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Bicyclists vs. Pedestrians
Marc Green
It is often useful to look back in history to gain some perspective on the present. So it is with bicycles. Before the turn of the 20th century when automobiles became common, reptiles saw bicycles as the major new roadway threat to the community.
Many were concerned about the dangers that they posed to pedestrians. For example, an 1895 Scientific American editorial said:
With the great increase of the bicyclists, the pedestrian, especially if aged and feeble, is completely at the mercy of rough, careless riders and liable to be knocked down at any moment. A few nights ago, passing into Washington Park, a lady was struck by a wheelman [i. e. bicyclist] going at such a high speed that she was knocked ten feet, her arm broken in several places and other severe injuries. No bell was rung. No light shown. The only excuse made by the fellow to the lady's husband was: "She got in my way."...That seems to be the popular idea among wheelmen - "We have the right of way; keep out of it if you don't want to be hurt ."...Merely insisting on the use of bells and lights is not enough. A few arrests of high-speed riders, promptly and universally done, would have a wholesome effect. (Coleman, 1895).
Today, the danger that bicycles pose to pedestrians receives little attention because motor vehicles have become the more
common transportation mode and presumably cause more severe injury. However, Scientific American's fears may not have been entirely misplaced.
In recent crashes too, bicyclists have struck and killed pedestrians whom they viewed as simply being their way[1].
The number of pedestrians being killed and injured by bicyclists suggests that pedestrian risk from bicyclists will grow as a
safety concern. A study in Britain found that the number of pedestrians killed or injured by bicyclists doubled between
2006 and 2016 (Scott, 2017). Another study (Tuckel & Milczarski, 2011) found that the number of pedestrians injured
by bicycles has been drastically underreported. A thorough investigation uncovered as many actual hospital
admissions of pedestrians injured by bicycles in New York State, about 1000 per year, as had been reported
in the entire US. A large majority required only outpatient treatment, but the data are ten years old and
prior to the recent increase in bicycling. Another surprising analysis found that when miles traveled is taken into
account, there was little difference between the number of pedestrian injuries caused by vehicles (24 per billion km)
and bicyclists (21 per billion km)[2].
Research has revealed some common factors in collisions where a bicycle kills a pedestrian.
The fatal injury usually occurs when the pedestrian is knocked over and hits the head against the ground
(Graw, & König, 2002; Short, Grzebieta, & Arndt, 2007). In contrast, bicyclists seldom suffer much injury
from a collision with a pedestrian (Chong, Poulos, Olivier, Watson, & Grzebieta, 2010; Beck, Stevenson, Newstead, Cameron,
Judson, Edwards, Bucknill, Johnson, & Gabbe, 2016). There is also a common demographic theme. Several studies (e.g., Graw,
& König, 2002; O'Hern & Oxley, 2019) found that older pedestrians have a far greater probability of being seriously injured/killed
in a bicycle collision, an obvious frailty effect. In contrast, the striking
bicyclist in pedestrian collisions is usually young, under the age of 25 (Graw, & König, 2002). The young are not exempt as one study (Scott, Hockey, Barker, Pitt, 2005)
of hospitals found that 10 percent of child admission were caused by being struck by a bicycle.
As for location, most collisions
occur on shared footpath/sidewalk (e.g., Haworth, Schramm, & Debnath, 2014) although a study (Poulos, Hatfield, Flack, Shaw,
Grzebieta, & McIntosh, 2017) found that near misses were slightly more common on the roadway. The law seldom punishes
bicyclists who travel on sidewalk (where I live, the fine is $3.75 for adults only but is never charged), but bicycles are road vehicles and should
not be driven on sidewalks. In many cases, however, pedaling on an empty sidewalk is more rational than in heavy or fast traffic.
This is the fundamental complication produced by an entity that is neither fish nor fowl, neither vehicle or pedestrian. (And then we have motorized scooters of various sorts making things even worse.)
Sometimes it is rational for bicyclists to act like pedestrians and sometimes like vehicles, but allowing bicyclists
alone to choose when they act as one or the other with no rules at all is bound to create both collisions and hard feelings.
Grzebieta, McIntosh, & Chong (2011) analyzed the physics of bicycle-pedestrian collisions and made some surprising observations. Most would assume the mass and speed difference between a vehicle and a bicycle would be much greater than between a bicycle and a pedestrian. This suggests that bicycle-pedestrian collisions should be far less injurious. However, the authors found that the ratio of kinetic energy for a sedan traveling 50 kph and a bicycle traveling 30 kph is 44:1. The ratio of kinetic energy for a bicyclist traveling 30 kph and a pedestrian walking 5 kph is 48:1, similar to that of the sedan-bicycle scenario. The conclusion is that bicycles pose a real threat to pedestrians. Chong, Poulos, Olivier, Watson, & Grzebieta (2010) applied this analysis to a standard injury biomechanics survivability assessment and concluded that bicycles speeds should be restricted to 10 mph. Reducing speed seems to be the universal panacea for all transportation safety problems.
The absolute numbers of pedestrian injuries and fatalities from bicycle collisions are still low, but they are likely to increase
due to several factors and strong emnity between bicyclists and pedestrians quickly emerges where they must share a facility in large numbers. (See the "Battle of the Brooklyn Bridge," New York Times, 2009, for example). The growth in the number of bicyclists and the establishment of bike lanes that allow them to
travel at much faster speeds may increase the collision total. The most vulnerable pedestrians are the elderly,
a demographic that is rapidly growing. Lastly, the advent of e-bicycles with their greater mass and faster speed
will make pedestrian collisions more severe. Pedestrian-e-bike collisions outnumbered pedestrian-bicycle
collisions in one sample by 2.5:1 (Hu, Lv, Zhu, & Fang, 2014) although no exposure data were provided.
Early law treated bicyclists as it now does drivers when there is a pedestrian collision. Myers v. Hinds, Supreme Court
of Michigan ruled that when a bicyclist overtakes a pedestrian without warning and injures him
"the burden rests on the bicyclist to show evidence that he was free from negligence,
in order to relieve himself from liability" (Stewart, 1897). The "reverse onus" applied to bicyclists
as it now does to drivers. However, there is little accountability as bicyclists who have injured or
killed a pedestrian are seldom charged although there exceptions[3].
Moreover, it was once normal bicyclist behavior when overtaking a pedestrian to ring a standard and easily
recognizable warning bell, but if my experiences can be generalized, this behavior has become virtually extinct.
Similarly, bicyclist turn signaling is also very rare. A law requiring bicyclists to provide signals and to
warn pedestrians should be instituted and enforced. This will require the licensing of bicyclists who use public thorofares.
Endnotes
[1] For example.
[2] Prank, P. 2014. Reported in "Motorists And Cyclists Create Army Of Walking Wounded."
[3] A few bicyclists have been convicted in extreme circumstances. One was travelling without from brakes.
Another was traveling with a beverage in one hand and smart phone in the other. Several were running a red lights.
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Copyright © 2024 Marc Green, Ph. D.
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A division of 2057949 Ontario, Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Marc Green, Ph. D.
Home Page
Contact Us