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A recent UK government study concluded that careless cyclists were rarely to blame for bicycle/car collisions. According to the Guardian:
The study, carried out for the Department for Transport, found that in 2% of cases where cyclists were seriously injured in collisions with other road users police said that the rider disobeying a stop sign or traffic light was a likely contributing factor. Wearing dark clothing at night was seen as a potential cause in about 2.5% of cases, and failure to use lights was mentioned 2% of the time.
Read more at www.guardian.co.uk.
great link – worth reading from top to bottom – rare common sense. Helmet use inconclusive? Gee. Motorists don’t “see” cyclists in plain view?
People driving in a semi-conscious state only see what they’re looking for – nothing else. Decades ago the FDNY tried lime green fire engines, since the lights, siren, and air horn weren’t getting attention. Didn’t work – the last thing the intended targets were looking for was a green fire engine.
What might work is PSAs showing bikes and emergency vehicles from the semi-conscious driver’s point of view – imprinting the images.
I took the trouble to register and download the pdf report – 60 pages. I look forward to reading it. The Brits have a wealth of valuable experience.
They could have just ask us and saved some money.
“Government Study Shows Drivers Often At Fault in Collisions With Cyclists”
. . . and in other news, sky is revealed to be blue, water found to be wet, and children good just before Christmas.