Separation Please!

Sadly on Ride to work day a cyclist has lost his life riding on a major highway in SA. Ridiculously Bike SA and Cycling SA repeated there call to share the road ! On a highway. The call should go out for immediate physical separation of cyclists on ' high speed high volume roads' with grade separation at major highway intersections.

Interestingly in another article a German road safety expert ( head of safety at Mercedes Benz) who has said the higher speed on major highways would be safer also said :


"Authorities would also have to do more to separate different road users, such as cars and cyclists, he said.
''I was very surprised to read on the highway that cyclists have to use the parking shoulder,'' he said.
''In Germany, it is absolutely forbidden for the bicycle to go on the highway. We try to divide the different people, the different partners in the traffic, and it makes it much safer.''

 Germany has a much higher cycling rate than Australia and in some cities as high as thirty percent and safer roads despite having virtually no speed limits on the autobahns.

No surprises that the Netherlands has the safest roads and the lowest deaths per 100 000 population. By introducing policies like Sustainable Safety where there is a focus on the vulnerable road users, physical separation at high speed high volume roads is the key.

www.hembrow.blogspot.com

Cyclists in the Netherlands, yes wearing helmets!

Major Highway, Netherlands

Here is a simple video by Mark Wagenbuur that makes the case quite simply ,cycling deaths can be avoidable but its not the helmet laws that make us safer its the infrastructure stupid!.