Collaboration for Safe Bicycling

From Fall 1994
Volume I, Number 3

Bicycle and pedestrian safety has long been a concern of both traffic safety and public health agencies. The last few years have seen a number of important developments and initiatives with exciting implications for the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. This article summarizes a number of activities, resources, and federal initiatives.

The National Bicycle and Walking Study

The National Bicycle and Walking Study was developed by a United States Department of Transportation (DOT) working group that included representatives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

It seeks to:

double the percentage of all U.S. travel trips made by bicycling and walking, from 7.9 to 15.8 percent
simultaneously reduce by 10 percent the number of bicyclists and pedestrians killed or injured in traffic crashes

The study includes a summary of the research on bicycling and walking; action plans at the federal, state, and local levels to help promote safety; and valuable descriptions of model federal, state, and local activities.

The National Bicycling and Walking Study: Transportation Choices for a Changing America. Final Report. (1994). Available from The R&T Report Center, Federal Highway, Turner Fairbanks Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike, HRD-11, McLean, VA 22101-2296, (703) 285-2144.

State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinators

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 requires states to appoint a "bicycle and pedestrian coordinator" in their departments of transportation. Although there is no penalty for noncompliance, every state has created this position. Most "Bike & Ped" coordinators are housed within state department of transportation planning offices.

The FHWA, which is responsible for facilitating the work of the Bike & Ped coordinators, held a March 1993 meeting in San Diego to give the newly appointed coordinators a chance to meet one another and discuss their activities. A second meeting took place immediately following the ProBike/ProWalk Conference in Portland, Oregon in September 1994.

In a related effort, the FHWA has awarded a contract to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Federation of America to establish a National Bicycle-Walking Clearinghouse. Traffic safety and public health professionals, as well as the public, can turn to the clearinghouse for information and resources on bicycling and walking as modes of transportation and recreation. More information on the clearinghouse will be provided in a future issue of Building Bridges.

Recognizing the need to coordinate the many public and private efforts to prevent bicycle-related injuries, The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NHTSA have joined with other agencies and organizations to form the National Ad Hoc Working Group to Prevent Bicycle-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries. The working group includes representatives from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (who offer the viewpoint of state-level injury control programs), the National Head Injury Foundation, the Children's Safety Network, FHWA, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the National Safety Council, and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The group's mission is "to reduce the incidence and severity of bicycle-related injuries with special emphasis on reducing the most severe type--traumatic brain injury--through (1) increasing bicycle helmet use, (2) promoting safe bicycling behaviors, and (3) creating safer bicycling environments. Future meetings will decide on how the resources represented by the members can best be mobilized to serve as a national coordinating point and catalyst for action in light of the new performance standards and other public and private efforts to promote bicycle safety and helmet use.

New Bicycle Helmet Standards and Guidelines

The Child Safety Protection Act, which began life as the Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act, requires the CPSC to develop mandatory performance standards for bicycle helmets. The CDC will be issuing its own new bicycle helmet guidelines. While the CPSC standards will concern helmet design and construction, the CDC guidelines will focus on helmet use and promotion. The CPSC standards should be available in 1995. The CDC guidelines are due to appear sometime this fall or winter in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Other CDC Bicycle Safety Activities

The CDC is involved in a number of other bicycle safety activities. Most of the CDC-funded Injury Control Research Centers are engaged in research and/or demonstration projects on bicycle safety (a number of which were described in Building Bridges No. 2). The CDC is also funding three bicycle safety demonstration and evaluation projects. The Injury Prevention Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health is conducting one project, Ride Right, Ride On, in collaboration with partners including the state and local PTAs and Optimist Clubs, the Cherokee County Health Department, the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, the Oklahoma SAFE KIDS Coalition, and the Cherokee Nation. This program is continuing statewide surveillance for traumatic brain injuries; organizing statewide and local bicycle safety coalitions; sponsoring statewide bicycle safety educational campaigns; implementing a comprehensive bicycle helmet project in Tahlequah, Oklahoma; awarding mini-grants; pilot-testing CDC's Injury Control and Risk Factor Surveillance System (ICARIS); and promoting the passage of a bicycle helmet law.

A second project is being conducted by the Texas Department of Health's Bureau of Epidemiology, Injury Prevention, and Control. The Head Smart Program runs a toll-free Bicycle Helmet Information Hotline, educates the public and community groups on helmet use, and supports the activities of local and state bicycle helmet and safety coalitions.

The third, being carried out by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Injury and Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation, is a three-pronged program including a series of mini-grants for community-based bicycle safety programs; a media campaign in collaboration with Cycle Across Maryland, a private cycling organization, and Bell Sports, a bicycle helmet manufacturer; and a school-based bicycle-safety program being developed and pilot-tested in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Education.

Additional CDC-funded bicycle safety projects are just getting underway with the September 1994 start-up of the Cooperative Agreements for State Injury Intervention Programs. These programs will develop, implement, and evaluate injury prevention and/or surveillance programs in six areas: bicycle-related head injuries, fire-related burn injuries, motor vehicle injuries, firearm-related injuries, violence against women, and alcohol-related injuries. Several of these grants, which have been awarded to state and large county or city health departments, focus on the prevention of bicycle-related head injuries through increased usage of bicycle helmets. The grants recognize the importance of interagency collaboration and require forming partnerships with highway safety and law enforcement agencies.

NHTSA and Bicycle Safety

NHTSA is also funding projects to promote bicycle safety, which involve collaborations with a variety of public and private sector partners.

The Little League Traffic Safety Program reinforces positive bicycle, pedestrian, and occupant protection behavior for players, parents, and coaches. The program includes a training video, safety brochures, and major league baseball cards with traffic safety messages on the back.
The Bicycle Safety Patrol Program of the Fairfax County (Virginia) Police Department seeks to increase helmet usage by cyclists 14 and under who are covered by the county bicycle helmet law. Traffic safety officers patrolling on bicycles issue warning tickets to youngsters found riding without a helmet. For those unable to afford helmets, the tickets are redeemable at local bicycle shops for free helmets.
The Head Smart program, in conjunction with the National Head Injury Foundation, is producing a video that encourages helmet use among teenagers through interviews with teens who were injured in bicycle crashes while not wearing helmets.
Bike to School, a training guide developed by the University of Florida, targets fourth- and fifth-grade students who ride their bicycles to school. The guide was designed for use in a wide variety of school-based settings.

Not all of the products being developed by the CDC- and NHTSA-funded projects are currently available to the public. The following contact persons can provide more information on their programs: Dennis Sullivan, Little League Traffic Safety Program, Little League Baseball International Headquarters, (717) 326-1921; Shelli Stephens Stidham, Oklahoma Bicycle Safety Program, (405) 271-3430; Julie Russell, National Ad Hoc Working Group to Prevent Bicycle-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries, NCIPC, CDC, (404) 488-4652. The Texas Department of Health's Bicycle Helmet Information Hotline can be reached at (800) 252-8255.

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Revised: October 24, 1996

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