Watch out for that right hook!

by Stewart McCoy

You’re bicycling in the bike lane on the right-hand side of a one-way street. As you approach an intersection, you look both ways and see that traffic is clear. You begin to cross.

Screech!

Fwhump!!

Flying through the air, you barely understand what’s just happened. You learn in the hospital that the driver behind you turned right and didn’t see you. This kind of crash is called a “right hook” crash.

In 2007, a 19-year-old cyclist was killed in downtown Portland, Oregon because of a right hook crash. This incident was one reason that Portland’s Bureau of Transportation recently began painting “bike boxes” at intersections throughout the downtown area.

Bike box basics

More common in European and Asian countries, bike boxes are gaining popularity in U.S. metro areas, notably in places like New York City and Portland, Oregon.

Bike boxes are road markings that create something like a waiting area for bicyclists. They put bicyclists in front of motorized traffic during red lights.

The goal is to prevent right hook crashes by making bicyclists more visible to the drivers behind them. In Portland, bike boxes are painted neon green and emblazoned with a cyclist symbol.

It's all about visibility and awareness, according to the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation, which began painting bike boxes last year at 11 one-way intersections in the downtown area.

“They provide awareness to the public and give priority to bicyclists,” says Dr. Chris Monsere, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and an affiliated faculty member of the Center for Transportation Studies at Portland State University.

At signalized intersections, there’s usually a stop line before the cross street. When bike boxes are painted at an intersection, a second stop line, called an advanced stop line, is put down and designated for motorized traffic. Between the stop lines, a box is painted for bicycles to wait for the green light in front of motorized traffic. A no-turn-on-red policy is also implemented at these intersections.

Do bike boxes improve safety?

Dr. Monsere is currently evaluating the impact of the newly installed bike boxes in downtown Portland; he’s part of a research team at the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC).

“I haven’t seen or heard of any collisions since the bike boxes were installed,” says Dr. Monsere, who suggests that the bike boxes might be having a positive impact on bicycle safety.

Bicyclists are using the bike boxes and motorists appear to be obeying the advanced stop lines, says Dr. Monsere.

However, “motorists [in Portland] are already pretty deferential—they’re used to them [bicyclists] using the roads already,” says Dr. Monsere, who cautions that the forthcoming results of the evaluation of bike box safety might not be directly transferable to other traffic cultures in the U.S. or around the world.

And, while bike boxes might be helpful in the prevention of right hook crashes at intersections, bicyclists still need to be careful because it can be hazardous to pass motorists to reach the bike box.

Bicycle safety considerations

Bicyclists passing on the right, whether using a bike lane or not, should watch for exit streets or driveways, which pose risks of right hook crashes similar to those at intersections.

Bicyclists also need to be aware of other hazards, such as opening car doors and jaywalking pedestrians.

The key to safe bicycling is to practice defensive riding by avoiding personal distractions such as audio players, consuming foods or beverages, or engaging in conversation.

Learn more

Streetfilms.org, a member website of the Livable Streets Initiative, offers an excellent educational video demonstrating how to navigate Portland’s new bike boxes.

They also offer another educational video on using bike boxes in New York City. This one shows cyclists using bike boxes at various kinds of intersections.