[Brenda]

Quote:

Based on casual observation it appaears the a significant portion of bicycle riders do not have a clue there are rules that apply to them.

Oh they do. They just don't care.

[andyt]

Caelon wrote:

Brenda wrote:

Well, just as road tax doesn't provide you with good roads, the $30 fee won't give you bike paths. I wonder where the $30-amount comes from, or who it is payable to, but whatever

The $30 is a number out of the air that was less than the fee for cars and motorcycles. It seems large enough to cover the cost of testing so no new general tax dollars are required. Strictly a user pay system. You ride the bus you don't pay. Use a vehicle and there is a price for the priviledge.

The written test for bicycles would focus on rules for bicycles in addition to the regular car rules. Obviously they do not need to answer questions on parallel parking on hills etc. Fees are to offset the administrative cost and the benefits are more knowledgeable drivers and riders. If both motorists and bicycle riders know and follow the rules there would be less conflict and fewer injuries.

Making periodic written testing mandatory for all vehicle opperators in order to maintain a valid vehicle license ensures that everyone maintains 'current' knowledge of traffic rules. I have had a drivers license for a few decades and only needed to complete a written test once for a class 5. My other ratings also only needed a single written and vehicle test. So how much have I forgotten or am I incorrect on the rules? Just because I have not had any violations serious enough to warrant recertification does not mean I am fully conversant with the Highway Act. Periodic testing would ensure that at least every 5 years I read through the rules to make sure I passed the test first try. Including bicycle operators in the mix has the same benefits plus enforces the fact they are a vehicle and not a pedestrian nor some weird individually defined mix of the two. Based on casual observation it appaears the a significant portion of bicycle riders do not have a clue there are rules that apply to them.

So the end goal of a written test is to ensure all operators know the road rules for whatever vehicle they operate plus the vehicles they will interact with. That includes class 5 operators having a basic understanding of interaction with Class 1 vehicles. No exceptions (if you are over 12).

Maybe I need a refresher course on rules for bikes as well. What special rules apply except ride single file and ride as far to the right as is safe to do so? I can't think of any. Other than that it's the same rules as cars.

[Caelon]

andyt wrote:

Maybe I need a refresher course on rules for bikes as well. What special rules apply except ride single file and ride as far to the right as is safe to do so? I can't think of any. Other than that it's the same rules as cars.

You are basically right. With bicycles it is the errors of ignoring some the other rules like stop signs, yields, walking a bike through a crosswalk, etc. I lifted the following exerpt from a 5 year ALberta study concerning reported bicycle crashes.

Quote:

Over the five-year period, 2004 - 2008, there were 3828 collisions involving 3847 bicycles. Approximately three quarters (75.5%) of the collisions resulted in either death or injury. A total of 30 people were killed and 2926 were injured in collisions involving a bicycle over the five years (Table 1).Of bicyclists involved in casualty collisions, 5.0% had consumed alcohol prior to the collision (Table 10).
......
Bicyclists aged 35 to 44 (8.7%) and 45 to 54 (8.5%) had the highest proportion of alcohol consumption per age category (Table 11).
Almost two thirds (62.6%) of bicyclists in casualty crashes made an improper action. The most common errors included disobeying a traffic signal (10.9%) and failing to yield the right of way at an uncontrolled intersection (6.8%) (Table 12).
Over one third (40.3%) of the drivers of other vehicles involved in casualty collisions with bicycles committed a driver error that contributed to the collision. The most common errors made by the drivers of other vehicles involved in collisions with bicycles included failing to yield
the right of way to pedestrians (7.6%) and making a left turn across the path of another vehicle or a bicycle (6.8%) (Table 13).
An intersection-related traffic control device was present for 33.5% of the bicyclists involved in collisions (Table 14).
An intersection-related traffic control device was present for 48.2% of the other drivers involved in a collision with a bicycle (Table 15).
Almost one third (30.0%) of the bicyclists who were killed were aged 35-44.

In this study 60% of the time the bicycle rider made an improper action and 40% it was another vehicle. Both bicyclists and auto drivers need to share the responsiblity for improving road safety. So targeting soley drivers of powered vehicles for refresher tests is only part of the problem. Any vehicle operator using public roadways needs to be aware of the rules and the consequences.(well if we had enforcement)

Another stat buried in the study was that 98% of bicycle collisions occur in urban areas. I was expecting more than 2% to happen on the highway system. The most fatality collisions were Friday and Saturday while injury incidents has weekdays with Wednesday being the worst. This may be a stretch, but the weekday injury collisions could be related to urban work commuting and the weekend fatality could be on higher speed roadways.