Know what a VRU is? How about a sharrow? Multimodal transportation plan? Or a bike box? Surely, you’ve heard the “Share the Road” slogan. But do you get it?
Considering that drivers must take only one written test ever to get a license, it’s not surprising that they may be rusty on the rules of the road. And those rules, especially when it comes to sharing roadways with cyclists, have significantly evolved. So has the infrastructure such as bike lanes, road markings and intersection configurations.
It’s dangerous if drivers and cyclists remain unaware of those changes. Not knowing the rules doesn’t lessen the penalty – or the heartbreak – if you’re at fault in a crash.
Fortunately, in Colorado and across the country there are plenty of resources to keep you up to date and organizations more than willing to answer questions about laws. There’s even a free online class, Shift Driving, offered by Bicycle Colorado to ensure drivers and cyclists know what’s expected of them when they’re alongside each other.
But first – the answers to those questions above:
- VRU stands for Vulnerable Road User, a term that includes cyclists, pedestrians, scooter riders, wheelchair users, strollers – essentially anyone who might be using a roadway who does not have the protection a vehicle provides. They stand to incur much greater physical harm if they’re in a crash with a vehicle.
- Sharrows are those arrows painted on road lanes with, usually, a bicycle. (In some places it might be a horse and buggy.) It means you can expect that lane to be used by vehicles and bikes or buggies. They often are used when bike lanes end, or where there’s a gap in a bike lane.
- Multimodal transportation plans have become common in urban areas where the needs of all types of transportation – foot, bike, scooter, car, bus and train – are considered for the design of roads, tracks, trails and bike lanes.
- Bike boxes are more common in urban areas of northern Colorado or areas where bicycle infrastructure is more advanced. It is a green box marked at an intersection with a traffic light where bicyclists can get in front of the cars and cross the intersection first when the light turns green. It eliminates bikes straggling alongside vehicles as they enter the intersection and then having to merge back into the traffic lane.
- Share the Road was officially adopted by the U.S. Transportation Department in 1997, and signs began popping up across the country as numbers of cyclists on roads increased. Unfortunately, it’s been misinterpreted by some to cyclists should share the road with vehicles – i.e. yield to vehicles. In Colorado, they’re being replaced with more specific signs, such as 3 Feet Min to Pass Bicycles or Motorists Must Give Bicycles 3 Ft. Colorado is one of 36 states that has a law requiring vehicles to give cyclists three feet of space when they’re passing them.
Colorado drivers can keep updated on changes in rules of the road on various websites, including the Colorado Department of Transportation site (https://www.codot.gov/) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/bicycle-safety).
Bicycle Colorado (https://www.bicyclecolorado.org/), a Denver-based nonprofit that has worked to make Colorado one of the most bicycle-friendly states in the nation, provides cycling-specific state laws.
The state is ranked the sixth most bicycle friendly state by the League of American Bicyclists, which looks at criteria such as laws to make streets safer, bike plans and federal funds spent on bike and pedestrian safety.
Still, in the decade from 2014 to 2023, 162 pedal cyclists died in Colorado. Most of them – 90% — were male and 85% of the deaths occurred in urban areas, according to NHTSA statistics.
In those same years, 9,154 cyclists died across the United States.
The NHTSA says the biggest single factor is fatal bike crashes is failure to yield – by either the motorist or the cyclist. That is followed by cyclists not being visible to drivers. Nationally, most cycling fatalities happen at night, but that is not true in Colorado, where 60% of fatal crashes are during the day.
Colorado cyclists can do a few things to increase their safety, according to cycling advocates:
- Wear a helmet, even though it is not required by state law;
- Wear bright clothing during the day and reflective clothing at night;
- Follow the rules of the road which, in Colorado, are generally the same for cyclists and motorized vehicles;
- Ride with the flow of traffic, and
- Ride defensively.
Drivers must understand that bicycles have a right to be on the road, including in traffic lanes when there are no bike lanes or when bike lanes have debris or obstructions. Other things to remember:
- Bicyclists are allowed to ride two abreast – it increases their visibility and allows for shorter passing time for vehicles. However, this is not recommended on all roads;
- Do not pass bicycles in roundabouts;
- Always check blind spots at intersections and scan in all directions when making a turn, and
- Vehicles are not allowed to idle, park or stop in bike lanes, where bicyclists always have the right-of-way.
But really, the most important thing drivers can do is get – and keep – themselves updated on the rules of the road. Take 75-80 minutes and take the online Shift Driving class offered by Bicycle Colorado.
Only about 500 people have taken advantage of the course – and 100 of them were youth cyclists with Boulder Junior Cycling, said Ashley Vander Meeden, marketing and communications manager for Bicycle Colorado.
Some fleet drivers have taken the course and Benedict Wright, education manager for Bicycle Colorado, would like to see more fleet managers require the class for their drivers because it’s a way to hit a larger group of drivers.
“It’s a challenge because the people most inclined to take the course are not necessarily those who need most,” he said, noting that they tend to be advocates for cycling safety.
Another challenge can be getting people to complete the course. Vander Meeden said only 52% have completed all seven sections. It allows participants to stop and return to where they left off – but it does require active participation to move the course forward so you can’t just let it run in the background.
It may seem simplistic or even childish to some but keep at it – you’ll almost certainly learn something new that just might make you a safer driver or cyclist. It takes much less time than you’d spend dealing with the aftermath of an avoidable crash.
Researched and written by Sue McMillin