New research finds that as more distracted drivers take the road, protected bike lanes are keeping bikers alive.
According to recent studies, bike infrastructure makes bikers safer. David Dudley writes in CityLab, "The transformative virtues of protected bike lanes have been the focus of much research lately. A 2014 study from Portland State University determined that segregated bike paths are not only demonstrably safer for riders, they have the power to lure lapsed riders back aboard their bikes." Moving travelers to these protected lanes is a double public health benefit as it brings more people to the physical act of biking and makes those rides safer.
Improvements to bike safety are on the minds of many, after a deadly start to 2016, "In the first six months of 2016, fatalities rose more than 10 percent from 2015, a reversal of a four-decade-long trend," Dudley reports. The streets are becoming more dangerous because of a rise in distracted driving and with a more dangerous driving public, design fixes to transit dangers become all the more important.
Read the full story: Why Protected Bike Lanes Save Lives
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