ATSSA: Improving Driver Behavior with Infrastructure Safety Countermeasures

9 American Traffic Safety Services Association • www.atssa.com Figure 12. Example of a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (Image: TAPCO) To enhance the ability to alert drivers to the potential presence of bicyclists, green-colored pavement is an infrastructure treatment that indicates a portion of the roadway is designated for exclusive or preferential use by bicyclists. To maximize the ability to alert drivers, the colored pavement is only used where bike lanes cross the path of drivers and where drivers should yield to bicyclists. Examples of these conflict areas include where a bike lane extends through an intersection, where a bike lane crosses a right-turn lane, where a channelized right-turn lane crosses a bike lane, or where a bike lane is adjacent to a dedicated bus bay. The colored pavement supplements traditional bike lane pavement markings. ■ Figure 13. A green-colored travel lane for bicyclists (Image: blog.sfgate.com ) able to cross the entire intersection, while 18 percent had to stop in the middle and yield to oncoming drivers. After installation, 94 percent were able to cross all the way while only 6 percent had to stop in the middle. Bike lanes are created to provide a portion of the roadway for the preferential or exclusive use of bicyclists. The lanes are designated by pavement markings and signing to alert drivers to this area of the roadway and the potential for bicyclists to be present adjacent to travel lanes. Evaluations indicate that this defined area helps drivers and bicyclists stay in more central positions in their respective lanes. This has the effect of maintaining an appropriate separation between the travel modes and reducing the collisions caused by drivers swerving into an adjacent lane to pass bicyclists.