrelationshipwithincreasesinusagelevels.As
walkingandbicyclingincrease,crasheswithmotorvehiclesarelesslikelybecausethereis
safetyinnumbers.Oneexplanationforthesetrendsisbehavioralchangesonthepartof
motorists,bicyclistsandpedestriansthatleadtoreducedconflictsituations;theother
explanationisthatasthenumberofuserswithinamodeincrease,policyanddesign
interventionsaretaken,which,inturn,improvessafetylevels.
Worldwide,trafficfatalitieshaveexhibitedadecreasingtrend.TheU.S.isnoexceptionandhas
alsoexperienceddecreasinglevelsoffatalities.However,motorvehiclecrashesremainthe
leadingcauseofdeath,accountingfor23percentofaccidentaldeathsin2007,whichisthe
fifthleadingcauseofdeath(Xu,etal,2010).Trafficfatalitiesreachedahighof54,589deathsin
1972,although,intermsoftotalmilestraveled,therelativeriskshavebeenalmost
continuouslydecreasingsincerecordswerekeptonvehiclemilestraveledin1921.Atotalof
32,885trafficfatalitieswererecordedin2010.Overall,the2010estimaterepresentsover24
percentdeclineintrafficfatalitiesfrom2005.ThisisdespitethefactthattheU.S.population
grewoverfourpercentduringthistimeandtotalvehiclemilesdrivenincreased(albeitata
slowerratecomparedtohistoricalgrowthratesduetotheeconomicrecession)froman
estimated2,989,480millionmilesinDecember2005to2,999,970millionmilesin2010.Injury
levels(severetominor)declinedaswellbyabout17percent.
B.2.1:TrendsinBicycleSafety
In2009,onlyonepercentofalltripsnationwidewerebicycletrips,althoughthisestimateisa
considerableincreasefrom0.7percentin1990.Yet,closetotwopercentofallonroad
fatalitieswerebicyclistsand2.3percentofalltrafficinjuriesin2009wereexperiencedby
bicyclists.Thefatalityrateper100millionbicycletripsin2009isestimatedtobe15.4,whilethe
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injuryrateper100millionbicycletripsis1,250.Whilethereisnoreliablecurrentestimateof
bicyclemilestravelednationally,using2009bicyclepersonmilestraveledfromtheNHTSasa
proxyforbicyclemilestraveled,thefatalityrateper100millionmilesbicycledisestimatedto
be7.0whiletheinjuryrateis570.Theseratesarehigherthanthoseformotorvehiclesand
pedestrians,butlessthanmotorcycles.
Duringtheperiod2005and2010,atotalof4,219bicyclistswerekillednationally.Bicyclist
fatalitylevelsappeartobedecliningaswell,with784bicyclistfatalitiesin2005nationallyand
618in2010,representingadropofabout21percent.Thisisalowerrateofimprovement
comparedtofatalitiesinallmodes.Closetotwopercentofalltrafficfatalitiesarebicyclist
fatalities.However,thenumbersofpersonssustaininginjuriesduringthistimeframeincreased
byover13percentandinjuredbicyclistshaveremainedatovertwopercentofallpersons
injuredintrafficcrashessince2008.
Thepersonal,socialandeconomicconsequencesoffatalitiesandinjuriesinbicyclecrashes,as
inthecaseofcrashesinvolvinganyothermode,isstaggering.Thecostsofroadtrafficcrashes
asaproportionofGrossNationalProduct(GNP)wasfoundtobeapproximately2.02.3
percentoftheGNPintheU.S.(Blincoeetal.2002;Elvik2000).Arecentstudy,basedon2005
data,estimatedthecosts(onmedicalspendingandduetoproductivitylosses)associatedwith
fatalandinjurybicyclistcrashestobe$5.4billion,withfatalbicyclecrashescostingmorethan
$1billion(Naumann,etal.2010).Bicyclistsincludedridersofunicycles,bicycles,tricycles,and
mountainbikeswhowerekilledorinjuredasaresultofacollision,lossofcontrol,crash,or
someothereventinvolvingamovingvehicleorpedestrian.Motorvehiclerelatedfataland
nonfatalinjurycostsexceeded$99billionintotal.Reflectingoverallusagelevelsandcrash
involvementrates,costsassociatedwithmotorvehicleoccupantfatalandnonfatalinjuries
accountedfor71percent($70billion)ofallmotorvehiclerelatedcosts,followedbycosts
associatedwithmotorcyclists($12billion),pedestrians($10billion),andbicyclists($5billion).
Perceptionsofsafetyrisksareadeterrenttobicyclingandindividualattitudesandperceptions
havebeenfoundtoplayasignificantroleinthedecisiontobicycle(Sener,etal,2009).These
includeperceptionsofsafetyfromcrashes,perceptionsofsafetyfromcrime,exercisehabits
andanoverallperceptionofbicyclefacilities(Rietveld,etal,2004).Neighborhoodswhere
individualsperceiveahighersafetyriskhavelowerphysicalactivitylevelsandlowerbicycling
levels(Boslaugh,etal,2004).Theresultsofasurveyofarepresentativesampleof9,616U.S.
residents16andolderindicatedthatmorethanoneintenbicyclists(13percent)felt
threatenedfortheirpersonalsafetyonthemostrecentdaytheyrodetheirbicycleinthepast
30days(RoyalandMillerSteiger,2008).Closeto88percentofbicyclistsfeelingunsafewhile
bicyclingfeltthreatenedbymotorists,37percentduetounevenroadwaysurfacesor
walkways,and17percentforperceptionsofcrimeandfourpercentbecausetheyfeltthat
therewasnotenoughspacetobicycle.
Numerousotherfactorsincludingtopography,landusepatterns,climate,bicyclefacilitiesand
facilityquality,andbicycleamenities(suchasshowersatworksitesandbicycleracksonbuses)
affectthedecisiontobike;foracomprehensivereview,seeSener,etal,(2009).Additionally,
residentsoflowdensitysingleresidentialneighborhoodsaremorelikelytoperceivetheir
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neighborhoodasdangerousforbicyclists,althoughcompact,mixeduseneighborhoodsexhibit
highercrashrates(Cho,etal,2009).Crane(2007)foundthatwomenplaceahighervalueon
safety.Safetycountermeasures,togetherwithotherdesign,education,enforcementand
planningapproaches,shouldbeanintegralaspectofoverallstrategiestopromotebiking.
B.2.2:ChicagoAreaTrendsinBicyclingandBicycleCrashes
Asindicatedearlier,nonmotorizedtransportationmodessuchasbikingandwalkinghave
madesignificantrecentgainsinusage.Nationally,closetoonepercentofalltripsreportedfor
alltrippurposes(work,shopping,socialtrips)werebybike(NHTS,2009).Anothersourceof
data,theCensusJourneytoWorkdata,showsthatbicyclingtoworkhasincreasedfrom0.4
percentofworktripsbyallmodesin2000to0.53percentin2010(U.S.CensusBureau,2010).
Thetotalnumberofbicycletripsincreasedfrom1.7billionannualtripsin2001tofourbillion
reportedtripsin2009(NHTS,2009).
TheCityofChicagohasalsoenjoyedresurgenceinbicyclingandbyseveralindicators,increases
incyclinginthecityhasbeengreaterthaninnationwideincreases.Commutingtoworkby
bicyclehasincreasedfromjustunder6,000dailytripsin2000toover15,000in2010.However,
bicyclesareusedforothertrippurposesaswell.Onlyabout15percentofallcycletripsarefor
workorworkrelatedpurposesinthecity(CMAPsTTS,2007).Bicyclesareusedpredominantly
forsocial,civicorrecreationaltripsaswellasforshoppingandrunningerrands.Theaverage
tripdistancecoveredbybicyclistsin2007inChicagowas2.11milesand75percentofalltrips
werelessthan2.75miles.Tripdurationwasanaverageof22.9minutes.Malesaremorethan
twiceaslikelytobikeinthecityasfemales.
Between2005and2010,atotalof1,021personswerekilledintheCityofChicagoinallcrashes
thatinvolvedmotorvehicles.Fatalitiesdeclined32percentinthecityduringthisperiod,with
191personskilledin2005and128in2010.Thetotalnumberofpersonsinjuredincrashesin
thecitydeclined,asinthenationalcase,from25,831in2005to19,865in2010(adecreaseof
about23percent).Duringthesameperiod,32bicyclistswerekilledintheCityofChicago;with
sevenfatalitiesin2005tofivein2010.Intermsofinjuredbicyclists,thenumbershave,in
contrasttoallcrashesbyallmodes,actuallyincreasedfrom1,236in2005to1,566in2010,
withahighof1,782in2007.
B.3:RiskFactorstoBicycling:AReviewoftheSafetyLiterature
Inthissection,wereviewtheliteratureonbicyclesafetywiththeobjectiveofunderstanding
riskfactorstowardsthedevelopmentoffuturecountermeasures.Thebicyclesafetyliterature
canbegroupedintofivebroadcategoriesgiveninTableB1.Thesestudiesattempttoimprove
ourunderstandingofthecauses,dynamics,riskfactorsandseverityofbicyclecrashes.Other
aspectsoftheliteraturefocusoncomparativestudiesandassessmentofthequalityof
informationonthebasisofwhichcrashescanbebetterunderstood.Onelineofresearch
focusesonsafetycountermeasuresandwaystoevaluatetheeffectivenessofthe
countermeasuresinalleviatingrisk.ThefivecategoriesaregiveninTableB1.
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Researchcategory
TableB1:Bicyclecrashliteraturecategories
Description
Bicyclecrashcausationand
crashrisk
Studies of the dynamics of bicycle crashes, risk factors

contributing to crash involvement, methods to estimate
exposuretoriskandriskbasedfatalityandinjuryestimation
Bicyclecrashseverityand
effects
Analysis of determinants of crash severity, type of trauma, the

extentofinjuryandsurvivaltrends
Comparativestudies
Studies of policy, planning and actionoriented implications

based on studies of bicycle facilities, use patterns and
supportingpoliciesinaninternationalcontext
Dataandinformation
systems
Studiesassessinggapsininformationsystemstostudyuniverse
ofbicyclecrashesandsafetyhazardstobicyclists
Bicyclecrash
countermeasuresandtheir
evaluation
Infrastructure, design and control to improve safety, education

andenforcementstrategies,modelsofinstitutionalpartnership
and coordination, methods to evaluate effectiveness of
countermeasuresbasedonsafetycriteria
B.3.1:CrashCausationandCrashRisk
Avoluminousamountofresearchhasexamineddifferentaspectsofbicyclecrashcausesand
factorsthatelevatetheriskofbicyclecrashes.Broadlyspeaking,thisareaencompassesthree
typesofresearch:studiesofthedynamicsofthecrash(inSectionB.3.1.1),factorsthatelevate
riskfactors(inSectionB.3.1.2)andexposurebasedriskestimation(B.3.1.3).
B.3.1.1:DynamicsofBicycleCrashes
Studiesofthedynamicsofbicyclecrashesidentifythechainofevents(precrash,crashand
postcrash)inthecrash.Theanalysisoftheactionsofbicyclists(motorists,pedestriansand
otherhumanelementspresentatthetimeofthecrash).Theroleplayedbytheequipment,
vehiclesandtheoverall(road,trafficcontrolandbicyclist)environmentinwhichthecrash
occurredandtheinteractionofthesedifferentelements,canimproveunderstandingofhow
andwhyacrashoccurred.
Bicyclecrasheswithmotorvehiclesoccurmostcommonlyonroadintersectionsandnot
surprisingly,havegeneratedthegreatestamountofresearch(Hunteretal.,1995;Summalaet
al.,1996;ThomandClayton,1992;RsnenandSummala,1998,2000;StoneandBroughton,
2003;HerslundandJorgensen,2003;WangandNihan,2004;Walker,2005;HelsandOrozova
Bekkevold,2007;Danielsetal.,2008,2009).Suchcrashesgenerallyexhibitcomplexdynamics
andtheinterplayofbehavioralandphysicalfactors.Thecrashesaremostoftentheresultof
infringementintothemotoristorbicyclistrightofway(ROW).Factorswhichhavebeenfound
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tobeimportantincludelossofcontrol,failuretoslowdownorstoponthepartofthemotorist
inmakingturnsinthepresenceofcyclists,misunderstandingoftheintentionoforunjustified
expectationsoftheactionsoftheotherparty,failuretodetecttheotherparty(motoristor
cyclist),inabilitytorealizepotentialdangerandlackoftimetoreact.
Forexample,RasanenandSummala(1998),inananalysisof188bicyclemotorvehiclecrashes
infourcitiesinFinlandfoundthatin37percentofcollisions,neitherdrivernorcyclistrealized
thedangerorhadtimetoyield.Intheremainingcollisions,thedriver(27percent),thecyclist
(24percent)orboth(12percent)tooksometypeofactiontoavertthecrash.Theauthors
identifiedtwocommonmechanismsunderlyingthecrashes:first,allocationofattentionsuch
thatthepresenceofotherroaduserswerenotdetected,andsecond,unjustifiedexpectations
aboutthebehaviorofothers.Themostfrequentaccidenttypeamongcollisionsbetween
cyclistsandcarsatbicyclecrossingswasadriverturningrightandabicyclecomingfromthe
driversrightalongacycletrack.Driverstendtolookleftforcarsduringthecriticalphaseand
only11percentofdriversnoticedthecyclistbeforeimpact.However,68percentofcyclists
noticedthedriverbeforethecrash,and92percentofthosewhonoticedbelievedthedriver
wouldgivewayasrequiredbylaw.
Nonintersectioncrashes,namely,samedirectioncrashessuchasthoseincurredwhenamotor
vehicleovertakesabicyclistorarearendcrashwhichoccurwhenadriverhitsacyclistfrom
behind,havereceivedrelativelylesserattention,comparedtointersectioncrashes.Motorist
behaviorsaredeemedtoberesponsibleformostrearendcrashesasthesearecasesofthe
vehiclefollowingthebicycletooclosely(CrossandFisher,1977),especiallyatnightwhenthe
majorityofrearendcrashesoccurandduetopoorconspicuityofthebicyclistdueto
inadequatereflectiveclothing,bicycletaillightsorpoorstreetlighting(Wood,etal,2009;Pai,
etal,2010).Crashesthatoccurduetoovertakinginnonintersectionroadwaystretcheshave
beenfoundtoleadtomoreinjuriouscrashesandhigherfatalitylevels,asthemotorvehicleis
likelytohavehigherspeedsmidsegmentcomparedtointersections,wherethevehiclehasto
slowdowntoturn(StoneandBroughton,2003;Pai,etal,2010).
Thelookedbutfailedtoseecrashes(HerslundandJorgensen,2003),wheremotorvehicle
driversreportlookinginthedirectionofthebicyclistbutnotseeingorperceivingher/his
presencewaswellresearchedinthe1990s,wellbeforethecurrentfocusondistracteddriver
safetystudies.Theauthorsinthiscaseconcludedthatinappropriatevisualfocusandlackof
reactiontostimulioutsidevisualfocus,perceptionfailureandfailuresinvisualsearchstrategies
inanotherwisefamiliartravelenvironment,contributedtothelookedbutfailedtosee
crashes.Anotheraspectofcrashdynamicscriticaltobicyclistsafetyisdriverresponseto
bicyclistdetectionandrecognition.Theresponsesexaminedarereactiontimes(Mathews,
1980),detectiontimes(Owens1994)andrecognitiontimes(Muttart,2000).Associated
outcomesexaminedaredetectiondistancesordistancefromwhenthebicyclistisdetectedto
whenthebicyclistisreached(Blomberg,1986,Moberly,2001),recognitiondistance,i.e.,
distancesfromwhenthebicyclistisrecognizedtowhenreached(Bolk,2008)andfrequencyof
recognition(Zwahlen,1997;Owens2007).
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Morerecently,theeffectofdriverdistractionhasbeenacauseforconcernrelatingtocrashes,
particularlyascellphoneuseforvoicecallsortextmessagingisontherise.Studieshaveshown
thattheuseofcellphoneshasadirectimpactonthedriversperceptionreactiontime,
experiencesofinattentionblindnessandcognitivedistractionandproblemsstayinginlanes
(NationalSafetyCouncil,2010).BasedontheNHTSAsNationalOccupantProtectionUse
Survey(NOPUS),theNSC(2009)estimatedthat11percentofdriversduringanydaylight
momentaretalkingonacellphone.In2008,anestimated200,000crashesinvolvedtextingor
emailing,versus1.4millioncrashesinvolvedtalkingoncellphones(NSC,2009).Todate,there
hasbeennoscientificstudyontheeffectsofdistractiononbicyclistsafety.Mostlegalbanson
cellphoneusewhiledrivingorbicyclingdonotextendtohandsfreedevices.
Overall,crasheswithmotorvehicleshavebeenreportedtoberesponsibleforarelativelysmall
fractionofalleventsleadingtobicyclistinjuriesasdeterminedfromhospitalandtraumadata
(forexample,SimanTov,2012,reportedthat30percentof5529injuredbicyclistsinIsrael
involvedamotorvehicle,andBabul,etal,2010reportedaremarkablysimilarnumber34
percent,basedon300bicyclecasesinTorontoandVancouverinCanada).
Onecategoryofnonmotorvehicle,bicyclecrashesleadingtoinjuriesinsignificantnumbersis
singlevehicle(orsinglebicycle)crashes.Fallingoffabicycle,hittinganobstacleontheroad
side,leavingtheroad,poorvehiclehandlingandhazardousconditions(duetounevenroad
surfaces)canalsoresultin(serious)injury.Ithasbeennotedthatrelativelylittlescientific
researchhasbeendoneinthisarea(Wegman,etal,2012)buthospitalrecordsindicatethat
theyconstitutealargeshareoftotalbicyclistinjuries(forexample,Schepers,2008;SimanTov,
2012).Anothercategoryofnonmotorvehiclecrasheswithpedestrians.Forexample,Pucher
andBuehler(),inastudyofsixCanadiancities,foundthatawidespreadsafetyproblemis
crasheswithpedestrianscausedbyillegalcyclingonsidewalksandfailuretogivewayto
pedestriansincrosswalks.
Crashesinvolvingbicyclistsstrikingopenmotorvehicledoorsofparkedcars(calleddooring)
isanexampleofbicyclecrashesthatdonotinvolvemovingvehicles.AsreportedbyPai,etal.
(2011),Collisionimpactsresultingfromfirstcontactwiththedoor(therebycausingcycliststo
tumble)and/orsecondcontactwiththegroundcanbedevastating,especiallytounhelmeted
bicyclists.Thereappearstobeadearthofpeerreviewedpublishedmaterialsonthissubject
aswellandthedooringcrashratesmaywellvarybetweenareas(forexample,Babul,etal,
2011notedthattheoddsofbeingdooredweregreaterforTorontocycliststhanVancouver
cyclists).DennerlienandMeeker(2002)describesasampleof100Bostonbicyclemessengers
whoreportedthat29percentofthecollisionstheyexperiencedwereduetodooring.Pai
(2011)reportedthattheprobabilityofdooringcrashesincreasesinroadwayswithlower
speeds(lessthan40mph),onewaystreetsandduringnighttime.
B.3.1.2:RiskFactorsContributingtoCrashInvolvement
Anotherstreamofliteraturewithinthecontextofcrashcausationisonriskfactors.Studiesof
riskfactorsfocusonthosehuman/sociodemographic(gender,age,income),environmental
(nighttime,daytime,weather),infrastructure(roadwaydesignanduse,presenceofbicycle
lanesandsidewalks,parking,trafficcontrol),risktakingbehavioramongmotoristsandrisk
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takingbehavioramongbicyclists(notwearinghelmets,useoflightsatnight,conspicuousor
reflectiveclothing,disobeyingtrafficrules,cyclingundertheinfluence)thatinfluencebicycle
crashinvolvement.Incontrasttostudiesofcrashdynamicswhichanalyzescharacteristicsof
crashes,riskfactorstudiesidentifythoseelementsthat,overall,arelikelytoincreasethe
likelihoodofbeinginvolvedinacrash.
B.3.1.2.1:HumanandSociodemographicRiskFactors
Childrenaccountforthemajorityofallbicycleinjurieslikelyduetotheirinexperienceandrisky
ridingbehaviors(Yeungetal.,2009;Leeetal.,2009;RosenkranzandSheridan,2003).More
severeinjuriesandfatalitiesrelatedtobicyclingarehigherforadults.Mostoftheseoccurasa
resultofcollisionswithmotorvehicles(RosenkranzandSheridan,2003;Yeungetal.,2009).
ReportsbyNHTSAshowthatduringthepast10years,therehasbeenasteadyincreaseinthe
averageageofbothcyclistskilledandthoseinjured.Cyclistsages25to64havemadeupan
increasingproportionofallcyclistdeathssince2000.Theproportionofcyclistfatalitiesamong
thoseages25to64was1.2timeshigherin2009asin2000(64percentand52percent,
respectively).Thoseunder16yearsofageaccountedfor13percentofallcyclistskilledand20
percentofallthoseinjuredintrafficcrashesin2009(NHTSA,2009).MaringandvanSchagen
(1990)pointedoutthateventhoughagebyitselfwasnotthecausalfactor,agewasstrongly
associatedwithvariablessuchasperceptualmotorspeedandcognitivedevelopmentthatare
relevanttoacrashsituation.Mostofthecyclistskilledorinjuredin2009weremales(87
percentand80percent,respectively).Thecyclistfatalityratepercapitawasseventimeshigher
formalesthanforfemales,andtheinjuryratepercapitawasmorethanfourtimeshigherfor
males.Thesetrendsarelikelytopartlyreflectusepatterns.
Somestudiesonriskfactorsuseanecologicalframework.Theecologicaldesignischaracterized
byitsconsiderationofdifferencesbetweengroupsratherthanindividuals(Walter,1991),
wherethegroupscanbedefinedbyplace(multiplegroupdesign),bytime(timetrenddesign),
orbyacombinationoftheabove.Inthebicyclesafetyliterature,anumberofstudieshave
utilizedtheecologicalframework;forexample,severalauthorshaveexaminedtheeffectof
wearingbicyclehelmetsasaninterventioninpreventingbicycleinjuriesandfatalitiesusing
suchanapproach(Lee,etal.,2000;Floerchinger,etal.,2000;Wesson,2000;Durkin,1999).
Otherauthorshaveutilizedtheframeworktoexaminecrashrisktoschoolagebicyclistsnear
schools(AbdelAtyetal.,2007),inurbanneighborhoods(Bagley,1994).CottrillandThakuriah
(2010)andThakuriahetal(2010)usedsuchapproachestostudyspatialvariationsinpedestrian
crashesintheCityofChicago.
Incontrasttothestudiesexaminingthedynamicsofactualcrashes,thereisapaucityof
researchfocusingontheassociationbetweenbuiltenvironmentsandperceivedcrashrisk.
Socioeconomicfactors,particularlythepercentageoflowincomehouseholdswithina
neighborhood,playedanimportantroleinthepredictionofbicycleaccidentrates(Epperson,
1995).Plessetal.(1989)reportedthatfamilyandneighborhoodcharacteristicswerestronger
riskfactorsforbicycleinjuriesthanchildrenspersonalityandbehavior;higherriskofinjurywas
relatedtofeweryearsofparenteducation,ahistoryofaccidentsinthefamily,anenvironment
judgedasunsafe,andpoorparentalsupervision.
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B.3.1.2.2:EnvironmentalRiskFactors
Environmentalfactorsplayacriticalroleinincreasingbicyclecrashrisk.Byfocusingontwo
lane,undividedroadways,KlopandKhattak(1999)observedthatinjuryseverityincreasedin
fog,afterdarkonunlightedsections,withhigherspeedlimits,onroadsectionswithan
up/downgrade,anddecreasedwithincreasingaverageannualdailytraffic,streetlighting,and
aninteractionoftheshoulderwidthandspeedlimit.
FernandezdeCiezaetal.(1999)identifiedthatthemaincausesofbicycletrafficcrashesinSan
Juan,PuertoRicowere:excessivevehiclespeed,lackofproperilluminationduringthe
afternoonpeakperiodandatnight,andpoorroadwaydesign.Kimetal(2006)foundother
controllingfactorsincludinginclementweather,darknesswithnostreetlights,morningpeak
(6:00amto9:59am),headoncollisionsandtrucksresultinginadoublingintheprobabilityofa
bicyclefatality.Pai(2011)foundunlitstreets,adverseweatherandwetroadsurfacestobe
relatedtorearendcrashes.
B.3.1.2.3:RoadwayDesign
Someresearchindicatedthatcyclingonroadwassaferthanusingoffroadpathsand
sidewalks,intermsoftherelativeratesforfallsandinjuries(Forster,2001;AultmanHalland
Adams,1998;Moritz,1998;Rodgers,1997).However,SmithandWalsh(1988)andPucher
(2001)arguedthatcyclingwasmuchsaferwherebicyclefacilitiessuchasbikewaysandbike
laneswereprovided.Thisinconsistencyshowsthatbicyclesafety,intermsofriskofaccidents,
variessignificantlyandthattherearesafeandunsafebikepaths,justastherewillbeareas
whereonroadridingisrelativelysafe,e.g.widelanesandabicyclefriendlyenvironment,and
areaswhereonroadridingisrisky,e.g.narrowlaneswithlittleornoshoulders.
Roundaboutsarereportedtoreducetheriskofcrashes(Elvik,etal,2009)primarilydueto
reducedapproachandtravelspeeds.Theresultsaremixedbecauseincertainsituations(for
example,aBelgianstudybyDaniels,etal,2008,foundthatroundaboutsincreasedbicycle
injurycrashes).Complicatedinteractionsarisebetweencyclistsandmotorizedtrafficdueto
howcyclistsonaroundaboutintersectwithtrafficenteringorleavingaroundabout.Other
interventionssuchascycletracksphysicallyseparatingbicycletrafficfrommotorvehicletraffic
havebeenstudiedtoalesserextent.Bicyclefacilities(bicyclelanesandbicyclepaths)onroad
segmentswheremotorvehiclescandriverelativelyfast(>50km/h)havebeenfoundtoreduce
risksforcyclists(SWOV,2008).Aproblemspotwithcycletracksistrafficcrossings.Recent
researchbySchepers,etal(2011)indicatesthatcycletracksandrelatedcountermeasuressuch
asthecolorofmarkingsatbicyclecrossings,raisedbicyclecrossingsandotherspeedreducing
measureshaveacomplexrelationshipwithtwodifferenttypesofcrashes(typeIcrasheswhich
arethroughbicyclerelatedcollisionswherethecyclisthasrightofwayonthepriorityroadand
typeIIcrasheswhicharemotorvehiclerelatedcollisionswherethemotoristhasrightofway,
i.e.motoristonthepriorityroad).
B.3.1.2.4:RiskTakingBehavior
102
Onemorecontroversialareaofresearchistheextenttowhichrisktakingbehavioramong
motoristsandbicyclists(disobeyingtrafficrules,notwearinghelmets,useoflightsatnight,
conspicuousorreflectiveclothing,drivingorcyclingundertheinfluence)influencebicyclecrash
involvement.Schrammetal(2008)notedthattherehasbeenlimitedresearchintotherisk
takingbehaviorsthatcontributetobicyclevehiclecollisions.Inreportedcollisionswherethe
vehiclewasconsideredtheatfaultparty,themostfrequentlyreportedcontributingfactors
were:unduecareandattention(19.5percentofcrashes),turninginthefaceofoncomingtraffic
(15.9percent),failuretogiveway(15.3percent),disobeyagivewaysign(13.0percent),
miscellaneousfactors(10.0percent),vehicleenteringadriveway(7.3percent),inattentionor
negligence(6.7percent),openingamotorvehicledoorcausingdanger(6.5percent),improper
turnotherthanuturn(4.1percent),disobeystopsign(3.9percent)andmiscellaneousroad
conditions(3.5percent).ResearchbyHunteretal(1996)demonstratedthatthevehiclewasat
faultin42.5percentofcollisions,thecyclistin35.9percent,withtheremaining21.6percent
undefined.Whiletheinformationpresentedwasnotdetailedintermsofviolationscommitted
orotherfactorsinvolved,itdidindicatethatthesinglemostfrequentcrashtypewasvehicle
failingtoyieldincrossingpathcrashesat21.7percent.
However,thereisevidenceintheliteraturethatalcoholconsumptionbybicyclistsmaybea
factorinsomebicyclecrashes(Petersson,etal,1997;NolandandQuddus,2004;Kim,etal,
2006;Nicaj,etal,2009).Avoluminousliteraturehascommentedontheriskreductionstohead
andbraininjuriesassociatedwithwearinghelmets(Depreitereetal.,2004;Robinson,2001;
SchieberandSacks,2001;Poveyetal.,1999;Thompsonetal.,1996;Wassermanetal.,1988).
Wearingfluorescentmaterialsinyellow,redandorangeimproveddetectionbydriversduring
theday,whilelamps,flashinglightsandretroreflectivematerialsinredandyellowreducedthe
riskoflowereddriverdetectionatnight(KwanandMapstone,2009).
B.3.1.3:ExposureBasedRiskEstimation
Studiesofexposurebasedriskestimationanalyzesthefactorsthatcontributetoexposureto
risk(forexample,numberofmilesbicycledortypeoftrafficconditionsinwhichbicyclingtrips
occur)inordertoestimatefatalityratesorinjuryratesgivenexposurerates.Thetrafficsafety
literaturehas,ingeneral,consideredawidespectrumofexposuremeasures.Illustrative
measuresincludedistancetraveled(Richter,etal,2005;Kweon,etal,2003),numberoftrips
taken(PucherandDijsktra,2003;Massieetal,1995;Beck,etal,2007)andamountoftime
spenttraveling(Chipman,etal,1993;LeeandAbdelAty,2005).
Detailedmeasuresofexposuressuchasmilestraveledortimedurationoftravelaredifficultto
deriveinthecaseofbicycletrafficforindividualcitiesormunicipalitiesbecausemost
householdtravelsurveys,fromwhichsuchmeasuresarederiveddonotcontainenoughbicycle
tripstoyieldvalidestimates.Bicyclecounts,whichareroutinelyconductedinmanycities,are
alsonotconductedatacityormunicipalitywidelevel.Manybicyclestudies,withafew
exceptionsexpressexposurebasedfatalityorinjuryrisksintermsofpopulationfigures(for
example,permillionpopulation)andarethereforepopulationbasedandnotexposurebased.
B.3.2:CrashSeverityandEffects
103
Asecondmajorareaofresearchisonthephysicalconsequencesofbicyclecrashes(wehave
groupedstudiesonestimatedeconomicconsequencesunderCrashCountermeasuresand
Evaluation).Oneaspectofseverityresearchfocusesondeterminantsofcrashseveritybyasking
thequestion:onceinvolvedinacrash,whichfactorsdeterminetheextentofcrashseverityin
termsoftrauma?Asecondlineofresearchfocusesondescribingthetypeoftraumaandinjury.
B.3.2.1:FactorsDeterminingCrashSeverity
Theliteratureoncrashseverityfocusesonhumantolerancefactors(Wegman,2012),higher
speeds(StoneandBroughton,2003;Garder,1994),collisiontypeforexample,headonversus
samedirection(Kim,etal,2006;StoneandBroughton,2003;Pai,etal,2010)andhelmetuse
(Depreitereetal.,2004;Robinson,2001).AWorldHealthOrganization(2004)reviewof
Europeanstudiesontrafficfatalitiesconcludedthat50percentofalldeathsoccurredwithin
thefirstfewminutesafterthemotorvehiclecrash,eitherinthecrashsceneoronthewayto
hospitals.Responsetimeofemergencycareisacriticalingredientinoverallsafety.Prevention
ofdeathisdeterminedbyaccesstoemergencymedicalcenters,deliveryofmedicalcarebefore
arrivalatthehospitalandlevelandqualityoftraumacare(Piyawatchwela,2010;Sithisarankul
andSuwaratchai,2010).
SeverityofcrashesinvolvingabicycleiswellarticulatedinWegmenetal(2012),whowrote
thatAsadirectconsequenceofthelawsof(bio)mechanicsandthefragilityofthehuman
body,cyclistsarevulnerableintraffic.Cyclistsfalleasilyandcansustainseriousinjury.In
crashes,otherthansometimesbyabicyclehelmet,acyclistisunprotected.Braindamageisa
seriousandfrequentinjury,oftensustainedbyyoungpeopleinparticular.Whenacyclistis
injuredinacrashwithamotorizedvehicletravellingathighspeed,kineticenergyisprocessed.
Furthermore,acyclistcanlosecontrolofthebicycle,takeafallandbeinjured,especiallyifa
cyclistisinexperiencedorwhenobstaclesplayarole.Oftencyclistsfailtoobeythetrafficrules
andshowunexpectedbehaviorintheeyesofotherroadusers.Theconsequenceisthatcyclists
havearelativelyhighcrashratecomparedtothatofpedestriansandparticularlythatof
drivers.
B.3.2.2:TypeofTraumaandExtentofInjury
Asecondaspectofthislineofresearch,mostlyinthemedicalliterature,focusesonthetypeof
trauma,theextentofinjuryandsurvivaltrends.Arecentstudy(RivaraandSattin,2011)noted
thatabout900bicyclistdeathsoccurannually,andmostdeathsfrombicyclerelatedinjuries
arecausedbycollisionswithmotorvehicles.Headinjuryisbyfarthegreatestriskposedto
bicyclists,comprisingonethirdofemergencydepartmentvisits,twothirdsofhospital
admissions,andthreequartersofdeaths.ArecentFrenchstudyonthoseinjuredinbicycle
onlycrashes,foundthatfracturesoftheupperextremitiesaccountedforahighpercentage(50
percentofallinjuries);unspecifiedheadinjuries(unconsciousnesswithoutanyfurtherspecified
injury)accountedfor13.5percent,andinternalorganinjuriesfor5.5percent(3.6percentto
theheadand1.7percenttothetorso).
AnIsraelistudy(SimanTov,etal,2012)reportedthatratesofinjurytypedifferedaccordingto
agegroup.Forexample,head,faceorneckinjuriesweremoreprevalentamongchildrenthan
adults(30percentversus19percent,respectively),whiletherateofspinalcordinjurieswas
104
substantiallyhigheramongadultsthanchildren(eightpercentversusonepercent,
respectively).Theoddsofhead,faceandneckorspineinjurieswerehigheramongchildrenand
adultsinvolvedinbicyclecrashesinvolvingamotorvehiclethaninanonmotorvehiclecrashes,
whereasthelikelihoodofaninjurytoextremitiesweresimilarregardlessofmechanism.
B.3.3:ComparativeStudies
Comparativestudiesattempttoderivepolicy,planningandactionorientedimplicationsbased
onstudiesofbicyclefacilities,usepatternsandsupportingpoliciesinaninternationalcontext.
MostcomparativestudiesexaminepoliciesinEuropeancitieswherebicyclingrateshavebeen
traditionallyhigh.
PucherandDijkstra(2003)examinedsuccessfulbicyclingpoliciesinTheNetherlandsand
Germany,anddrewconclusionsforsafebicyclingandwalkingintheU.S.Broadcategories
suggestedare:improvedtransportationinfrastructureforcyclingsuchasnetworksofbicycle
pathsandplanes;bicyclestreetswherecarsarepermittedbutcyclistshavestrictrightofway
overtheentirebreadthoftheroadwayandstrategiestosupportsuchseparaterightsofway
includingspecialbiketurnlanesleadingdirectlytointersections;separatebiketrafficsignals
withadvancegreenlightsforcyclists;bicyclistactivatedtrafficsignalsatkeyintersections;and
modificationofstreetnetworkstocreatedirect,fastroutingforbikes.Trafficcalmingmeasures
suggestedincludeloweredspeedlimits,physicalbarrierssuchasraisedintersectionsand
crosswalks,trafficcircles,roadnarrowing,zigzagroutes,curves,speedhumpsandartificial
deadendscreatedbymidblockstreetclosures.Othermeasuresrecommendedbasedonthe
Europeansituationincluderestrictionsonmotorvehicleuse,trafficeducationandstrict
enforcementofmotorvehicletrafficviolationlaws.
PucherandBuehler(2005),byexaminingsixCanadiancities,identifiedconsiderablegrowthin
cyclinginthe1970sand1980s.Bicyclingmodesharesinthesecitiesareroughlythreetimesas
highasinAmericancitiesofcomparablesize.Theselevelswereachievedthroughavarietyof
measurestopromotesafecyclingmeasuresandtobetterintegratecyclingwithpublic
transportationmodes.Safetymeasuresimplementedincludeuniformbikewaydesignand
trafficcontrolstandards,expansionofbothoffroadandonroadcyclingfacilitiesincluding
cycletracksandeducationalprograms.Yet,theauthorsreportedastagnationofcyclinglevels
inmanyCanadiancitiesinrecentyears,afterconsiderablegrowthduringthe1970sand1980s.
OneexplanationofferedforthestagnationisthatmanyCanadiangovernmentsdidnot
concurrentlyencouragethelevelofcarrestrictivepolicies,increasesinmotorvehicle
ownershipandusecostsandthedevelopmentofcomprehensive,integrated,regionalnetwork
ofcyclingfacilitiesasinmanyEuropeancitieswherebikemodalsharesaverageabout10
percent.Thesetypesofstrategies,togetherwithmandatorycompletionofacyclingeducation
coursebychildren,mayhelpraisecyclinglevelsonceagain.Despitetheseissues,forCanadaas
awhole,totalcyclingfatalitiesfellby50percentfrom1984to2002,from126to63,andtotal
cyclinginjuriesfellby33percent,from11,391to7,596(TransportCanada,2004).
Osbergetal(1998),onthebasisofobservingpassingbicyclistsinBostonandParis,notedthat
bicycletravelandusepatternsemergefromdifferentlawsandpublichealthpriorities,typesof
bicycleriding,typesofbicyclesusedandperceivedrisks.Among5,808passingbicyclists,there
105
werelargedifferencesinhelmetandlightuse:only2.2percentofParisbicyclistsworehelmets
comparedto31.5percentinBoston.Incontrast,46.8percentofnighttimeParisbicyclistshad
workingheadortaillightscomparedtoonly14.8percentinBoston.Thesedifferenceshighlight
apointmadebyWegmanetal(2012)thattheliteratureoncountermeasurescannotalwaysbe
generalizedfromthespecificcontextwhereaparticularstudywasdone,unlessthereare
overallsimilaritiesinthebroadersocial,culturalandinfrastructureaspects.Hencemanyofthe
comparativestudiesstimulateideasonthetypesofcountermeasuresthatmaybeconsidered,
butsuitabilitytoaparticularcontextmayrequirecontextspecifictestingandevaluation.
B.3.4:DataandInformationSystems
Reliable,accurateandtimelysafetyrelateddataisaproblemworldwide.TheWHO(2009)
reportedthatamongthefactorsthatcanaffectthequalityofreporteddataarepolitical
influences,competingpriorities,andavailabilityofresources.Mostdatasystemsonsafetyin
theUSaregearedtowardscompleterecordsonmotorvehiclesafety,especiallyforincidents
thatinvolvemovingvehicles.Bicycleandpedestriancrashes,especiallythosethatleadto
injuriesasopposedtofatalitiesoftheusersofthesenonmotorizedmodesmaynotbe
completetothefullestextent.Veistenetal(2007)notedthatbicyclecrashesandinjuriesare
underreportedinpolicedata,withthisbeingmoreextensivethanforanyothertransportation
mode.StuttsandHunter(1998)foundthatonly48percentofcyclistsadmittedtohospitalasa
resultofacrashwerealsorecordedinstatemotorvehiclecrashfiles,andwithcrashesthat
occuronroadwaysonly50percentofcasesmatched.Itmaybenecessarytoconsiderthe
varyingreportingrequirementsindifferentjurisdictions,particularlyastheypertaintoproperty
damage.Itwasalsofoundthatthecyclistprofile(age,locationandinjurylevel)wassimilar
betweengeneralbicyclecrashesandbicyclevehiclecrashes,indicatingthatthepossibilitiesof
additionalbiasesmaynotbeproblematicinpolicereportedbicyclevehiclecrashes(Stuttsand
Hunter,1998).
Eventsthatinvolvenonmovingvehiclesforinstance,bymeansofdooring,wherebicyclists
areinjuredwhilebeingstruckbydriversorpassengersofmotorvehiclesopeningvehicledoors,
may not be reported. Injuries from singlebicycle crashes incurred when colliding into other
nonmovingobjectsmaysimilarlynotbeavailablefromcrashfiles(Heesch,etal,2011).
Otherincidentsmaynotbereportedatalltolawenforcementofficers,althoughthebicyclist
mayseekmedicalhelp.Someinjuredbicyclistsmaybetreatedinemergencyroomsbutnot
admittedtohospitals(forexample,Strutts,etal,1990,notedthatonlyaminorityofchildren
treatedintheemergencydepartmentforbicyclerelatedinjuriesareadmittedtohospitals),
leavingemergencyroomrecordsasasourceofinformation,andrulingoutpolicereportsand
hospitalrecords.
WhereastheBloodAlcoholContent(BAC)ofbicyclistskilledincrashesareavailable(from
FARS),thelevelsofbicyclistsinjuredincrashesarenotreportedinstatecrashfiles.However,as
notedpreviously,thereisevidenceintheliteraturethatalcoholconsumptionbybicyclistsmay
beafactorinsomebicyclecrashes.Theseissuesaresomeillustrativeexamplesofthegapsthat
existinbicyclecrashdata,whichmaylimitourunderstandingofthedynamicsofbicycle
crashesandcountermeasuresthatmaybeappropriate.
106
B.3.5:CrashCountermeasuresandEvaluation
Avarietyofsafetycountermeasureshavebeenproposedtoalleviatetheriskoftheoccurrence
ofbicyclecrashesandtominimizeharmifacrashoccurs.Alineofresearchthatextendsthe
appropriatenessofcrashcountermeasuresisanevaluationofcountermeasuresbyusingsafety
relatedcriteria.Thecurrentliteratureonsafetycountermeasuresrecognizesthatthereisa
strongdegreeofdependencyonthebehaviorofindividuals(eithermotoristorbicyclistor
both)inreducingbicyclecrashes.Amultiprongedinterventionstrategyisneededtoreduce
thenumberandintensityofhumanerrorandviolations.
Onetypeofcountermeasurefocusesontheactionsofbicyclistsinpreventingfatalitiesand
injuriesnamelyusingbicyclehelmets.Effectively,theonlyprotectivedeviceavailablefor
cyclistsisthebicyclehelmet.Severalstudieshaveshownthataproperlydesignedhelmet
providesverygoodprotectionforthemostvulnerablepartofthebody,thehead,againstbeing
severelyinjuredinacrash(SWOV,2009).Bysomeestimates,themaximumeffectofabicycle
helmetisapproximatelya45percentreductionoftheriskofheadandbraininjurywhena
goodhelmetisworncorrectly.Yet,somequestionslingerabouttheeffectivenessofhelmet
safetystudiesprimarilyduetoselectionbiases;sincewearingahelmetisnotmandatoryin
mostsituations,bicyclistswhowearhelmetsmaybeanonrandomsampleofbicyclistswhoare
safecyclistswhenmeasuredonothercriteria.
Makinghelmetwearingcompulsoryforcyclistshasalsobeenfoundtoleadtoreductionsin
cyclingincountriessuchasAustraliaandCanada(Wegman,etal,2012).Although,inother
evaluationstudies,thisresultappearsnottobegeneralizabletootherplaces.Anotheraspect
ofbicyclistactionstudiedisbicyclistconspicuityandvisibilitystrategiesthataidintheearly
detectionoftheirpresencebymotorists.40percentofcyclistfatalitiesarereportedtooccur
duringthehoursofdarkness(Jaermark1991);ahighproportionofthesecrashesarerelatedto
frontalratherthanrearconspicuity(Gale1998).Basedon42studieswhichcomparedriver
detectionofpeoplewithorwithoutvisibilityaids,itwasfoundthatfluorescentmaterialsin
yellow,redandorangeimproveddriverdetectionduringtheday,whilelamps,flashinglights
andretroreflectivematerialsinredandyellow,particularlythosewithabiomotion
configuration(whichtakesadvantageofthemotionfromapedestrianslimbs),improved
pedestrianrecognitionatnight(KwanandMapstone,2007).Thornley,etal(2008),basedon
selfreportedrecallofcrashesinthepreceding12monthsamongbicyclistsinNewZealand
reportedsubstantiallylowercrashinjuryratesamongthosewhoreportedalwayswearing
fluorescentcolors.
Bicyclistshavebeenfoundtobenefitfromtrafficcalmingmeasures,specificallybyreducing
speedsofmotorizedtraffictolessthan30km/h.Infrastructuresolutionssuchasconverting
threelegorfourlegintersectionsintoroundaboutshasbeenwidelyresearched;although
roundaboutshavebeenfoundtogenerallyimprovefatalityandinjuryratesprimarilydueto
reducedapproachandtravelspeeds,theresultsaremixedbecauseincertainsituations,
complicatedinteractionsarisebetweencyclistsandmotorizedtrafficduetohowcyclistsona
roundaboutintersectwithtrafficenteringorleavingaroundabout.Otherinterventionssuchas
107
cycletracksphysicallyseparatingbicycletrafficfrommotorvehicletraffichavebeenstudiedto
alesserextent.Bicyclefacilities(bicyclelanesandbicyclepaths)onroadsegmentswherecars
candriverelativelyfast(>50km/h)havebeenfoundtoreducerisksforcyclists(SWOV,2008).
Onelineofresearchhasconsideredchangesinvehicledesigntoincludecrashfriendlymotor
vehiclefrontsandsideunderrunprotectionfortrucktobuffercyclistsfrominjuriesand
equippingcarswithexteriorairbags.
PracticalapproachestoimprovebicyclistsafetyhavefocusedonfiveEs:Engineering,
Education,Encouragement,EnforcementandEvaluationandPlanning.Bicycleplanningand
safetyreportsfromseveralcitiesandstateswerereviewedforthispurpose.Specificstrategies
withineachgrouparesummarizedbelowinTableB2.
108
TableB2:Safetycountermeasuresandstrategiesusedincitiesandstates
Strategy
Engineering
Actions
Install/Expandbikelanes
Respondtohighcrashlocations
EvaluateorcreatestateDOTguidelinesforcyclingawareness/responsiveness
Education
Improve/Maintainexistingbikelanes
Integratecyclingconsiderationsintoplanning,design,constructionandmaintenance policies
Conductsafetyaudits
Installadditionalcyclingamenities
Youngcyclisteducationcampaigns
Publicsafetyawarenesscampaigns
Driversafetytraining
Cyclistsafetytraining
Planner,engineering,andlawenforcementsafety training
Legalclinicslawsrelatedtocycling,lawsrelatedtodrivingaroundcyclists,insuranceissues,
andwhattodointheeventofacrash
Resourcestoencouragesafecycling
Encouragement
Encouragepoliticianstosupportcyclingdevelopment
Encouragebicycle&pedestrianfriendlydevelopment
Providebikeparkingandfacilities
Activelypromotesafecycling
Advocacytoincreasebicyclingandwalkingmovement
Enforcement
ConductSpeedandcrosswalkenforcementatsafetyhotspots
Trainlawenforcementofficersinbicyclelaws,crashreporting,andsafetyissues
Improvethereportingofbicycleandpedestriancrashes
Increasepenaltiesforunsafedrivingpracticesimpactingcyclists
Enforcesafecyclingpractices
Enforceorcreatesidewalkridingregulations
EvaluationandPlanning
Clarifyrulesrelatedtointeractionsbetweencyclistsandmotorists
Improvecollectionpracticesforcyclingcrashes
Establishaprocessforevaluatingcyclingsafetyresponses
Developmentofpriorityprojects
Conductadditionalcyclingtrafficstudies
Based on reports from New York City, Portland, OR; Washington, D.C.; Toronto, Ontario;
Arlington, VA; Boise, ID; Mineta Transportation Institute report; and the states of Georgia,
MontanaandMichigan.
WewouldliketothankDr.CaitlinCottrillforherhelpinproducingthistable.
109
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BicycleCrashAnalysisandReviewofTrends

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent Percent

777 1046 1347 1093 1064 1163 6490

Minutes Average Average

Like the number of fatalities, the number of injuries

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total Percent Percent

635 703 880 752 670 801 4441

1219 1283 1611 1374 1325 1577

8389 100.00% 100.00%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Percent

1219 1283 1611 1374 1325 1577

8389 100.00% 100.00%

918 5086 56.81%

8861 100.00% 100.00%

2007 2008 2009

1236 1385 1782 1506 1386 1566

Studies of the dynamics of bicycle crashes, risk factors

Analysis of determinants of crash severity, type of trauma, the

Studies of policy, planning and actionoriented implications

Infrastructure, design and control to improve safety, education

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