Bike & Pedestrian Safety in Cities

Cities throughout the U.S. are introducing legislation to restrict e-bike and e-scooter usage citing safety concerns. These concerns are centered around the idea that increased e-bike usage has increased traffic collisions and injuries. The cities of Carlsbad and Encinitas have introduced a bill in June to require e-bike riders to take classes, tests and have an ID or driver’s license to operate. This bill also limits e-bike usage to people over 12 years. Then, in July, a van hit a 15 year old on an e-bike who later died of their injuries.

Trends in traffic fatalities over time:

A study by NHTSA found that 7,388 pedestrians were killed in 2021 in traffic crashes. 12.5% increase from prior year. 60,577 pedestrians and 41,615 bicyclists were injured in vehicle crashes. This is an 11% increase in pedestrian injuries and a 7% increase in bicyclist injuries from 2020. 84% of all traffic fatalities occurred in urban areas – areas where traffic calming techniques can be employed to slow motorists and deter unsafe driving.

Micro-mobility growth trends over the same time:

U.S. Imports of e-bikes increased from 450,000 units in 2020 to 790,000 units in 2021. The pandemic played the largest role in this increase, however signs show that e-bikes are here to stay post-pandemic. The global e-bike market was valued at 37.47 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to rise about 15% annually until 2030.

What's causing accidents and fatalities?

CA & The Autonomous Car Dilemma

Fleet sizes of autonomous vehicles have increased after months of debate and public pushback in San Francisco. Similar to rideshare programs like Uber and Lyft, this has led to increased traffic, the blockage of emergency vehicles and increased car dependency in cities. Even if autonomous vehicles eventually prove to be safer than human drivers, the technology has not yet advanced to the necessary threshold to avoid pedestrian endangerment or to allow fully-autonomous vehicles to be beta tested in public. Because of numerous incidents, CA DMV announced on Oct 24th an indefinite suspension for GM’s Cruise from operating within San Francisco without a human driver present.

Road & Vehicle Design & Vehicle Speed

Road design all across North America prioritizes motorists in cars and trucks over pedestrians and non-motorists. Speed limits in cities play less of a role in observed driver speeds than road design. Traffic engineers in North America have a long standing tradition of widening roadways to increase driver throughput in cities. Wider streets allow drivers to feel more comfortable driving at higher speeds. High speed crashes are especially harmful to senior citizens and children, who are more likely to be pedestrians. Lastly, modern car design increases hood heights to protect those inside of cars from impact. Unfortunately, designs to ensure the safety of motorists create unsafe realities for those on the street. Higher vehicle grills and hoods are much more likely to fatally injure children, other pedestrians and cyclists.

How can accidents and fatalities be prevented? 

• Several bills that aim to control motorist speeds have been introduced to the CA legislature like AB 645, AB 251 and AB 413. These bills create opportunities for cities to start speed camera pilot programs, tax vehicles with higher gross vehicle weights and promote visibility at crosswalks.

• During the decade of 2010-2021, New York City performed a series of traffic studies and infrastructure improvement projects to reduce pedestrian and cyclist risk. A few of the tools NYC used to reduce risk were road diets, protected bike lanes, curb/sidewalk extensions, traffic calming devices and leading pedestrian intervals. Studies comparing crash data before and after these initiatives were taken show that roads are noticeably safer for all users if you design streets for everyone, not just motor vehicles.

• Jersey City, New Jersey avoided traffic deaths in 2022. Starting in 2016, the city worked with the community to adopt a plan to change the roads in their city to deter from high speeds. Parklets, improvised curb extensions, protected bike lanes and “bump-outs” were some of the techniques used. In order to keep costs low and to accelerate change on the ground, the city’s planning department used traffic cones and hand-painted streets to jump start what is called “tactical urbanism” in Jersey City.

Forces acting against the future of e-mobility infrastructure in cities throughout the U.S.:

• Advances in e-mobility access have not come with proportional infrastructure changes and improvements

• There is insufficient access to public education for end users of e-mobility technology

• Tech innovations like driverless cars do not address or improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency responders.

• Larger vehicle sizes decrease pedestrian and cyclist visibility on the road.

Major questions that will define the adoption of e-bikes into urban infrastructure:

• How will the rise of e-mobility technology continue despite known safety risks?

• How swiftly will North American cities incorporate equitable designs that increase safety for all road users?

• Is pedestrian safety enough of a concern to solely change how we design our urban landscapes?