{"id":3036,"date":"2019-09-23T14:59:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T14:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=3036"},"modified":"2019-09-24T16:19:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T16:19:40","slug":"focus-feature-the-three-facets-of-cycling-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2019\/09\/23\/focus-feature-the-three-facets-of-cycling-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus Feature: The Three Facets of Cycling Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Liam Smith, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three main facets of cycling safety: infrastructure, preventing the accident, and then what happens in the aftermath of an altercation with a motor vehicle. Starting with bike lanes and boulevards, the goal of these is to remove cyclists from wheel to wheel traffic, where the majority of incidents and fatalities occur; however, there are systemic issues with the implementation in many different locations across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main issues surrounding cycling infrastructure is\nthe disconnect between legislators and the cycling community. This rift exists\nfrom low-level research all the way up to the Mayor\u2019s office. New York City is\na perfect example of this phenomenon. In the wake of the worst year of cycling\nfatalities in Manhattan, the city is attempting to remedy the issue by adding\nmore infrastructure. Most recently, they are trying to get a bill passed that\ncalls for 50 miles of new bikes lanes each year. While on paper this sounds\nlike a good idea, this is only going to increase tension between pedestrians,\ncyclists, and drivers. There exists a toxic trifecta between these groups, with\neach group at odds with the others. It does not help that the infrastructure\nthat is in place already is confusing and difficult to understand. Currently\nthe network of paths and bike lanes is a patchwork with large gaps between\nsections. This makes navigation treacherous as it oftentimes just ends and\nplunges you back into traffic, putting you at odds with drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of many bike trails snaking throughout Columbus. Note the cracked and bumpy pavement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is a consensus among different members of the urban\ncycling community that less infrastructure, but with better connections would\nbe more beneficial; however, this is lost on many city planners. When I sat\ndown to interview Yujin Park, a PhD candidate in Knowlton School of\nArchitecture for Regional and City Planning, there was a distinct disconnect.\nShe was in favor of more infrastructure as opposed to connecting existing\nresources. This directly contradicts the desires of those that actually use the\nroads and lanes snaking through the city and surrounding neighborhoods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A poster urging pedestrians to be careful when entering the road. These posters are located all over campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is hope though; many institutions Ohio State included,\nare pouring money into researching the current behaviors of cyclists. This is\nleading to better infrastructure and increased safety for cyclists. As noted by\nMs. Park though, this leaves a blind spot in the coverage because it is much\nharder to collect data on pedestrians and their needs. While there is a lot of\ncrossover between parties, not everything is like for like. Pedestrians for\nexample require more shade since they are typically more affected by hot\ntemperatures and weather. As a large part of the greater urban community their\nneeds and opinions also need to be heard. They are also put at risk from\ndangerous drivers just like cyclists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A “sharrow” on campus indicating a shared roadway for bikes and cars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the event there is no cycling specific infrastructure to\ntake advantage of, what can you do to protect yourself and avoid an accident?\nThere are many options available ranging from clothing and lights to full-blown\nradar detection units to boost your situational awareness when riding your bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simple set of lights is one of the first purchases you\nshould make if you plan to ride your bike regularly. Even if you will not be\nriding in dark conditions, most cycling authorities still recommend keeping your\nlights running even during the day. Even small LED clip-on lights are visible\nfrom a great distance and help identify your direction of travel to passing\ncars. These can be found at any local bike shop and even most department stores\nsuch as Target. Additionally, in the event of a collision, having working\nlights can help with insurance claims as you did everything you could to avoid\nan accident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great step in protecting yourself is wearing brightly\ncolored clothing, such as a fluorescent vest or reflective jacket. Especially\nin lowlight or wet conditions, this greatly improves the visibility of the\nrider. When used in combination with the aforementioned lights, any rider can\ninstantly turn into a bright beacon on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like the lights, there is a wide variety of peripheral\ngadgets you can add to your bike or apparel to increase your awareness of your\nsurroundings. One of the most popular is the use of a mini mirror. The most\ncommon locations are affixed to your helmet or attached to the left side of\nyour handlebars. Even a small mirror allows you to see much more without needing\nto turn your head and take your attention away from the pavement ahead of you.\nAs a past user, you quickly get comfortable with the extra peripheral vision and\nfeel almost blind or vulnerable when not using it. As mentioned previously,\nthere are even more technologically advanced versions for the tech savvy individual.\nGarmin makes a clip-on radar unit that connects with Bluetooth to a simple\nreceiver mounted on your handlebars. When a car approaches, it will alert you\nto the closure speed and distance. If the car approaches too close for comfort,\nthe shrill warning alerts you to take evasive action. Despite all these amazing\ntechnologies, cyclists still get hit by cars; however, they better arm the\ncyclist to defend themselves and leave it less to chance than in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My helmet post-crash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the event a crash is inevitable though, we have our third facet of cycling safety: protective gear. This includes but is not limited to helmets and body armor, and more recently, airbags. Trek is currently the leader in pioneering new technologies to create safer helmets, unveiling WaveCel earlier this year. This is a honeycomb design that is intended to absorb dangerous rotational forces acting on your brain in the event of a crash. Most helmets use a material called EPS or Expanding Polystyrene to redirect the impact forces; however, the material is largely limited to a linear redirection. If the more dangerous spinning forces are acting on your head, they are much less effective. That\u2019s not to say a helmet without these new technologies is useless. Speaking from personal experience, I crashed at 35 miles per hour and an EPS helmet saved my life by crushing just like it was supposed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the newest in a line of new helmet liners WaveCel is\nnot alone. POC in Sweden developed their own proprietary version aptly name\nSPIN, short for Shearing Pad INside. Much like the crumple zone on a car, it is\ndesigned to deform and relieve the pressure generated from a side-on impact. Additionally,\nmany other helmet manufacturers have licensed MIPS, which functions largely the\nsame way. This really was a huge leap forward since most helmets were largely\nunchanged since their mainstream introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A more modern POC Octal. Note the yellow MIPS layer visible in the main shell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even more revolutionary than WaveCel is a new wearable airbag called H\u00d6VDING. Simply wear around your neck while riding and in the event of a crash, it deploys in one tenth of a second to cushion your impact with the ground. According to Stanford it is the safest cycling head protection in the world, rated up to eight times safer than traditional helmets. The newest version can even call your emergency contacts in the event of an accident. While not designed for more avid cyclists, it is perfect the commuter or recreational rider just looking for some extra protection while riding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With innovative technologies like these being pioneered all around the world, the future of cycling safety is burning bright. Much attention is being drawn to cycling safety as the community grows larger, which will only serve to improve the situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Liam Smith, 2019 The three main facets of cycling safety: infrastructure, preventing the accident, and then what happens in the aftermath of an altercation with a motor vehicle. Starting with bike lanes and boulevards, the goal of these is to remove cyclists from wheel to wheel traffic, where the majority of incidents and fatalities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,26,33],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-focus","9":"category-focus-featured"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3087,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions\/3087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}