A Summary of UC Davis Biking Videos

UC Davis is one of the most advanced bike-friendly campus and town in the nation. They have more bikes than cars with 17% of the campus using bicycles as their primary form of transportation. Because UC Davis has such a revolutionary approach to commuting to campus, the school and city had to work very hard to make sure the infrastructure was maintained and created with bikers in mind. For example, the school made a decision to eliminate stop signs and replace them with roundabouts. Bicycles routinely run through stop signs, causing traffic jams and potentially dangerous situations. The roundabout removes these dangers by having an established right of way to those already in the roundabout and the standard counterclockwise flow of traffic.

UC Davis has also made sure to provide classes to students who do not have a great deal of biking experience. Students are taught which signs to obey, how to pass, and when to use hand signals.

The video documentary closes with this compelling message to all students:

"By the time you leave UC Davis, you will have attained a world class education, but you’ll also be one of the most experienced bike commuters in the country. No kidding. We hope you use the bicycling skills you develop here for the rest of your lives. Remember, during commute hours, there are 20 thousand bicyclists heading to class. Think of what that would be like if that were 20 thousand cars. Your actions are having a direct impact, making for a cleaner, healthier, and more livable world."

This message is empowering because it speaks directly to students by showing the power and benefits that biking can have. By focusing on environmental and health factors, the statement is able to promote biking as a lifelong form of commuting and exercise.