Cycling advocates’ biggest argument for separated bike lanes is that they make cycling safer, encourage more people to bike to work and reduce road congestion.
But initial Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) statistics show that the Burrard Bridge separated bike lane has made driving a motor vehicle more dangerous.
Released earlier this month, the statistics show that in the two months after the Burrard Bridge’s separated cycle path was installed in June 2009, there were 60 “crashes” involving motor vehicles at the north end of the bridge. That’s 500% more than in July and August in 2008.
“We’re reviewing the data now, but it’s only two [years’ worth of] data points,” City director of transportation Jerry Dobrovolny told BIV.
“As they collect 2010 data it will become more meaningful.”
Most of the summer 2009 crashes at the north end of the Burrard Bridge were rear-enders that didn’t involve cyclists. ICBC recorded only one crash between a motor vehicle and a bicycle in 2009.
“To say that bike lanes are the cause of car crashes is absurd,” said Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition president Arno Schortinghuis.
“It’s obvious that it’s the change in the road configuration that’s the cause of car crashes.”
Still, ICBC counted 220 motor vehicle crashes at the Burrard Bridge’s north end in the first full year after the separated bike lane was installed. That’s a 63% jump from the 135 crashes in the year before the bridge’s pilot project was initiated.
ICBC spokeswoman Kathy Taylor noted that after the initial spike in motor vehicle accidents following the installation of the bike lane, the increase in collisions at the intersection slowed somewhat.
For example, in the first six months of 2010, there were 90 vehicle crashes, or 38% more than the first six months of 2009.
Brad Kilburn, who has cycled to work for decades, believes cyclists and drivers should apply more critical analysis to data promising new measures will improve safety.
He pointed to various statistics to show that no clear evidence supports the claim that B.C.’s mandatory helmet law for cyclists makes cyclists safer.
He wants Victoria to rescind that law to encourage cycling and increase use of the city’s new bike lanes.
But even Mayor Gregor Robertson is not on board for that. He told Business in Vancouver in September that he supports the province’s mandatory helmet law because it saves lives.
So did Steve Martin, who is B.C.’s superintendent of motor vehicles.
“Helmets are a proven safety measure. The data demonstrates that they save lives and reduce head injuries,” Martin said, without revealing any statistics.
But Kilburn trotted out statistics from the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation (BHRF) showing that the 1996 helmet law resulted in no reduction in the percentage of cyclists’ head injuries suffered in crashes.
In 1995, head injuries accounted for 12.8% of cyclist injuries. That grew to 13.9% in 1997, according to the BHRF.
Statistics from B.C.’s Office of the Chief Coroner show that there were nine cyclist fatalities in 1994. That rose to 11 in 2007, which is the last year of data available, according to ICBC, which tracks those deaths.
The European Cycling Federation has long opposed laws requiring cyclists use helmets because it claims they deter people from cycling.