After reading the recent article in Wired magazine , I was inspired to send this letter to Ray LaHood, the United States secretary of transportation .

Dear Secretary LaHood:

I recently read an article from Wired magazine that talked about how you recently made a declaration that you had committed your department to ensuring that travel on foot and by bicycle be treated as legitimate and valuable and that pedestrians and cyclists be given equal access to the roads. As someone who cycles as a primary mode of transportation I, as well as a cycling educator and advocate, I share these goals and values. However, my enthusiasm at reading about your declaration was constrained by my concern that you misunderstood the barriers to cycling and that your misunderstanding will lead to policies and actions that undermine the goal enabling people to do more their traveling by bicycle.

It is a ubiquitous myth that it is dangerous for cyclists to ride among motor vehicles and that cyclists require special road features that nominally separate them from motor vehicles in order travel safely. In fact, a great many such features actually reduce the safety of cyclists and curtail their access to the roads, although many do not understand this because they accept the myth. Contrary to this myth, the greatest barriers to cycling are (1) lack of education for and mis-education of cyclists and police officers and (2) discriminatory laws that restrict cyclists' access to the roads and require or encourage unsafe cycling.

In contrast to the myth, properly trained cyclists can travel safely on any road. Furthermore, the techniques taught in such training are accessible to everyone and are not difficult to learn, which is another common myth. The most difficult aspect to teaching cycling is convincing people that there is, in fact, something valuable to learn. The next most difficult part is helping people overcome their fear of motor vehicles, which usually leads them into greater danger from both motor vehicles and stationary hazards.

Moreover, many states and localities have laws that either prohibit cycling on important routes, prohibit cycling in a safe and proper manner, or leave cyclists vulnerable to scrutiny and harassment by police officers who either do not understand the principles of safe cycling or who disapprove of cyclists having full access to the roads. Among those who are used to cycling in a safe and proper manner, such harassment is quite common.

I urge you to focus your effort on educating the country on the techniques of safe cycling, as taught by many League Certified Instructors of the League of American Bicyclists, of which I am one, so that they can all become empowered cyclists who feel confident cycling wherever and whenever they want. I also urge you to focus your efforts eliminating laws that discriminate against cyclists or enable people to discriminate against cyclists and on establishing laws that clearly affirm a full and equal right to the road for cyclists.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss these issues further with you. Please feel free contact me.

Sincerely,

Eli Damon

In response I received this letter from Gabe Rousseau, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager of the Federal Highway Administration .

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washinqton, D.C. 20590

April 28, 2010

In Reply Refer To: HEPN

Mr. Eli Damon
P.O. Box 232
Amherst, MA 01004-0232

Dear Mr. Damon:

Thank you for your March 21 letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood regarding the importance of bicycle and pedestrian transportation. I have been asked to reply.

We agree about the importance of bicycling and walking, as well as the need to improve safety. I do not know if you have read Secretary LaHood's policy statement on the subject, but if not, you can find it at www.dot.gov/affairs/201OIbicycle-ped.html.

The potential conflict between bicycles and motor vehicles has been one of the main factors limiting greater use of bicycles for transportation. Even within the bicycle advocacy community opinions differ about the best ways for bicycles to mix safely with other vehicles. We are supportive of educational opportunities for all road users and law enforcement officers as part of a "5E" approach to improving roadways for bicycling: engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. The 5E approach offers a balanced set of options that has had some success over the years.

The National Bicycling and Walking Study, which we completed in 1994, set the ambitious goal of reducing by 10 percent the number of injuries and fatalities occurring to bicyclists and pedestrians in transportation crashes while doubling the percentage of trips made by walking and bicycling. In 1993, motor vehicle crashes took the lives of 40,115 people, including 5,638 pedestrians and 814 bicyclists. In 2008, the most recent year data are available, 37,261 people died in·m~r:.vehicle crashes. This total included 4,378 pedestrians and 716 bicyclists. Walking and bicycling trips were 7.9 percent when the Study came out and were almost 12 percent of all trips in the most recent National Household Travel Survey.

States can use Federal-aid funds to promote bicycling and pedestrian safety, including workshops. For example, by statute, Federal-aid transportation enhancement (TE) funds can be used for 12 types of activities, including "Provision of pedestrian and bicycle safety and education activities." The State transportation departments decide which of the eligible activities will be funded. (See www.fhwa.dot.gov/environmentlte/index.htm for information on TE funding.)
                                                                                                    
We are helping to fund the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program in Columbia, Missouri; Marin County, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. For information on the pilot program, see www.fhwa.dot.gov/environmentibikeped/ntpp.htm. The site includes our November 2007 interim report to Congress on the pilot program. The pilot communities are providing bicycling education to residents. For example, Columbia is offering courses taught by League Certified Instructors (http://www.pednet.org/programs/educational-programs.asp). We are hopeful that other communities will learn from the experiences in the four pilot communities - what works and what does not. We will be submitting a final report to Congress next year describing our findings from the project.

You might be interested in viewing videos the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed for law enforcement to use during roll calls to educate them about bicycling laws. You can find the videos at www.nhtsa.gov/multimedia/bicycles/bicycle safety LE.wmv under law enforcement www.nhtsa.govlBicycles. You also may want to check Secretary LaHood's "Fast Lane" blog, which occasionally addresses bicycling, livability, and related topics. You can find the blog at fastlane.dot.gov/.
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The decline in fatalities from motor vehicle crashes to the lowest levels since the 1950s should convince everyone involved in highway safety that through a combination of activities, we can continue to improve the safety of all road users. I can assure you that we will continue to work with our partners at the State and local levels, as well as the private sector, to continue to make bicycling safer and more convenient.

I appreciate your interest and hope this information is helpful.

Sincerely yours,

Gabe Rousseau
Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager