Sustainable Safety Approach for Smart Cycling Network

Roads that are planned and designed for cars are dangerous for other commuting forms of cycling. This is due to the fact that there are many points of conflict between these two forms of road users. Cars and bicycles also use the road differently, the speed and masses of the car users and cyclists make them incompatible to be gathered in the same road network.

The Sustainable Safety approach offers an alternative in the design and management of roads in the cities. This is an approach that puts forward road traffic systems and infrastructure design that not only inherently and drastically reduce the risk of crash but also lowers the severity of injury if crashes do occur. The Sustainable Safety approach identifies three basic factors that play a role in danger, risk and harm: speed (in crashes), mass/protection (of/by vehicles) and physical vulnerability (of man).

These are some examples of strategies that deal with the three factors including lowering the speed of cars, physical separation of car and cycling networks, and eliminating obstacles on road such as potholes or dangerous level crossing. The objectives of these strategies are about lowering the points of contact between cars and cyclists, minimising the impact when collisions occur, and increasing safety and comfort for cyclists while avoiding the bicycle single vehicle crashes. 

Reference

Wegman, F., Zhang, F., & Dijkstra, A. (2012). How to make more cycling good for road safety?. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 44(1), 19-29.

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