Transport society and planning

Health and Safety in Cycling

Module title: Transport Society and Planning

Course: MSc Transport Engineering and Planning (FT)

Lecturer: Mr Christopher Mills

Student Number: 3229047

Student Name: Antonis Charalambous

Contents

1.

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................2

2.

SAFETY AND HEALTH IN CYCLING......................................................2

3.

INDIVIDUAL SAFETY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK..................................3

4.

CONCLUSIONS...................................................................................3

5.

REFERENCES......................................................................................5

October 2013
London South Bank University
Department of Urban Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment
103 Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA
www.lsbu.ac.uk

Transport society and planning

1. INTRODUCTION
Whether the reason is the improvement in fitness, health or bank balance, or as an
environmentally-friendly choice, taking up cycling could be one of the best decisions
with several benefits for any person. Cycling has to be encouraged from the
community and the transport system. Planning the cycling network around a city
can be more complicated that it first appears. The most important issue is the
safety and the health of all the road users. Cycling in London can affect the
pedestrians, the bus drivers and the car drivers, especially when the lanes are
shared for cyclist and drivers.

2. SAFETY AND HEALTH IN CYCLING

According to the Department of Transport (transport, n.d.) two-thirds of all
journeys are less than five miles; many of these trips can be made with bicycles. A
safe cycling environment is vital for encouraging the increase in the use of the
bicycle.
Designing proper cycling facilities can be more complex that it first appears. Some
of the design issues that may be faced are the number of users in each lane, the
characteristics of the motor vehicles such as the speed, their volume and size. Also,
the road geometry and the space have to be adjusted in order to provide the
feeling of safety to the cyclist.
One of the main safety issues is that the lanes are not separated for bicycles and
traffic. The risk of injury for bicycle riders is reduced by 50% for separated cycle
lanes and to 90% for cycle lanes protected by barriers (Teschke, 2012). The
obligation of the transport planner is to primarily include bicycle lanes in the design
of a project.
However, joint lanes are inevitable in some situations because of space constraints.
If this is the case, the planner has to find ways to reduce the safety risks for the
bicycle users. There are various techniques for doing so, for example reducing the
speed of the vehicles, increasing the visibility of all the road users and restricting
car parking at the side of the road.
One of the most innovative and emerging planning techniques for protecting the
disadvantaged road users (pedestrians and bicycle users) is the use of shared space
roads. This scheme has been applied in various roads in the UK with positive
results. The recent example of the Exhibition Road transformation showed that the
conflicts between the road users before and after the transformation have reduced
(Dong, 2012).
Another important issue for the transport planner are the cycling signs. In many
cases they are incorrect and confusing. Special care has to be taken not to overload
the road with not necessary traffic signs, as this will reduce the visibility and cause
confusion to the road users.
Furthermore disjointed cycle routes are very common issue in many cities.
Disjoined routes force the cyclists to dismount and mount a number of times in
order to reach their destination. The Borough of London has introduced the Cycle
Superhighways, in order to improve the safety and speed of cycle travelling from
outer into inner London.
The planner has to collect all the available information about the present status of
safety and the potential problems of the existing policy. In the procedure to create
a safe cyclist network all the principals have to be followed to minimise the risk for
injures and accident. It is the planners responsibility to collect all the information

Transport society and planning

that is available, register and analyse all the accidents that occurred in the area.
The planner has to highlight the issues to the client and the contractor in the early
stage of the project.

3.

INDIVIDUAL SAFETY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK

One of the biggest bicycle safety debates has to do with the use of helmet. Bicycle
helmets are not mandatory for cyclists of any age anywhere in the British Isles.
However, several politicians and lobby groups have been campaigning for
mandatory bicycle helmet laws in the UK. The impacts of compulsory cycle helmet
legislation on cyclist fatalities and premature deaths in the UK are highlighted in the
Bursary Paper produced for the Transport Planning Society. It provides opposing
estimates that enforcing cyclists to wear helmets by law is likely to both reduce
cycling levels and lead to more premature deaths than the legislation would save
(GLEAVE, 2012).
Another important related issue is the ability of the other road users to see the
cyclists. During night-time it is a law to have white front and red rear lights lit. The
bicycles must also be fitted with a red rear reflector and white front reflectors.
Flashing lights are permitted but it is recommended that cyclists who are riding in
areas without street lighting use a steady front lamp (UK, N.D.). However, in a rainy
or cloudy day that the visibility is inadequate there is no law for lights on the
bicycles.
Improving the protection by the police is one issue that can increase the confidence
of the cyclists. There are various reports showing that cycling accidents are not
taken seriously by the police and prosecution system. Cyclists that have been
victims of road accident are saying that the police fail to attempt a crash scene, to
take timely witness statements and keep the victims informed about the case
progress.
It is important to note that the most important way of improving the personal
safety is through the education system. It is vital for the planners and the
legislators to be in constant communication with the educational institutes in order
to incorporate the proper safety behaviour to the young people (Justice, 2013).
The examples of other countries can be a really helpful tool in designing new
infrastructure, or new legislations. In one example, in Denmark there is a law for
the taxis to be equipped with bicycle racks in order to be used for bicycles
(Anderson, 2013). This allow to the cyclists to integrate their journey with another
mode of transport. Another example is a law from Germany enforcing the cyclists to
wear helmets and have all the proper lights on the bike to ensure that is going to
be always visible from the drivers. Such examples can be studied and extract
results about their results that can be used in designing legislations within the UK.

4. CONCLUSION
The proper design of all the bicycle facilities with the safe use of the bicycle from
the cyclists can encourage more and more people to start using the bicycle as their
main mode of transport. It is part of the planners job to provide the community
with a safe environment for the cyclists.
It is not realistic to talk about separated lanes for the cyclists in all roads, especially
in large cities like London due to the limited space. However, there are several other
ways of improving the safety of the cyclists in such case.

Transport society and planning

Cyclists can be safer by having a higher priority in the initial planning documents of
a redevelopment project, as they are the disadvantaged road users. Increasing the
number of road signs for cyclists and ensuring directions are easy to see is
important for the cyclists safety. It is also necessary to ensure cycle routes are
uninterrupted and continuous, in order to improve connectivity.

Transport society and planning

5. REFERENCE
Anderson, M. C., 2013. Bicycle racks on Taxis in Denmark, Copenhagen: Bicycle
Urbanism for Modern Cities since 2007.
Dong, W., 2012. Traffic Conflict and Shared Space: A before and After Case Study
on Exhibition Road. London, Imperial College London.
Gleave, J., 2012. Cycle Helmets: The impact of compulsory cycle helmet legislation
on cyclist fatalities and premature deaths in UK, Bedfordshire: Central Bedfordshire
Council.
Justice, S. a. G. L. R., 2013. The role of the policein England , s.l.: The national
cyclist charity ctc.
Teschke, K., 2012. Route Infrastructure and Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A CaseCrossover Study. American Journal Of Public Health, 23 December, pp. No.12
pp.2336-2343 .
transport, D. o., n.d. local suistanable transport fund -, Cheshire: harlot borough
council.
UK, G., n.d. the highway code, s.l.: rules for cyclist 59 to 82.