Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Infrastructure

Want Cyclists To Feel Protected? Then <I>Protect</I> Them!

2:19 PM EDT on September 18, 2018

Photo: Seattle Department of Transportation.

There's good reason bicyclists feel safer inside bike lanes.

A new study by the University of Minnesota finds that drivers are less likely to pass cyclists at a dangerously close distance if there's a bike lane — particularly if the bike lane is physical separated from traffic.

The findings are rather intuitive, but it's still helpful to have hard data backing up the case for first-class on-street bike infrastructure.

A team of researchers used a bike-mounted radar and GoPro cameras to measure passing distance for 3,000 bike-car interactions on five types of streets: those with a buffered bike lane, a bollard-protected bike lane, no bike lane, just a shoulder, a standard bike lane and one configured as a bike boulevard.

Regardless of street design, very few drivers passed closer than three feet — but a majority of those close passes, 64 percent in fact, occurred on roads without bike lanes. And there were zero unsafe passings on roads with bollard-protected bike lanes or buffered bike lanes.

"[It's] evidence that investments in these types of bike facilities may reduce potentially risky interactions between vehicles and cyclists,” said Greg Lindsey, the University of Minnesota professor who co-authored the study.

Make that male cyclists. The study also found that drivers behaved more dangerously around female riders, passing, on average, three inches closer to female cyclists. Of all the unsafe passes in the study, 73 percent occurred against female cyclists. Studies show that women favor protected bike infrastructure because they tend to feel safer. Here's more evidence why.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

The Real Reason Assaults Against Transit Workers Are On The Rise

Hint: it's not just because service has been slashed.

December 7, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines’ Future Looks Bright

Amtrak Joe's administration is making big strides on rail, although it's lagging behind on EV chargers.

December 7, 2023

Car Noise Pollution is Worse in Redlined Neighborhoods — And Not Just for Humans

Transportation noise pollution can wreak havoc on wildlife populations, too — and that can have a devastating effect on their human neighbors.

December 6, 2023

Oakland Calif. Mayor Makes New Promise About Safety

Mayor Thao Tweets "It's time to reach a critical juncture where tragedies don’t catalyze improvements." But when and how will we know if the city has really reached that point and is serious about safety for all road users?

December 5, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines Envy Europe

Could the EU keep U.S. megacars off their streets?

December 5, 2023
See all posts