Road safety at intersections level
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Figure 42Figure 42 shows an example of a right-turn slip road (left-turning in the Indian situation). For cyclists (and other vehicles) going straight and passing the slip road, there is a potential conflict with vehicles leaving the slip road with relatively high speeds. These designs are made with the speed and flow of motor vehicles in mind, but this has a very negative effect on the road safety for cyclists. In cycle-friendly countries like the Netherlands slip roads are no longer applied in urban areas. Closing the free slip and leading vehicles via the heart of the junction is the solution here.
Chance of blinding - Cyclists should not be blinded by motorized vehicles’ headlights.
Complexity of riding - The chance of conflicts and (severe) accidents with cyclists is minimized by: - Reducing the crossing distance (keep intersection compact). - Enabling eye-contact between road users. - Reducing waiting times (to discourage cyclists to jump the red light). - Reducing speed differences between motorized modes and cyclists by slowing down motorized traffic at the intersection. - Providing space for overtaking and deviating maneuvers. - Changing one-way roads for general traffic into two-way roads to avoid confusion from which direction vehicles are coming, to reduce the need for cyclists to weave between cars and to avoid that cyclists will use the road in contra-flow direction. - Removing slip roads (free left-turn at intersections).
Many accidents happen at intersections. Hence this is a location where much can be done to improve road safety for cyclists. In many cases changing the geometry of the intersection is necessary after which cycle facilities can be added to allow for safe crossing.
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Figure 42: Lack of Road safety. Left-turn slip roads allow vehicles to keep their speed when turning left.
