What Kinds of Roads Are Least Safe for Cycling

[Prosody]

Except for the roads a reasonable cyclist would avoid, what kinds of roads do you find least safe. My wife worries when I ride on county roads with no shoulders and wishes I'd ride more on the subdivision streets. I insist to her that, because they have a large number of automobile/bicycle interfaces (driveways, but I couldn't resist the important sounding term) the subdivision streets are the least safe roads for cycling.

[SamDaBikinMan]

I try to l;imit the time I have to spend on 55 MPH state routes and even county roads where high truck traffic is prevalent.

Most of my routes wind through country roads that are mostly 35-45 MPH roads where there is little traffic.

The closet call I have had in the past two years was in fact in our subdivision when some bonehead cut me off and I had to swerve to miss them.

[k2bikerider]

I try to limit the high traffic, high speed roads, and also subdivisions since you have alot of traffic moving through them. Country roads out of town are my favorite. Actually I was riding in a popular area(for cyclists) in town, and I had a car run a stop sign and almost hit me. This was actually in a 25mph zone. The lady had her child in a car seat, and she yelled at me like it was my fault. I just rode off as to avoid a conflict.

[Chris L]

My own view is that cycling safety on roads depends less on infrastructure and more on the type of people with whom you share the road. Areas that have a higher "moron quotient" are likely to be less safe on all kinds of roads in my view.

The thing to note is that there's often a trade off in terms of what people perceive safe in regard to infrastruture. The less trafficked roads are likely to be narrower, so there's little room to avoid the few cars you're likely to meet. Conversely, you might experience 1,000 cars more/hour on the highways, but they're much easier to deal with if you've got a shoulder and there are several lanes.

[MichaelW]

I find that there are sections of roads which are dangerous , rather than classes of roads. Acceleration zones are a danger, junctions and rounderbouts, slip-roads, driveways, traffic calming using road width restriction (central bollards).

[Roughstuff]

To me three things are important in making a road safe for cycling... a shoulder, a shoulder, and a shoulder. Give me enough space to the right and i will do fine.

roughstuff

[Guest]

Freeways with lots of trucks.

That's about it for me. All bets are off for other roads. If I see them, I get on them, no matter what. I have every right to be on any road I choose to get on.

I do use my mirror often, though. I like to see what's coming up behind me, and look at how they're driving, just in case you get some idiot swerving through the lanes.

[Bobatin]

The daily commuter roads are the least safe. People are in such a hurry. On the country roads it is easier for drivers to pass and the drivers tend to be more laid back.

[Pete Clark]

For me the main things are visibility, lane width and comparative speed of overtaking traffic.

Each type of street has it's own challenges. One of my least favorites is the busy intown neighborhood street lined with parked cars, speed limit 30.

One of my most favorite is the four-lane, one-way street downtown that allows me to grab an entire lane to myself (since it's too narrow to share.) Plenty of room for cars to take one of the other three lanes. Speed limit 35.

But all in all, I like lots of trees and fewer cars.

:)

[trmcgeehan]

Multi-lane roads with lots of business/side road access can be dangerous. In Somerset, we have US 27, which is six lanes running for 4 miles. In the four miles, it has 21 stop lights. You really have to be alert, as cars are coming at you from all directions.

[Michel Gagnon]

Two key items:

- Visibility. There is a road I remember with narrow pavement, no shoulders, no white lines on the sides and pine trees on both sides that come fairly close to the roadway. Even though it has very little traffic, there's usually 1 or 2 serious accidents per year on it. Why? Configuration is such that it's hard to see other people, even by car (let alone cyclists) when the sun is out.

- Freeway-style accesses, especially on high speed roads. Cars don't have to slow down when turning, which means it's hard to fight one's way through the turning traffic.

[trmcgeehan]

I too use a mirror alot. It has saved my a** more than once! It helps to keep the mirror crystal clean. It's amazing how much more you can see in a clean mirror!

[Chuvak]

No way is safe if cars are allowed to use it.

[JRA]

Any road with lousy drivers on it is dangerous. Any road with good drivers on it is safe.

Non-cyclists generally think any road with cars on it is unsafe for cyclists. This is not true at all. Sometimes, the more cars on it they better. The cars slow each other down.

When I tell my non-cycling friends of the major arterial street I've been known to ride during rush hour, they're horrified. That's alright. When I tell them the neighborhoods I ride in, they're even more horrified. :D (actually, the scariest thing I ever faced was a pack of wild dogs, but that actually didn't happen on a bicycle)

And yet, riding down a busy thoroughfare, I'm in no particular danger. The only real danger I face is from a lunatic or someone who loses control of their car, and I face that danger standing on the sidewalk. If I were riding on the sidewalk, then I'd be the lunatic. :D

Ride predictably. Signal your intentions. Obey the traffic rules. Be aware of your surroundings. You should be OK.

Watch out for lightning.

[Chris L]

Originally posted by JRA
Watch out for lightning.

I agree with basically everything in your post, but this bit caught me out. I have to confess, I've ridden in more lightning storms that I could drop-kick a tourist at. Believe it or not, your chances of actually being struck by lightning are extremely remote. Far more remote than the risks involved in some of the other things we do everyday (both cycling and non-cycling related). Personally I'm not going to let something that has one chance in a million of happening prevent me from doing what I want to do.

[PaulH]

The one time I arrived at work bleeding with torn clothing was when I was hit by another bike on one of the local bike paths.

Paul

[Pete Clark]

Originally posted by PaulH
The one time I arrived at work bleeding with torn clothing was when I was hit by another bike on one of the local bike paths.

Paul
Let's see...

One time I was assaulted by a pedestrian, my worst accident.

[Dahon.Steve]

Last week, I was going down a mountain on a single lane with NO shoulder. The most dangerous aspects of this road was the rippled on the turns to slow down the motorists. On the highway, these rippled surfaces are usually placed on the shoulder to awaken the driver in case they fall asleep at the wheel.

I discovered a road that used the same surface technique on the main lane going into the corners. Needless to say. It was frightening trying to hold onto the bike going into these turns. Without a doubt, this is a very dangerous situation for the cyclists.

[nick1111]

Small roads with lots of driveways or fast roads with trucks.

[oscaregg]

Roads with lots of curves, narrow lanes, and short lines of sight. A sign seen frequently in my area is "Limited Sight Distance."

[John E]

Originally posted by mgagnonlv
- Freeway-style accesses, especially on high speed roads. Cars don't have to slow down when turning, which means it's hard to fight one's way through the turning traffic.

Amen! Freely-flowing merges and diverges are the bane of my existence, and I am on a campaign to have them traffic-calmed.
Where feasible, I work out alternate routes to bypass these homicidally-designed intersections.

I also generally try to select streets with lower speed limits, but this is not always feasible.

I urge everyone to get involved politically and to complain about dangerous streets and intersections. It is the only way to solve the problem.

[John E]

Originally posted by Dahon.Steve
The most dangerous aspects of this road was the rippled on the turns to slow down the motorists. On the highway, these rippled surfaces are usually placed on the shoulder to awaken the driver in case they fall asleep at the wheel.


In California, we have been fighting for bicycle-friendly design and location of "rumble strips" for several years. Once again, I stress the importance of being outspoken regarding our needs and safety.

[Rowan]

I posted these links before the meltdown last week. They might be useful for anyone with a bent to doing some on-site survey work, etc etc. The name for it is Bicycle Level of Service.

http://www.jfparker.demon.co.uk/CRP2.txt
(English, located on the site of Jeremy Parker, a respected British advocate)

http://www.chibikefed.org/blos/blosintro.html
American, provided by Chicagoland Bicycle Federation & League of Illinois Bicyclists. It's the easier of the two to use, I think.

FWIW

R