One of the potential pitfalls for observers trying to interpret the operation of bikeways (or segregated cycle facilities) is that the same legal assumptions do not apply in all environments. For instance, in contrast to most English speaking countries, some European countries, including Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands have defined liability legislation. [1] Thus there is a legal assumption that motorists are automatically considered liable in law for any injuries that occur if they collide with a cyclist. [2] This may hold regardless of any fault on the part of the cyclist and may significantly affect the behaviour of motorists when they encounter cyclists. [3] [4]
In some countries it is legal for cyclists to pass a motor-vehicle on its kerb-side, and cyclists doing so may enjoy the protection of the law.[ citation needed ] In this case, the use of segregated cycle facilities conforms to existing traffic law. In other jurisdictions similar "undertaking" manoeuvres by cyclists are illegal. [5] Such distinctions form the basis of the claim by John Forester that segregated cycle facilities encourage behaviours that flout existing traffic law and in which cyclists enjoy no legal protection. [6] [7] [8]
Cyclists in some countries are also given separate rules and light phases at traffic signals and cyclist-specific traffic lights. For instance, in Germany and elsewhere at junctions with segregated facilities all the traffic in a given direction (motorists, pedestrians and cyclists) may get a green signal at the same time. [9] Turning motor traffic is obliged to wait for cyclists and pedestrians to clear the junction before proceeding. In this situation all the transport modes get equal green time. In contrast, UK and Irish practice restricts pedestrians to a dedicated signal phase, separate from and usually much shorter than the green phase for motorists (e.g. 6–12 seconds, vs. signal cycle times of up to 120 seconds). [10] [11] If cyclists were to be segregated and treated in a similar manner this would imply a significant reduction in green time for cycle traffic at every junction. In the English city of Cambridge the use of cyclist-specific traffic signals is reported to have resulted in increased delays for cyclists, leading some to ignore the cycle-facilities and stay on the road. [12] A similar example occurred in a Parisian bikepath scheme in 1999. Cyclists faced twice the number of traffic signals as motorised traffic and were expected to wait over one minute to get seven seconds of green time. [13] Conversely, in Copenhagen cyclist-specific traffic signals on a major arterial bike lane have been linked to provide "green waves" for rush hour cycle-traffic, which time the lights so cyclists going an average speed are much more likely to encounter green lights on their trip. [14]
Marked and reserved | Marked limit, but not reserved | Shared cycle facilities | |
---|---|---|---|
Description | Motorists are typically excluded from driving or parking, and cyclists might be obligated to use if available. | Motorists allowed to drive or park, cyclists not obligated to use. | No lane marked, typically a painted symbol or sign with legal access for cyclists and motorists |
Austria [15] | Radfahrstreifen ("cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "obligatory cycleway" | Mehrzweckstreifen ("multi-purpose lane", similar to shoulder) | |
Belgium [16] [17] | fietspad (Flemish) = piste cyclable (French), no distinction from cycletrack in Belgian legal terminology, marked by dashed lines on both sides | fietssuggestiestrook= bande cyclable suggérée (suggested cycle lane), coloured ground (but never in red) with pictograms | sharrows on a shared lane |
Canada [18] | The use of bikelanes is not obligatory for cyclists in any Provinces. [19] [20] | shared lanes, car lanes with shared lane markings ("sharrows"). | |
Czech Republic [21] | vyhrazený (cyklistický) jízdní pruh or "reserved (cycle-) lane", limited by a continuous line, signed "cycletrack" | cyklistický jízdní pruh = "cycle lane", limited by a dashed line, simple bicycle pictograms | files of shared lane markings are called piktogramový koridor or cyklopiktokoridor, they have sharrows and no marked border |
France [22] | bande cyclable obligatoire ("obligatory cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "obligatory cycleway". bande cyclable conseillée et réservée (recommended & reserved cycle lane), non-oblligatory, dashed line, sign "facultative cycleway", pictograms like on shared lanes | voies partagées (shared lanes) with shared lane markings. | |
Germany [23] [24] | Radfahrstreifen ("cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "(obligatory) cycleway" | Schutzstreifen ("protective lane"), dashed line and simple bicycle pictograms: Normally cars have to keep left, cyclists right of the border, but for certain reasons it may be traversed, mutually. | The traffic laws provide shared use only in bus lanes, but do not forbid shared lane markings in ordinary lanes; [25] simple bike pictograms |
Italy [26] | corsia ciclabile (cycle path) | ||
Netherlands [27] [28] | fietsstrook met doorgetrokken streep, "bicycle lane with continuous line". Fietsstrook met onderbroken streep, "bicycle lane with dashed line", also obligagtory for cyclists but shared by motorists[ citation needed ] | fietssuggestiestrook ("suggested cycle lane"), no obligation nor reservation, no bicycle pictograms, red ground (and mostly a dashed line) or distinctive texture | |
Poland [29] [30] | pas rowerowy | ||
Switzerland [31] | Radstreifen, colloquially Velostreifen (both mean "cycle lane"), limited by yellow continuous lines (only exceptional) | Radstreifen, colloquially Velostreifen (both mean "cycle lane"), limited by yellow dashed lines | rare use because disapproved by federal law[ citation needed ] |
United Kingdom [32] [33] [34] | mandatory cycle lane, reserved but not obligatory, limited by a continuous line | Advisory cycle lane, not reserved, limited by a dashed line | |
United States [35] | In all states the use of bikelanes is not obligatory for cyclists. | Dashed cycle lanes still only have an "experimental" status. In contrast to shared lanes, the equality of rights for cyclists here is limited to a lane-in-lane. [36] | shared lanes, car lanes with shared lane markings ("sharrows") |
Cycle tracks typically exclude all motorized vehicles for most countries. Some exceptions are made, such as in the Netherlands, for light motorbikes. Some jurisdictions require cyclists to use cycle tracks if present (obligatory cycle tracks) or allow cyclists to either use the cycle track or a parallel roadway (facilitative cycle tracks).
A number of European countries, including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, apply a strict liability towards cyclists, protecting them. [49] For example, in the Netherlands, the law assumes the stronger participant (e.g. a car driver) is liable in the case of an accident with a weaker participant (e.g. a cyclist) unless it can be proved that the cyclist's behavior could not have been expected.
Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway if that act contravenes traffic regulations. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phrase jay-drivers, people who drove horse-drawn carriages and automobiles on the wrong side of the road, before taking its current meaning. Jaywalking was coined as the automobile arrived in the street in the context of the conflict between pedestrian and automobiles, more specifically the nascent automobile industry.
A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side in countries which drive on the right, and on the left side in countries which drive on the left. Many wider (U.S.) freeways, or expressways elsewhere have shoulders on both sides of each directional carriageway — in the median, as well as at the outer edges of the road, for additional safety. Shoulders are not intended for use by through traffic, although there are exceptions.
Effective Cycling is a trademarked cycling educational program designed by John Forester, which was the national education program of the League of American Wheelmen for a number of years until Forester withdrew permission for them to use the name.
Bicycle law in California is the parts of the California Vehicle Code that set out the law for persons cycling in California, and a subset of bicycle law in the United States. In general, pretty much all the same rights and responsibilities that apply to car drivers apply to bicycle riders as well.
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles or advisory. In the United States, a designated bicycle lane or class II bikeway (Caltrans) is always marked by a solid white stripe on the pavement and is for 'preferential use' by bicyclists. There is also a class III bicycle route, which has roadside signs suggesting a route for cyclists, and urging sharing the road. A class IV separated bike way (Caltrans) is a bike lane that is physically separate from motor traffic and restricted to bicyclists only.
Vehicular cycling is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic, and in a way that places responsibility for safety on the individual.
Non-motorized access on freeways may allow or restrict pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-motorized traffic to use a freeway. Such roads are public ways intended primarily for high-speed travel over long distances, and they have resulted in highways in the United States with engineering features such as long sight-distances, wide marked lanes and the absence of cross traffic. These provide faster and safer travel, at least for vehicles driving at similar speeds.
Bicycle transportation planning and engineering are the disciplines related to transportation engineering and transportation planning concerning bicycles as a mode of transport and the concomitant study, design and implementation of cycling infrastructure. It includes the study and design of dedicated transport facilities for cyclists as well as mixed-mode environments and how both of these examples can be made to work safely. In jurisdictions such as the United States it is often practiced in conjunction with planning for pedestrians as a part of active transportation planning.
An advanced stop line (ASL), also called advanced stop box or bike box, is a type of road marking at signalised road junctions allowing certain types of vehicle a head start when the traffic signal changes from red to green. Advanced stop lines are implemented widely in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and other European countries but the idea was first conceptualized by transportation planner Michael Lynch for the city of Portland, Oregon, in response to numerous bike crashes at intersections.
Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.
A bicycle boulevard, sometimes referred to as a neighborhood greenway, neighborway, neighborhood bikeway or neighborhood byway is a type of bikeway composed of a low-speed street which has been "optimized" for bicycle traffic. Bicycle boulevards discourage cut-through motor-vehicle traffic but allow local motor-vehicle traffic. They are designed to give priority to bicyclists as through-going traffic. They are intended as a low-cost, politically popular way to create a connected network of streets with good bicyclist comfort and/or safety.
Cycling is the second-most common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%, and Zwolle 46%. This high frequency of bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ample bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter and more direct than car routes.
A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the roadway, but is made distinct from both the sidewalk and general purpose roadway by vertical barriers or elevation differences.
Cycling in Illinois encompasses recreation, bikeways, laws and rules, and advocacy. The director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Joel Brunsvold, explained Illinois cycling opportunities: “Bicycle riding is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in Illinois, enjoyed by young and old alike...Illinois has a variety of trails for the public to enjoy. The terrain includes flat prairie land to rolling hills, towering bluffs to the breathtaking river and lakefront views.” Many communities across the state are updating bicycle infrastructure in order to accommodate the increased number of cyclists on the roads.
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except where cyclists are barred such as many freeways/motorways. It includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. The more cycling infrastructure, the more people get about by bicycle.
The history of cycling infrastructure starts from shortly after the bike boom of the 1880s when the first short stretches of dedicated bicycle infrastructure were built, through to the rise of the automobile from the mid-20th century onwards and the concomitant decline of cycling as a means of transport, to cycling's comeback from the 1970s onwards.
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A shared-use path typically has a surface that is asphalt, concrete or firmly packed crushed aggregate. Shared-use paths differ from cycle tracks and cycle paths in that shared-use paths are designed to include pedestrians even if the primary anticipated users are cyclists.
A protected intersection or protected junction, also known as a Dutch-style junction, is a type of at-grade road junction in which cyclists and pedestrians are separated from cars. The primary aim of junction protection is to help pedestrians and cyclists be and feel safer at road junctions.
There is debate over the safety implications of cycling infrastructure. Recent studies generally affirm that segregated cycle tracks have a better safety record between intersections than cycling on major roads in traffic. Furthermore, cycling infrastructure tends to lead to more people cycling. A higher modal share of people cycling is correlated with lower incidences of cyclist fatalities, leading to a "safety in numbers" effect though some contributors caution against this hypothesis. On the contrary, Older studies tended to come to negative conclusions about mid-block cycle track safety.
Controversies have surrounded dedicated cycling routes in cities. Some critics of bikeways argue that the focus should instead be placed on educating cyclists in road safety, and others that safety is better served by using the road space for parking. There is debate over whether cycle tracks are an effective factor to encourage cycling or whether other factors are at play.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)