Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Infrastructure

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

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

Friday Video: Are Driverless Big Rigs a Good Idea?

What will automated trucks really mean for America?

May 30, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Have a Future

But these freeways shouldn't, according to the Congress for New Urbanism.

May 30, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Bike Guides to Build Your City

Bill Schultheiss on AASHTO and NACTO bike lane design guides, the importance of history, political will and the stress of being an expert witness in court.

May 29, 2025

Outrage Grows Over NYPD Bike Criminalization, But City Council Is In No Rush

Many members of the New York City Council want Speaker Adrienne Adams to act to protect immigrant cyclists from the NYPD, but she doesn't want to.

May 29, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Live to Fight Another Day

Congestion pricing won a major court victory that suggests it's here to stay, and could eventually open the door for other cities to follow New York's lead.

May 29, 2025

Duffy Tells Congress He’s Not Delaying DOT Projects — As He Delays DOT Projects

Thousands of federal transportation grants remain in limbo as the Trump administration cuts staff and cracks down on DEI, bike lanes and environmental rules.

May 29, 2025
See all posts