Originally Posted by Bruce Rosar
The
Bicycle sidepaths: crash risks and liability exposure page has links to several studies/surveys which show an higher risk for cycling on parallel paths against traffic than with traffic. The difference is due to a higher risk of accidents with other traffic while traveling opposed on sidepaths. The following excerpts are from one such study:
The average cyclist in this study incurs a risk on the sidewalk 1.8 times as great as on the roadway. The risk on the sidewalk is higher than on the roadway for both age groups, for both sexes, and for wrong-way travel. The greatest risk found in this study is 5.3 times the average risk for bicyclists over 18 traveling against traffic on the sidewalk.
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Wrong-way sidewalk travel is 4.5 times as dangerous as right-way sidewalk travel. Moreover, sidewalk bicycling promotes wrong-way travel: 315 of 971 sidewalk bicyclists (32 percent) rode against the direction of traffic, compared to only 108 of 2,005 roadway bicyclists (5 percent).
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Even right-way sidewalk bicyclists can cross driveways and enter intersections at high speed, and they may enter from an unexpected position and direction for instance, on the right side of overtaking right-turning traffic. Sidewalk bicyclists are also more likely to be obscured at intersections by parked cars, buildings, fences, and shrubbery; their stopping distance is much greater than a pedestrian's, and they have less maneuverability.
Risk Factors for Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Collisions at Intersections by Alan Wachtel and Diana Lewiston, published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal, Sept/Oct 1994
I have looked over the studies on these sites, and have a few comments. The one study that really meets what I would define as a scientific study is the Palo Alto study in the 1990s. They did a very good, extensive job with that one, and I would recommend people read the whole thing. But they do make a value judgement that I don't think is appropriate, and it is in the "right-way" and "wrong-way" statements for sidewalk bicycling. I've been in the safety field for a long time, and looked over many different types of codes, ordinances, rules, laws, etc. But I don't think I've ever seen one about which way to ride a bicycle, use a skateboard, or rollerblade on a sidewalk. I don't think it exists. So this "wrong-way bicycling on a sidewalk" is a misnomer. What I would have preferred that they say, and what would be more correct, would be "against traffic" and "with traffic." There are real reasons for their statistics, but I'll have to finish my thoughts after supper (I'm being called).
John