types be identified?
1. When all vehicles are obliged to turn, coming into conflict with the cyclist
For example, intersections where all the branches are contra-flows, and only one of them is an exit from the intersection, would seem to be a more dangerous configuration.
All vehicles coming from the contra-flow sec-tions are obliged to take the exit contra-flow section. If there is heavy traffic on these roads, the approach to the intersection can be awk-ward for cyclists.
Figure 44 - Vehicles (in red) all turning towards the cyclist (in green).
Recommendations:
• Design intersections properly so as to re-duce speeds and increase mutual visibility.
• If visibility between road users is poor and/
or where the road is sufficiently wide, in-stall channelising islands to separate traffic flows and avoid points of conflict.
• In other cases, mark bicycle symbols on the road to make drivers aware of the presence of cyclists and to indicate to cyclists where they should position themselves.
Figure 45 - Channelising island (the white mark-ing should be accentuated to increase its vis-ibility).
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382. When the Sul has a curved profile The presence of a curve in a SUL is often cited as a reason for concern about accidents, given that visibility can be poor there and motorists tend to cut curves. However, the accident anal-ysis does not allow us to conclude that there are more accidents on a SUL with a curved profile. Nevertheless, certain measures can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents.
3. When the contra-flow is on a bend The presence of a bend on a contra-flow is often cited as a reason for concern about acci-dents, given that visibility can be poor and motorists tend to cut corners. However, the accident analysis does not lead to the conclu-sion that there are more accidents on a contra-flow with a bend. Nevertheless, measures can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents.
First of all, speeds must be moderated. If
necessary, the maximum authorised speed should be reduced. In general, this should be accompanied by infrastructure measures to limit speed.
Motorists must also be made aware of the pos-sible presence of cyclists travelling against the traffic, for example by marking an advisory cycling lane with additional road markings at the bend(s) where visibility is poor. If there is enough room, contra-flow cyclists can even be physically segregated from cars in some places by constructing a raised cycle track with a vertical kerb or a reflective vibrating strip, a median strip or even, if speeds are sufficiently low, small posts.
Where necessary and possible, visibility can be improved by removing obstacles such as bushes, parking lanes, bus shelters, etc. (IBSR, 2004).
Figures 46 and 47 - Rue de l’Armistice: bicycle logos are closely spaced on the curve and a mirror has been installed allowing mutual visibility of cyclists and motorists.
Joint bus and cycle contra-flows
This analysis does not cover accidents on joint bus and cycle contra-flows, as we considered the configuration of such streets to be differ-ent from that of cyclist contra-flows. The prob-lems and solutions are not the same.
We nevertheless note that five accidents involved a cyclist travelling against the traf-fic on a joint bus and cycle contra-flow. Three
of these accidents involved a vehicle travel-ling in the general direction of traffic that cut across the path of the cyclist while turning left. Another accident involved a pedestrian crossing at a pedestrian crossing. In the fifth accident, no other road user was involved. All the accidents occurred while the cyclist was travelling downhill, but the speed of the cyclist is never mentioned in the accident reports.
points for discussion 38
6 - Conclusions
Cyclist contra-flows account for a quarter of the road network in the Brussels-Capital Region and are mainly located on local access roads.
Accidents involving a cyclist going against the traffic on a contra-flow, or entering or leaving a contra-flow at an intersection, account for less than 5% of all cycling accidents. This is not therefore a major safety issue.
Analysis of 992 accidents did not reveal an increased risk of accident on a contra-flow compared to another road of the same cat-egory. It even seems that the number of accidents per km of local access road is lower on contra-flows than on the rest of the local network. Moreover, the proportion of acci-dents involving a cyclist travelling against the traffic on a contra-flow is fairly close to, or slightly less, than the proportion of cyclists travelling against the traffic on a contra-flow.
Studies conducted abroad confirm that the introduction of contra-flow cycling has not caused a rise in cyclist accidents on the roads concerned, and given the advantages, has a positive overall effect on safety.
Moreover, when the cyclist was travelling against the traffic, the percentage of accident victims who were seriously injured was half that when the cyclist was travelling with the traffic or making another manoeuvre.
Of the cycling accidents related to a contra-flow, accidents on a road section are overrep-resented when the cyclist was travelling with the traffic, while accidents at an intersection were overrepresented when the cyclist was travelling against the traffic.
In general, the hierarchical level of the road or intersection is a more decisive factor in the risk of a cycling accident than the introduction of contra-flow cycling on one-way streets.
The main types of accidents involving a cyclist
travelling against the traffic on a contra-flow are:
• failure to give way (yield) (by one or other of the two road users) at an intersection: 14 accidents
• poor positioning of the road users involved at an intersection: 7 accidents
• vehicle turning at an intersection, cutting across the path of an oncoming cyclist: 6 accidents
• vehicle leaving a parking space on a road section: 6 accidents
• pedestrian crossing a road section: 5 acci-dents
• oncoming vehicle on a road section: 4 ac-cidents.
Studies conducted abroad confirm that most accidents with a cyclist travelling against the traffic take place at an intersection. Accidents on a road section generally involve a vehicle leaving a vehicular access or a pedestrian crossing without checking whether a cyclist is coming in the opposite direction.
The narrowness of roads does not appear to be a major factor; narrow roads are obviously awkward, but the number of accidents involv-ing cyclists travellinvolv-ing against the traffic on narrow roads is lower than the proportion of the road network which they form. The risk to cyclists appears to be less where parking is situated on the left (the main traffic flow being on the right) than where parking is situated on the right. Parking on the left greatly reduces the risk of accidents involving drivers open-ing car doors without lookopen-ing, but it involves two main risks for contra-flow cyclists: it encourages the cyclist to veer towards the centre of the road, which is a riskier position to be in when approaching intersections, and it can mask visibility for pedestrians crossing between two vehicles without paying
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40tion to contra-flow cyclists. A follow-up study would be useful to confirm this analysis with a larger sample of observations.
There are a number of ways of reducing the already low risk of accident for cyclists travel-ling on, entering or leaving a contra-flow. In
particular, intersections should be properly designed to reduce speeds and increase mutu-al visibility, and road users should be encour-aged to take greater care when approaching an intersection with a contra-flow.
conclusion conclusions 40
7 - Annexes
Analysis chart for accidents on a road section
Road section form
Municipality Accident report no.
Date Street and house no.
Type of day Time
Weather conditions Light level
Highway authority Status of the road
Regional cycle route Parking
Cyclist Cycling infrastructure
Age of cyclist Other user
Sex Position Manoeuvre Direction of travel Road user(s) at fault Severity of accident Type of injury
Technical status + lighting Alcohol
Wearing helmet/safety jacket
Speed
Saw the cyclist?
Description
Factors
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42Analysis chart for accidents at an intersection annexes 42
Intersection form
Accident report No.
Date Time Type of day
Light level Weather cond. Status of the road Municipality
Road cyclist coming
from Highway authority
Parking Cycling infrastructure
Road cyclist going to Highway authority
Parking Cycling infrastructure
Road car coming from Highway authority
Type intersection Type of intersection Who had right of way?
Cyclist Other road user
Date of birth Sex
Position Manoeuvre Direction Error Severity Type of injury
Technical status + lighting Alcohol
Wearing helmet/safety jacket
Speed
Saw the cyclist?
Description
Factors
Number of accidents involving cyclists riding against the traffic on a contra-flow broken down by road width and position of parking.
0 accident 0 accident 1 accident 1 accident 5 accident 7 accidents
0 accident 0 accident 0 accident 0 accident 4 accident 4 accidents
Average 0 accident 2 accident 2 accident 0 accident 9 accident 13 accidents
Wide 1 accident 4 accident 2 accident 0 accident 6 accident 13 accidents
1 accident 6 accident 51 accident 1 accident 24 accident 36 accidents
Number of accidents involving cyclists riding with the traffic on a contra-flow, broken down by road width and position of parking.
1 accident 0 accident 1 accident 0 accident 10 accident 12 accidents
0 accident 2 accident 0 accident 0 accident 7 accident 9 accidents
Average 1 accident 3 accident 1 accident 0 accident 9 accident 14 accidents
Wide 3 accident 2 accident 1 accident 1 accident 16 accident 23 accidents
5 accident 7 accident 3 accident 1 accident 42 accident 58 accidents No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides
No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides No parking Staggered
parking Parking on
the left Parking on
the right Parking on both sides
≤ 3 m3,1 à 3,5 m3,6 à 4,5 m> 4,5 m
Narrow
Narrow 3,6 à 4,5 m> 4,5 m≤ 3 m3,1 à 3,5 m
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Introduction
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], SULs, sens uniques limités [contra-flow cycling]. February 2004, available at: http://webshop.ibsr.be/fr/produit/
detail/sul-sens-uniques-limits-pour-une-introduction-gnralise-en-toute-scurit-des-sens-uniques-limits-ref-022
Belgisch Instituut voor Verkeersveiligheid, BEV, beperkt eenrichtingsverkeer. Februari 2004, beschikbaar op: http://webshop.bivv.be/nl/product/detail/bev-beperkt-eenrichtingsverkeer-voor-een-veilige-veralgemeende-invoering-van-het-beperkt-eenrichtingsverkeer-ref-022
Methodology
• BRENAC T., NACHTERGAËLE C., REIGNER H., Scénarios types d'accidents impliquant des piétons et éléments pour leur prévention [Typical accident scenarios involving pedestrians and factors in preventing them], INRETS report no. 256, December 2003.
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], Accidents de cyclistes en contexte urbain [Cycling accidents in urban areas]. January 2006, available at: http://
webshop.ibsr.be/fr/produit/detail/accidents-de-cyclistes-en-contexte-urbain-ref-025
Belgisch Instituut voor de Verkeersveiligheid, Fietsongevallen in stedelijke omgeving. Januari 2006, beschikbaar op: http://webshop.bivv.be/nl/product/detail/fietsongevallen-in-stedelijke-omgeving-ref-025
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], Accidents de piétons sur passages pour piétons non réglés par feux [Pedestrian accidents at non-signal-controlled pedestrian crossings]. August 2009, available at: http://webshop.ibsr.be/fr/produit/detail/
accidents-de-pitons-sur-passages-pour-pitons-non-rgl-par-feux-ref-045
Belgisch Instituut voor de Verkeersveiligheid, Ongevallen met voetgangers op een nietlichtengeregelde voetgangersoversteekplaats. Augustus 2009, beschikbaar op http://
webshop.bivv.be/nl/product/detail/ongevallen-met-voetgangers-op-een-niet-lichtengeregelde-voetgangersoversteekplaats-ref-045
Review of the literature German studies
• Bureau Planungsgemeinschaft Verkehr, 'Radfahren in unechten Einbahnstrassen' (Cycling on one-way streets with contra-flow bicycle traffic)(published by the City of Munster in the framework of the ‘Cycle-friendly Cities’ study programme of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, August 1992), available at: http://epflicht.ulb.uni-muenster.de/content/
titleinfo/53514 and http://veloquirit39000.fubicy.org/documentation/Etude%20%E0%20 Munster%20accidents%20Sens%20Uniques%20Limit%E9s%20=%20DSC.pdf
• ALRUTZ D., ANGENEDT W., DRAEGER W. GUNDEL D., Traffic safety on one-way streets with contraflow bicycle traffic. Strassenverkehrstechnik, 6/2002, available at: http://bikexprt.com/
research/contraflow/gegengerichtet.htm
Belgian study
• VANDENBULCKE G., THOMAS I., INT PANIS L., Predicting cycling accident risk in Brussels: A spatial case-control approach, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013. Available at: http://
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457513002686
8 - References
• VANDEWINCKEL, Evaluatie van de maatregel BEV naar verkeersveiligheid toe [Evaluation of contra-flow cycling with regard to traffic safety], Verkeersdienst [Traffic Service] Kortrijk, 1998.
British study
• RYLEY T. and DAVIES D., Further developments in the design of contra-flow cycling schemes, 1998.
French studies
• Mairie de Paris [City Hall of Paris]. Bilan de la mise en place des double sens cyclables à Paris [Assessment of the establishment of cyclist contra-flows in Paris]. October 2011.
• CERTU [Centre for Studies on Road Networks, Transport, Urban Planning and Public Facilities], Evaluations des double-sens cyclables [Evaluations of cyclist contra-flows]. Presentation of Nicolas Nuyttens at the technical workshop launching the “slow traffic zones” decree of 9 September 2008, available at: http://www.certu.fr/fr/_S%C3%A9curit%C3%A9_et_circulation_
routi%C3%A8res-n28/V%C3%A9los-n117/IMG/pdf/9sept08-evaluations_des_double-sens_
cyclables-2.pdf and at: http://veloquirit39000.fubicy.org/documentation/Accidentologie%20 en%20double%20sens%20cyclables.pdf
Norwegian study
• Study of the Norwegian Centre for Transport Research, summary available at: http://www.
fietsberaad.nl/index.cfm?lang=nl§ion=nieuws&mode=newsArticle&repository=Oslo:+fietsen +in+tegenrichting+geeft+weinig+problemen
Initial observations
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], Contraflow cycling in Belgium and the Brussels Region. Presentation by Benoît Dupriez at Velocity 2009, available at: http://www.velo-city2009.com/assets/files/paper-Dupriez-sub1.4.pdf
Recommendations and discussion
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], SULs, sens uniques limité [Cyclist contra-flows]. February 2004, available at: http://webshop.ibsr.be/fr/produit/
detail/sul-sens-uniques-limits-pour-une-introduction-gnralise-en-toute-scurit-des-sens-uniques-limits-ref-022
Belgisch Instituut voor de Verkeersveiligheid, BEV, beperkt eenrichtingsverkeer. Februari 2004, beschikbaar op: http://webshop.bivv.be/nl/product/detail/bev-beperkt-eenrichtingsverkeer-voor-een-veilige-veralgemeende-invoering-van-het-beperkt-eenrichtingsverkeer-ref-022
• Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière [Belgian Road Safety Institute], Marquage et signalisation dans les contresens cyclables [Marking and signage on cycling contraflow streets]. Vademecum vélo en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale [Cycling Guidebook for the Brussels-Capital Region]. September 2006, available at: http://webshop.ibsr.be/fr/produit/detail/
marquage-et-signalisation-dans-les-contresens-cyclables-vademecum-vlo-en-rgion-de-bruxelles-capitale-ref-030
Belgisch Instituut voor de Verkeersveiligheid, Markering en signalisatie van beperkt eenrichtingsverkeer. Fietsvademecum Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest. September 2006, beschikbaar op: http://webshop.bivv.be/nl/product/detail/markering-en-signalisatie-van-beperkt-eenrichtingsverkeer-fietsvademecum-brussels-hoofdstedelijk-gewest-ref-030
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