DOT article on bike safety

This is from todays post on Life in the Fast Lane, the blog kept by the Department of Transportation (DOT):
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May 20, 2009
Bicycling is only healthy when you ride safely

It's clear that bicycling is good for the environment...when it takes vehicles off the road. It's also clear that bicycling is good for your health...when you practice safety.

May is National Bike Safety Month. As this Administration works to develop environmentally-sound transportation options, making our streets more bike-friendly is high on the list. Our roads and communities must be built to allow people to get around safely outside of their cars, on bike or on foot.

But, as more people take to bicycling, that idea can only be sound when drivers and cyclists help each other share the roads safely.



Motorists should:

Recognize that bicyclists have a right to ride on the roadway;
Stay alert and keep distractions to a minimum;
Make a complete visual check for bicyclists before entering or leaving a lane of traffic.

But, bicyclists have an obligation as well. They should:

Ride on the roadway, rather than on sidewalks;
Follow the same rules of the road as other vehicles;
Wear a bicycle helmet every time you ride;
Make yourself visible, day and night.

Please take the time to visit the content-rich Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and the National Center for Safe Routes to School. Best practices for bicycle safety can also be found on the League of American Bicyclists and Bicycle Safe sites. The International Bicycle Fund has a great list of bike safety resources.

We all know about "defensive driving." But, bicyclists are vulnerable and exposed in a way that motorists simply are not. While we are working to improve conditions for bicyclists on the roadways, let's, please, remember the culture we've created over the last 100 years will not welcome bikes overnight. In the meantime, during National Bike Safety Month and throughout the year, I urge you to "bike defensively."
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What do you think? I think that any emphasis on biking from the DOT is good, although I do see some errors in this (keep distractions to a minimum?? really...what about avoid distractions).

What are your thoughts?

Speaking of bike Safety, hope you can join the Ride of Silence tonight in Birmingham. Leaves Homewood Cycles at 7pm. This is a ride to remember those who have been killed on bikes and to raise awareness.

stay safe and ride hard

LaHood = hope for the DOT? (and other Bici News)

Another Monday night, another Bici Board meeting. Tonight we had tacos and really fleshed out our mission statement, as well as planned some exciting fundraisers and events. Stay tuned for news on those.

As part of our focus on advocacy and education, we are trying to stay abreast of all the national and local news pertaining to bicycling, alternative transportation, safety and the like. Today I saw this and was really excited, so I wanted to share it.

Ray LaHood, the new Secretary of Transportation, has a website and blog that he posts to, Welcome to the Fast Lane. So far I have been impressed by LaHood, from his declaration at The National Bike Summit that "You have a full partner at the DOT" to his decision to have officials study the European models of cities.

Today however, I was most impressed. I read the March 13 entry to Welcome to the Fast Lane, entitled "Cyclists are important users of transportation systems "


"On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of addressing the National Bike Summit. I was invited to speak as a member of the Obama administration, but I have been a supporter of bicycling for many years and was a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus when I was in Congress.

Still, I don't think the League of American Bicyclists knew what to expect when they invited me to their summit.

I hope they were pleasantly surprised because I am committed to investing in programs that encourage bikes to coexist with other modes and to safely share our roads and bridges. And there’s strong support in Congress for these goals as well.

In the Department of Transportation, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities. We're excited that the Federal Highway Administration is looking at best practices in Europe to improve safety and mobility for walkers and cyclists. We're excited that a federally funded pilot project to study the effects of improved walking and bicycling facilities in four communities is underway. I think I conveyed that excitement to the summit, judging by the early response (BikePortland.org, Streetsblog.org)

I welcome the vigor of the bicycling community in advocating for bike-friendly measures in the upcoming authorization bill, CLEAN-TEA. Bicycles are a critical part of a cleaner, greener future in American transportation, so keep those wheels spinning."

Let's hope he is a man of his word. It is time for a change in this country and LaHood seems to be on track.

bike love