Bicyclists and Motorists Equally Likely to Cause Crashes
Posted by Bikeverywhere, January 15th, 2013A 10 year study of bicycle/motorist crashes in Minneapolis found that bicyclists and motorists were almost equally to blame for bike car crashes. The study looked at 270 crashes and found that motorists caused accidents when they didn’t see bicyclists and bicyclists caused accidents when they failed to stop at stop signs or rode the wrong way in traffic. Most accidents, 81 percent, occurred within 50 feet of an intersection, especially intersections with high traffic. The multi-angled junction of Cedar, Franklin and Minnehaha avenues led the list with 20 crashes over 10 years. The report urged the city to continue some of the changes they have recently adapted, including extending bike markings through congested intersections and using dashed lines to indicate where motorists can cross a bike path to make a turn. It also recommended that motorists and bicyclists receive even handed enforcement.