FHWA releases new BIKESAFE guide as part of DOT’s effort to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety

CHAPEL HILL, NC —  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released its new Bicycle Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System (BIKESAFE). This resource helps support the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new pedestrian and bicycle safety initiative. 

“At FHWA, our safety program is multi-faceted. We have developed a broad range of expertise and resources to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety and will continue to actively promote these resources and develop new tools to help communities build streets that are safer for people walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory G. Nadeau.
 
BIKESAFE is an online guide for implementing countermeasures to improve the safety and mobility of bicyclists. It provides practitioners with information and tools to review and select engineering and roadway infrastructure improvements to reduce bicyclist injuries.

BIKESAFE is comprised of four sections: A guide of basic information, specific countermeasure details, case studies, and an expert system tool for countermeasure selection, as well as links to dozens of other helpful web resources.

Guide: This section helps practitioners better understand the issues facing bicyclists, how to analyze crashes, and how to implement new treatments.

Countermeasures: The Countermeasures section includes a comprehensive list of 46 engineering, education, and enforcement countermeasure options, as well as details of each countermeasure, including its description, purpose, considerations, safety effect, and cost.

Case Studies: There are 34 case studies, or success stories, that document one or more of the countermeasures that have been implemented, along with the background of the problems, bicycle safety solutions selected, and the results of the treatments.

Selection Tool: The expert countermeasure selection system allows users to input the basic safety problem and site conditions. The expert system will propose a "short list" of candidate treatment options that likely would be suited to address the specific bicyclist safety problem for that situation.

This online version of BIKESAFE updates an eight-year-old version and is now available as an interactive tool, usable on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. BIKESAFE can be found at http:www.pedbikesafe.org/BIKESAFE.

BIKESAFE was prepared for the FHWA Office of Safety by the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., and Toole Design Group.