Summary of Seattle's "White Paper"

This article addresses the recent culture shift that has introduced more and more encounters between cyclists and motor vehicles and the tension that can arise as a result. The White Paper examines "traffic safety campaigns undertaken by North American cities aimed at changing bicyclist and motorist behaviors that compromise road user safety or contributes to tension between motorists and cyclists."

This article first of all tries to understand why there is such tension between the two methods of transportation on the road. The authors have come to the conclusion that many drivers have a problem with bikers because they have skewed images of them when they do not follow the law. In reality, bikers uphold the rules of the road most of the time, but drivers can only remember the times that they did not. The article also realizes that there is a lack of understanding on the part of drivers. Almost all bikers have had experience driving a car, so they understand the thought processes and the actions of drivers, but the same is not true of drivers regarding bicycles. Not many drivers have proficient experience with biking, so it is very difficult for them to understand the actions of cyclists. This can be remedied by holding classes for drivers so that they can understanding biking more.

The article then goes on to list many campaigns targeted at cyclists, drivers, or both that have been put into place across the country. There are many campaigns that strive to change the bad behaviors of cyclists such as speeding, running red lights, sidewalk riding, passing too closely, and failing to yield to pedestrians, just to name a few. Some of these campaigns are called "Biking Rules," "Bike Smart," and "Don't Be A Jerk." These campaigns disregard all responsibility that a driver might have, and place all of the blame on bikers in those particular communities.

On the other hand, there are some campaigns in the U.S. that focus primarily on what vehicles can do in order to protect cyclists. An example of this kind of campaign is called, "Watch For Bikes!" It is good to see that these kinds of campaigns exists because it is important to realize that cars are equally as responsible as bikes.

Going off of the idea of equal and shared responsibilities, there are a great deal of campaigns that strive to have bikes and cars work together to live in harmony. These include, "Eye to Eye," "Street Smarts," and "Coexist." These are the most beneficial campaigns that cities can implement because they do not blame a particular road user, meaning that no one feels like they are being targeted as the problem. This kind of campaign can reduce tensions because it is clear that there will only be a reduction of tension when both parties work together and learn to respect each other on the road.