Boulder bicyclists and pedestrians are increasingly at risk for injury, according to a new study released by city officials in their Safe Streets Boulder Report.
Researchers, who examined crash data from the beginning of 2008 through April 2011, discovered that many Boulder pedestrian and bicycle accidents happen in crosswalks – meaning the victims were legally crossing the street when they were struck.
Further, the city’s traffic engineers learned something our Boulder pedestrian accident attorneys already know: Most crashes involving pedestrian and bicyclist injuries are the fault of the driver.
The statistics break down to show that in bicycle accidents, the vehicle driver was at fault 41 percent of the time, while the cyclist was only at fault 24 percent of the time. In the remaining instances, neither was found at fault.
For pedestrians, only 14 percent of the accidents were attributed to people who darted out in front of cars.
The report examined nearly 8,000 crashes over the course of 40 months, which means there were about six crashes in Boulder each day.
The study also found that the majority of pedestrian crashes happened at crosswalks that weren’t equipped with flashing lights, even though those were previously deemed the most dangerous. That means there is less warning for pedestrians crossing unmarked intersections, which have proven to be even more risky.
Of all the injuries tallied, one intersection emerged as the most dangerous: Regent Drive and Colorado Avenue, near the University of Colorado. There, 11 crashes resulted in injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.
One bicyclist, who was seriously injured in a 2008 crash by a hit-and-run driver, suffered a broken jaw and nose, as well as permanent scarring on her face. She said Boulder is more dangerous for cyclists than even some Mexican cities, where she also had experience biking.
The other aspect the study examined was age. What it found may surprise you. While we often think of elderly and children as being the most vulnerable to pedestrian and bicycle crashes, the Safe Streets report said age didn’t matter.
City officials are puzzled though by a recent drop in bicycle accidents last May through July – a time when one would normally think people would be out enjoying the weather. City officials want to believe they can attribute this to certain traffic safety initiatives. While this is an encouraging sign, there is still much work to be done to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety in Boulder.
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