Improving Bicycle Safety in Portland OCTOBER 26, 2007 Introduction to bicycle safety The public expects and demands that the transportation system be safe for all users. Improving bicycle safety can help to alleviate a variety of health, economic, and neighborhood livability issues for travelers. Fatalities and injuries from motor vehicle crashes are a major public health problem. According to the Federal Highway Administration, if we are successful in improving the real and perceived safety of bicyclists, we will also increase use. Bicyclists and pedestrians are frequently combined in the category of non- motorized transportation. Although both are integral parts of Portland Transportation’s mission and critical elements of the transportation system, they are very different in terms of demographics, sources of injuries, and legal responsibilities. Bicyclists travel at three to five times the speed of pedestrians, and are vehicle operators both in terms of physics and according to traffic laws. Traffic safety studies and our own experience have demonstrated that more bicycling activity in and of itself creates safer conditions. This is usually attributed to the increased opportunities it affords motorists and cyclists to learn to operate around each other and share the road. Using an integrated approach of education, enforcement, and engineering strategies, Portland Transportation has programs to improve bicycle safety. Portland’s bicycle crash rate is decreasing Over half of Portland residents limit their bicycling due to traffic safety concerns. Portland Office of Between 1990-2000, 10% more Portlanders were killed in auto-related crashes Transportation than were murdered, and 40% more Portlanders were injured in auto-related 1120 SW Fifth Ave, crashes than were injured from assaults. From 1985-2000, one out of every three Room 800 traffic fatalities was a bicyclist or a pedestrian. Portland, OR 97204 So far in 2007, Portland has seen 6 bicycle fatalities – the highest number of Ph: 503-823-5185 bicycle fatalities on record for one year. Reported crashes will not be received until FAX: 503-823-7576 next year from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In 2006, Portland saw zero bicycle fatalities and 203 reported bicycle crashes. We’re on the Web! www.portlandonline. A challenge in talking about crash data relevant to bicycles is only about 10-20% com/transportation of bicycle crashes gets reported – not a problem specific to Portland. The more severe the crash, the more likely it is to be reported. Portland Transportation is exploring ways to strengthen both the amount of data received and the techniques to analyze the data. Despite this year’s surprising fatalities, bicycling in Portland has become safer. With reported crashes increasing only slightly and ridership increasing exponentially, our bicycle crash rate is decreasing. Data analysis shows that operating either a motor vehicle or a bicycle in Portland are both relatively safe ways to travel. 1 Portland’s bicycle ridership is increasing The primary gauge for measuring bicycle use in Portland is the number of bicycle trips across the four bicycle-friendly bridges over the Willamette River (Hawthorne, Burnside, Steel, and Broadway bridges). The number of cyclists crossing these four bridges has soared, increasing 410% since 1991, more than 115% since 2001, and an additional 21% since 2006. Today, cyclists take more than 14,563 daily trips across the Willamette River to travel between Portland’s east and west sides. The increase of bicycle traffic on these bridges is consistent with the growth in bicycle use throughout Portland. Comparisons at 50 non-bridge locations citywide show an 18% increase in bicycle use since 2006. 2 3 Understanding crash data When a crash occurs, there are multiple factors that influenced the event. By analyzing crashes that result in injury or fatality, a better understanding of where and why crashes occur will inform policies and actions that might result in facility improvements, enhanced services, or policy changes. The more severe the crash, the more likely it is to be reported. Crashes that result in a trauma tend to receive more thorough police investigations, resulting in more detail about the conditions and factors causing the crash. Bicycle crash reporting procedures are not uniform, creating several challenges to understanding bicycle crashes. One of the biggest challenges to understanding crash data provided through the Statewide Crash Data System is that the data on cause of crash often lack enough detail to be able to understand all the factors that contributed to the crash. Reconstructing these events can be difficult or impossible because the records do not include a diagram or drawing of the event. Sources of crash data Bicycle safety on Portland’s roads can be estimated by the data collected on frequency, causes, injury severity, and factors of bicycle crashes. Crash data sources include: Police Crash Investigation Reports Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT) ODOT Statewide Crash Data System Oregon Trauma Registry Police Crash Investigation Reports provide a detailed description of the crash level events and the factors that contributed to the crash. The current protocol requires that these reports are submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles and incorporated in the Statewide Crash Data System. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT) is a crash typing software offered by bicyclinginfo.org that is used to define the sequence of events that resulted in the crashes where police investigation reports are available. ODOT’s Crash Analysis and Reporting Unit maintains the Statewide Crash Data System. It contains crash data from police, insurance, and driver exchange forms. The Department of Motor Vehicles is the designated collector of crash records, and those records are compiled into the data system managed by ODOT. Portland Transportation utilizes this data for analysis and mapping purposes. The Oregon Trauma Systems, a part of Oregon’s Department of Human Services, is responsible for development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of the state's trauma system, including establishment of system standards, designation of trauma hospitals to care for injured patients, and collection of trauma registry data. The Oregon Trauma Registry collects information on the cause of trauma such as a bicyclist, pedestrian or motor vehicle crash. 4 Portland crash statistics Bicycle crash investigations by Portland Police (2002-2006) Year of Total Percentage Top Six Crash Types* Total Percentage Crash Right hook 21 9.5% 2002 26 12% Cyclist runs stop sign 18 8.0% 2003 38 17% Motorist runs stop sign 15 7.0% 2004 37 17% Left hook 13 6.0% 2005 44 20% Cyclist runs signal 11 5.0% 2006* 75 34% Motorist runs signal 10 4.5% *This significant increase is due to *All other crash types were in the single digits; i.e. a change in the types of crashes each type occurred fewer than 10 times investigated Bicyclist Injury Total Percentage Motor Vehicle Total Percentage Severity Type Minor injury 74 34% Car 122 55% Serious injury 67 30% Pickup 35 16% Unknown 32 15% Sport utility 27 12% Complaint of pain 28 13% Van/minivan 13 6% No injury 16 7% Unknown 11 5% Fatal* 3 1% Large truck* 5 2% Bus/school bus 4 2% Other 3 1% *Fatal Crash Types: Parallel paths, Bicyclist *Truck Crash Types: Bicyclist lost control, lost control, Bicyclist ride out Bicyclist ride out, Motorist overtaking – *Fatal Vehicle Types: Large truck, Sport bicyclist swerved, Motorist right turn – utility, Bus/school bus same direction, Parallel paths 5 Crashes investigated by police (2002-2006): 221 detailed crash investigations were bicycle crashes 5 of the 221 involved large trucks (2%), with 1 crash resulting in a fatality All 5 crashes were different types; i.e., there was no typical large truck crash Of the larger data set, from 2002 to 2005, 7 of the 699 bicycle crashes involved trucks (1%); data about trucks is not yet available in the larger data set for 2006. Of the 1,902 bike crashes from 1995 to 2005, 15 involved large trucks (0.8%). Bicycle crash investigations by Portland Police with bicyclist serious injury or fatality (2002-2006): Motor Vehicle Type Total Percentage Car 122 55% *Truck Crash Types: Pickup 35 16% Bicyclist lost control, Sport utility 27 12% Bicyclist ride out, Van/minivan 13 6% Motorist overtaking - Unknown 11 5% bicyclist swerved, Motorist right turn - Large truck* 5 2% same direction, Parallel Bus/school bus 4 2% paths Other 3 1% Bicycle, pedestrian, and motor vehicle crash statistics (1995-2006): 2,105 reported crashes involving a bicycle – average of 175 per year 25 of these crashes resulted in cyclist fatalities – average of 2.1 per year 134,625 reported automobile crashes – average of 11,219 per year 322 of these crashes resulted in fatalities – average of 27 per year 2,435 reported pedestrian-involved crashes – average of 203 per year 130 of these crashes resulted in fatalities – average of 11 per year 0 This chart shows 2 right hook cyclist fatalities in 10 years. In October 2007, Portland had 2 right hook cyclist fatalities in 2 weeks – SW 14th Ave at Burnside, N. Interstate at Greeley 6 Common bicycle crash types in Portland The Portland Police Bureau investigates only a fraction of all reported crashes in Portland. Beginning in 2006, the police dramatically increased the number of investigations, resulting in a jump from 700 investigated crashes in 2005 to 1,700 in 2006. Seventy-five of the 1,700