Cycling Towards Safety and Inclusivity case study published in the Centre for Liveable Cities: Urban Solutions #23 Edition
Marina Harkot was a 28-year-old sociologist, cycling activist, and researcher focused on urban mobility. On November 8, 2020, while riding her bike home in São Paulo, Brazil, Marina was struck and killed by a 35-year-old man driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV). He failed to call for medical assistance. Marina’s death sparked widespread protests and brought attention to the unsafe conditions for bicyclists.
The lack of safe infrastructure for bicyclists is a common issue in cities worldwide. This problem is becoming increasingly critical with the steep rise in the use of bicycles and other light mobility vehicles. Factors such as rapid technological changes, the emergence of cycling service providers, the growth of the sharing economy, and the expansion of food delivery services have all contributed to the exponential growth in two-wheel vehicle usage.
Providing safe infrastructure is vital to reducing crashes, saving lives, ensuring a positive cycling experience, and encouraging more people to take up cycling. It is also crucial for promoting inclusive mobility for women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and the disadvantaged. Furthermore, it is an essential economic resource for villages and low-income communities, providing access to markets, employment, education, and other benefits such as cycling tourism.
The obstacles to safer infrastructure for bicyclists and other forms of light mobility are not solely due to political or community reluctance. There is also a significant lack of knowledge—both about the problems and how to address them. A major challenge in understanding how street design and cycling facilities impact safety and risk is the lack of data on bicycle trips, travel patterns, and crashes. This issue is compounded by the high levels of underreporting, particularly for crashes that do not involve motor vehicles. Traffic police rarely attend the site of a bicycle crash if no vehicle is involved, resulting in no crash reports being made. Consequently, many more injured bicyclists are hospitalized than are recorded in official crash reports.
A study led by Paul Schepers using hospital data from 12 countries found that between 60% and 95% of hospitalizations and 17% of fatalities from bicycle crashes did not involve a vehicle. The World Health Organization reports that, on average, 41,000 cyclists are killed each year on roads around the world, with many more suffering severe, life-long injuries.
More effort is needed to improve safety for bicyclists and light mobility users in cities to support new and greener mobility choices. As urban challenges continue to grow, cities must ensure the proper allocation of resources to light mobility infrastructure to maximize road safety.
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