I choose my work commuting route based on traffic patterns at the time that I ride. Personally, I prefer a quiet, solitary ride, so I pick the routes with the least traffic and the best scenery. My morning route happens to be the most direct. But my afternoon route takes me over some gentle hills -- for a little extra cranking fun -- and through neighborhoods with very cool early modern architecture. To me, part of the joy of riding is taking the time to see the city from a perspective and speed that most travelers don't get. So I pick routes that maximize that experience.
When I ride to visit local friends, I again pick the routes with the least auto traffic and best scenery. I stick to residential roads as much as possible because I can ride at the speed limit or just lay back and wave to everyone I see.
When I ride for pure recreation, the route varies based on what I want to get out of the ride. If it's a regular day where I just want to get out, I ride our local river trail (Riverside is so named for a reason) because it's absolutely gorgeous and there are no motorized vehicles. This allows me to enjoy the silence of the well tuned bicycle. If I want a good workout, I'll ride across town to the university where all the hills are. This ride is a combination of residential and fairly busy, high speed limit city roads.
For me, the thing is that I ride so much because I dislike being in the car. Consequently, I pick routes where there are fewer cars -- they're just so noisy and smelly that they can ruin an otherwise perfectly good ride.
It is in this way that safety is an issue. The less I have to consider the cars, the more I can focus on why I ride -- which is oh so much more than to assert my right to travel in the same lanes as motorized traffic.
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
How even a simple thread about how to pick a safe route to work or tour or simply get somewhere has turned into a debate about whether safety is ever a consideration when we choose a route seems ludicrous and deliberately petty and argumentative.
I resent the accusation that I did something deliberately petty and argumentative. You asked in the OP: how do you choose [a safe route]?. I answered honestly and genuinely, after which I was essentially called a liar. That's how this turned into what it did.
I've explained as best as I could why safety is never a consideration when I choose a route. Now let's look at your list.
Certainly some roads are "safer" than others by virtue of the fact that automobile collisions may occur at a higher rate on some roads than others and no matter how good a rider you are you risk being collateral damage to such an accident. I honestly have no idea what the collision rates are on all the possible routes I can take, so this is not a factor I ever could consider if I wanted to. I suppose I could try to find out these statistics, but it would never occur to me to try. I figure I'm just as likely to get hit by a left turner going into his midblock driveway on quiet residential street with a low collision rate as I am likely to get hit on a busy/fast aterial with a high collision rate, so why bother?
Roads that pass a string of bars and clubs, like a road I take as I cut through Boston and Brighton, might not be the best choice at closing time- I go a different route at that time. Closing time? 2am? I'm never riding that late at night. Not a consideration. But I can understand how it might for someone else who does ride that late.
Roads that pass sports stadiums might not be your best choice pre- or post- game time.
I'm not a sports fan, so I never know when there is a game. A couple of times I've gone by our stadium (on the aforementioned Friars Road) after a game, but it was too late to pick a different route, and it didn't bother me anyway. I could get past all the congested traffic because I was on a bike, so what's the problem?
Roads with lots of construction might cause more distractions to drivers than other routes that are not under construction.
I actually like constructions zones, because the lanes are usually narrow and motor traffic is slower than usual. Great place to take the lane.
Roads with lots of shopping centers, malls, gas stations and liquor stores might not be the best route to take on that snowy Christmas eve.
Snowy Christmas Eve? I wouldn't be out on my bike in the first place, and it doesn't snow in San Diego. But, again, if I lived somewhere where it was icy and snowy, I might have a different outlook about considering safety when choosing a route.
The road that is subject to flash flooding, wash outs and rock slides might not be the safest route on tour if there are heavy rains predicted.
The one day or so every couple of years when heavy rain is predicted, I don't ride.
The road that goes through an area that has a high crime rate might not be your best choice as you ride home after a late night shift.
That's true, but doesn't apply to me.
The dark road without a lot of street lights might not be your best choice on that night you forgot to recharge your batteries.
Hey! I have a vague recollection of choosing an alternate route once when I got caught riding home after dark without a light. Okay, I'll take that one: When riding at night without proper lighting, I do take safety into account when choosing a route. I'll add a note to my original post.
It would be interesting to hear from women about choosing routes and safety considerations. I know that my wife has other standards when choosing a route for a solo ride that I do not generally consider.
N/A, but I agree that I might have a different attitude about safety in general, and route selection in particular, especially at night (with or without lights), if I were a woman.
CB HI
How even a simple thread about how to pick a safe route to work or tour or simply get somewhere has turned into a debate about whether safety is ever a consideration when we choose a route seems ludicrous and deliberately petty and argumentative.
And you seem to have turned it into a buzzman / Bek lovefest.
buzzman
And you seem to have turned it into a buzzman / Bek lovefest.
some of us have a greater love for bicycling than we do for nit picky debates in every thread and for that I make no apology. :p
Bekologist
the babbling brook, the babble of lunacy. take a chill pill, mr. head, you consider safety, sometimes a lot more than the rest of us. some might even say you're a bit paranoid about fear of traffic.
but that's just you.
I know how to use general maps, experiences from trying a route, beta from other cyclists, and cycling specific maps to make informed choices about my routes.
While some dogmatists insist all roads are safe for cycling,
reality based cyclists know "some roads are safer than others."
buzzman
Roads that pass a string of bars and clubs, like a road I take as I cut through Boston and Brighton, might not be the best choice at closing time- I go a different route at that time. Closing time? 2am? I'm never riding that late at night. Not a consideration. But I can understand how it might for someone else who does ride that late.- Thanks for admitting that for some this might be a consideration
Roads that pass sports stadiums might not be your best choice pre- or post- game time.
I'm not a sports fan, so I never know when there is a game. A couple of times I've gone by our stadium (on the aforementioned Friars Road) after a game, but it was too late to pick a different route, and it didn't bother me anyway. I could get past all the congested traffic because I was on a bike, so what's the problem? It's not traffic congestion. I don't know about Charger and Padres fans maybe they sip herbal iced tea and eat sushi at their games but here in the Boston area our sports fans like some hot dogs and peanuts and beer. And after a game, win or lose, they sometimes get what we call rowdy and engage in what is endearingly called hooliganism. They have been known to use their automobiles as weapons (with resulting fatalities). There are some games I choose not to ride through Kenmore Square immediately afterwards and find an alternative.
Roads with lots of shopping centers, malls, gas stations and liquor stores might not be the best route to take on that snowy Christmas eve.
Snowy Christmas Eve? I wouldn't be out on my bike in the first place, and it doesn't snow in San Diego. But, again, if I lived somewhere where it was icy and snowy, I might have a different outlook about considering safety when choosing a route. You wouldn't be out on your bike on a snowy Christmas Eve? I have many times- I've actually done late night Christmas shopping on the bike in the snow but is safety a consideration on what roads I'm on at a time like that?- you bet it is. And please see my pictures and posting below. They are for your edification with regards ice and snow and road safety.
The road that is subject to flash flooding, wash outs and rock slides might not be the safest route on tour if there are heavy rains predicted.
The one day or so every couple of years when heavy rain is predicted, I don't ride. I, and others who read and post in A & S, may sometimes do some long distance touring, others may commute everyday, in which case we do ride in the rain and other weather conditions and factor that into our route choice.
The road that goes through an area that has a high crime rate might not be your best choice as you ride home after a late night shift.
That's true, but doesn't apply to me. Well, it does to me and may to others who post here or read A & S
The dark road without a lot of street lights might not be your best choice on that night you forgot to recharge your batteries.
Hey! I have a vague recollection of choosing an alternate route once when I got caught riding home after dark without a light. Okay, I'll take that one: When riding at night without proper lighting, I do take safety into account when choosing a route. I'll add a note to my original post. Wow, thanks, that's big of you.
I suppose if I rode only where you rode and on the roads that you ride on and at the times and under the conditions you describe I might make safety less of a priority in my choice of route. I'd probably still factor it in though and I certainly do when I am riding in most of the places I ride.
Every day I take certain safety factors into consideration when choosing which route I will take me into downtown Boston. On a mid-summer day if there's a game at Fenway I have to consider the wisdom and safety of cutting through Kenmore Square. Late at night when the bars and clubs are closing is another time to consider that route. My alternative is the bike path, which mid-summer during the day is almost unbearably crowded and as dangerous in my opinion as many roads. I often choose to avoid that route and find a longer route around Kenmore Square. At night I have some concern about crime in certain isolated sections of the bike path.
During the winter, like today, I have the same choice but different safety criteria.
Take a look at the picture of the side street below. It is a two- way side street near my home- not a one way. The puddle in the road to the side of SUV conceals a pothole 8" deep. By tonight at 10 pm (a time I am often riding home) all the water you see will be ice. This is an easily negotiable street IMO but these same conditions apply to most of Boston's busy streets as well. Streets with much higher traffic volume but with the same problems due to ice and snow narrowing the streets and forcing cars to park at odd angles and further into the road. And take a look at that perfect example of a New England pothole right in the middle of that all centerish lane position we all know and love.
The alternative, of course, is the bike path. Where a whole other criteria for safety comes into play.
My solution. Streets on the way to work in the morning when I am in a hurry and have the wind at my back. On the way home the bike path was my choice but it's a technical feat to do 11 miles of that. :)
ken cummings
A lot of different ways covered elsewhere. Just one person mentioned flatter commutes and lumpier fun rides. Yes. I tend to have very physical jobs so I go for minimum energy, low stress rides to and from work. It pays off. Off hours I can go out my door and play in Levi Leipheimers' neighborhood with several 20% grades and long hills.
sbhikes
On my old commute I used the bike path on the way there, getting on the street at Milpas. On the way home I'd get on the bike path and then get off it and use the street after Milpas.
Why? Because in the morning there was not much traffic on the bike path and the scenery was just too good to pass up. The traffic on the road, although very light, wasn't as safe as the bike path. And the bike path with all that smooth concrete is just too nice to pass up. But after Milpas, staying on the bike path meant having to deal with a difficult intersection. So I'd get on the street so as to avoid that intersection.
But, in the evening, that intersection was not a problem so I'd get on the bike path and enjoy the scenery and the relative safety since it's a lot easier to get run over on a street full of cars than on a path full of ducks. At Milpas I'd get back on the street because the bike path from that point onward had too much traffic so the street was quicker and faster. Also, the end of the bike path was difficult to negotiate with the direction I needed to go.
Adaptive cycling, I believe is what this is called. Using the facilities available to me, dealing with their disadvantages and enjoying their advantages, and basically making it so the commute was an enjoyable thing that kept me coming back each day for more. As I rode this way day after day for several years, others would do it completely differently. Some would use the streets all the time and never use the bike path. Some would only use the bike path and never the streets. The main thing was that lots of people were out using their bicycles.
buzzman
On my old commute I used the bike path on the way there, getting on the street at Milpas. On the way home I'd get on the bike path and then get off it and use the street after Milpas.
Why? Because in the morning there was not much traffic on the bike path and the scenery was just too good to pass up. The traffic on the road, although very light, wasn't as safe as the bike path. And the bike path with all that smooth concrete is just too nice to pass up. But after Milpas, staying on the bike path meant having to deal with a difficult intersection. So I'd get on the street so as to avoid that intersection.
But, in the evening, that intersection was not a problem so I'd get on the bike path and enjoy the scenery and the relative safety since it's a lot easier to get run over on a street full of cars than on a path full of ducks. At Milpas I'd get back on the street because the bike path from that point onward had too much traffic so the street was quicker and faster. Also, the end of the bike path was difficult to negotiate with the direction I needed to go.
Adaptive cycling, I believe is what this is called. Using the facilities available to me, dealing with their disadvantages and enjoying their advantages, and basically making it so the commute was an enjoyable thing that kept me coming back each day for more. As I rode this way day after day for several years, others would do it completely differently. Some would use the streets all the time and never use the bike path. Some would only use the bike path and never the streets. The main thing was that lots of people were out using their bicycles.
yeah, though the bike can sometimes be faster and more convenient than a car for some trips that is not the only reason why I use it for commuting and transportation. The enjoyment factor is a big part of it. So if I were in a big hurry I'd take a car but since time is not the primary issue every time I ride I like to mix it up a bit. Sometimes I'll take a little longer route just to visit Harvard Square and go to a bookstore or a cafe- not such a fun thing to do when you have to park a car but a blast on the bike. Sometimes on a beautiful spring day I'll take the bike path and ride real slow and people watch or sit on a bench by the river and read a book or watch the sunset. And other times I'll bomb down Commonwealth Avenue right out there with the flow of traffic mixing it up with the cars, dodging around the jaywalking BU students and double parked cars. :D
joejack951
Buzzman has brought up an interesting point about winter weather affecting road choice. I didn't think about that when I made my first post, even though it's winter here and I have already had to change my route due to road conditions. This winter I had a choice to ride the unplowed 2 lane, hilly roads I normally take to work or to ride the somewhat plowed 4 lane main roads which actually had pavement showing though in some spots. If it hadn't been so windy I might have chosen the 2 lane roads but the thought of trying to hold a tight line and compensate for 40mph gusts didn't sound like something I wanted to do at 7am. The main roads were a cake walk and in terms of falls due to the road conditions, were much safer than my normal route. With the width of the roads, no one had any trouble giving me plenty of space while passing either.
buzzman
Buzzman has brought up an interesting point about winter weather affecting road choice. I didn't think about that when I made my first post, even though it's winter here and I have already had to change my route due to road conditions. This winter I had a choice to ride the unplowed 2 lane, hilly roads I normally take to work or to ride the somewhat plowed 4 lane main roads which actually had pavement showing though in some spots. If it hadn't been so windy I might have chosen the 2 lane roads but the thought of trying to hold a tight line and compensate for 40mph gusts didn't sound like something I wanted to do at 7am. The main roads were a cake walk and in terms of falls due to the road conditions, were much safer than my normal route. With the width of the roads, no one had any trouble giving me plenty of space while passing either.
same kind of thing with me, joejack, and sometimes it's factors other than weather. As I said in my posts: it might some kind of event going on that effects the route, or the time of day, or the time of year. I know that the other night I avoided taking a road known as Western Ave because it was just pre-sunset and the sun sat right over the horizon and it was one of those super bright mid-winter sunsets with lots of glare on the ice and a mile and a half of parked cars another foot or two further into the lane on either side of the road due to the ice and snow build-up and that sun would have been right in every driver's eyes- including my own.
And winter drivers are unpredicatable sometimes they give me extra courtesy in bad weather and sometimes they down right resent my being there. :(
Roody
Interesting thread. It seems that most perceptions of what constitutes a safe route are highly subjective, and there's a wide variety in what people find acceptable. Any risk assessment should include both the likelihood of accidents and the seriousness of the consequences of an accident.
We don't have much data on environmental factors influencing cycling safety. I think a little review of what is and is not known might be helpful:
Most accidents involve cars turning into the paths of bikes or bikes turning into the paths of cars.
Fewer accidents involve overtaking or approaching traffic.
Most accidents occur in intersections.
Fewer accidents occur on roads between intersections.
Relatively more accidents occur at night, suggesting that visibility and sight lines may be risk factors.
AFAIK, there are few data related to the speed of the vehicles involved in accidents.
Many environmentally caused bike accidents are falls that involve only the bike and no other vehicle.
Little is known about the relative severity of accidents under varying conditions.Based on these objective assumptions, what judgments can be made about the safety of a given route? For one thing, routes with many intersections or poorly designed intersections might be the most dangerous. Even though vehicle speeds in intersections are usually low, intersection accidents are sometimes serious or fatal for cyclists. Routes with fewer intersections or well designed intersections might be safer, even if they have high volumes of fast traffic. Accidents on these roads seem to be less frequent, although they are often serious or fatal for cyclists.
Another factor is the condition of the pavement surface. Falls caused by gravel, ice, sewer grates, and so forth, while being more common, are probably less likely to be be serious or fatal. However, if falls subsequently put the fallen rider in jeopardy of being struck by cars or other bikes, the likelihood of severe injury increases.
buzzman
Interesting thread. It seems that most perceptions of what constitutes a safe route are highly subjective, and there's a wide variety in what people find acceptable. Any risk assessment should include both the likelihood of accidents and the seriousness of the consequences of an accident.
We don't have much data on environmental factors influencing cycling safety. I think a little review of what is and is not known might be helpful:
Most accidents involve cars turning into the paths of bikes or bikes turning into the paths of cars.
Fewer accidents involve overtaking or approaching traffic.
Most accidents occur in intersections.
Fewer accidents occur on roads between intersections.
Relatively more accidents occur at night, suggesting that visibility and sight lines may be risk factors.
AFAIK, there are few data related to the speed of the vehicles involved in accidents.
Many environmentally caused bike accidents are falls that involve only the bike and no other vehicle.
Little is known about the relative severity of accidents under varying conditions.
Based on these objective assumptions, what judgments can be made about the safety of a given route? For one thing, routes with many intersections or poorly designed intersections might be the most dangerous. Even though vehicle speeds in intersections are usually low, intersection accidents are sometimes serious or fatal for cyclists. Routes with fewer intersections or well designed intersections might be safer, even if they have high volumes of fast traffic. Accidents on these roads seem to be less frequent, although they are often serious or fatal for cyclists.
Another factor is the condition of the pavement surface. Falls caused by gravel, ice, sewer grates, and so forth are probably less likely to be be serious or fatal. However, if falls subsequently put the rider in jeopardy of being struck by cars or other bikes, the likelihood of severe injury increases.
these are really good points. especially with regards to intersections. I factor in intersections so automatically at this point that I had almost forgotten how critical it is to my choice of route.