ASCE Human Powered Transportation Committee
Update
December 1997

From: Mac Elliott, Vice-Chair, mac.elliott@home.com
6616 North 14th St. Phoenix, AZ 85014 Tel & Fax 602/265-6712
or 2530 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff, CA 92007 Tel 760/944-7324

To: All ASCE Human Powered Transportation Committee (HPT Com) Members & Friends.

1. ASCE HPT Committee Meetings are scheduled for Mon & Wed evenings Jan 12 & 14, 1998 at Annual TRB Meeting in Wash. DC. All interested Committee members & friends invited. Full TRB slate of Bike & Ped related technical sessions & meetings also set from Jan 11-15. See attached 1 pg prelim schedule. Contact TRB at 301/692-5243 or http://www.nas.edu/trb/meeting for info.

2. David Loutzenheiser succeeds Jeff Davis as HPT Com Chair. We are fortunate to have David as Chair. He is a Charter Member of the Committee, active, with long interest & experience in HPT. He will appreciate help. Contact Dave as follows: David R. Loutzenheiser, Senior Consultant, Transportation Group, Booz Allen & Hamilton, 101 California St. Suiite 3300, San Francisco, CA 94111. 415/281-4986 tel. 415/627-4283 fax. loutzenheiser_david@bah.com.

2a. We all owe a vote of thanks to Jeff Davis for his 2 years of hard and effective work at Chair. Jeff's term of office has seen the Committee grow to a position of leadership, within HPT, within ASCE, and within the entire transp. community. (See 2b below). Jeff is moving on to Executive Committee of ASCE's Urban Transportation Div, but will remain active in HPT Com as Past Chair.

2b. A picture in Nov 97 ASCE News illustrates increasing role of HPT in ASCE, as well as high caliber of past 3 HPT Com Chairs. 5 of the 6 members of ASCE's Urb Transp Div Executive Committee (Excom) are pictured at ASCE's Minneapolis meeting. Of the 5 pictured, 3 are former HPT Com Chairs, (Essam Radwan, Jerry Kaplan, & Jeff Davis). For 50% of Excom to come from just one (of the 14) Technical Committees in Urban Transp Div is exceptional. HPT Com challenge now will be to continue the advances made under these leaders.

3. Bill Moritz will host poster session on his National Survey of Adults Who Bicycle Regularly, at TRB Wash. meeting, scheduled for 2:30 pm Wed Jan 14. Much useful info here.

4. Moritz also hopes to present preliminary cut of 45 minute college video on bicycling at TRB Wash meeting.

5. 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) has sobering statistics. Almost 2 1/2 times as many household cars on roads now as in 1969. Average driver's time behind wheel = 1 hr 13 minutes per day. Average of 1.59 persons per car. Trip distances continuing to increase.

Sept 97 Update Item 8 mentioned growing problem of Aggressive Driving vs Bike Safety. Frustrated drivers in powerful vehicles, spending 1 1/4 hrs per day in 2 1/2 times as much traffic, repeatedly accelerate, change lanes, run red lights, etc, to gain minimal time. John Waltz , <JWaltz@ aol.com>, writes that, - "A factor in road rage is the unnatural amount (in human terms) of power available when most take wheel. If HP/weight ratio of cars could be halved there would be much less pollution (& fuel used) and drivers would have no choice but to slow down pace. No need to be able to accelerate 0-60 in 6 seconds".

Report # FHWA-PL-97-028, "Our Nation's Travel, 1995 NPTS Early Results Report", 36 pp. is available from FHWA Research & Technical Report Center at 301/577-0818 , or http://www-cta.ornl.gov/npts/1995/Doc/publications.html-ssi. The internet address is useful since it will contain updated results of NPTS most current analysis, and not be limited to early results.

6. TR(B) News, July, Aug 97 has 4 pg article on Roundabout intersections. While reporting gains in vehicle capacity & safety, the article states most reports show increase in bicyclist accidents after roundabouts installed. Large roundabouts with wide entries appear to be particularly hazardous to cyclists. However, the Netherlands reports 72% decrease in bicyclist injuries at 181 conventional intersections after conversion to Mini roundabouts. - Shoon, C., and J. Van Minnen. The Safety of Roundabouts in the Netherlands. Traffic Engineering & Control Mar 94, pp.142-48. - Need review of this & other references & literature to determine optimum designs. Pertinent now, as many new U.S.roundabouts on the boards. Contact Elliott for copy of article.

6a. Session on Intersection & Roundabout Operation scheduled at TRB 1:30 pm Tues, Jan 13. May conflict with TRB Ped Committee meeting at 2 pm. Please contact Elliott if you can attend & report on Roundabout session.

7. Sept 97 Update Items 6a & 6b dealt with liability & large costs connected with head injuries, most of which are preventable by wearing helmets (along with other prudent cycling practices). Seattle Attorney Andrew Cooley, 206/623-8861 recommended that NOT wearing helmet be legally declared an act of contributory negligence. Mandatory helmet laws aim at achieving this, but because of controversial nature of such laws an alternative approach might be for a jurisdiction to pass a negligence declaration without passing a mandatory helmet law. Cooley felt this approach would have best chance of success if pursued at city or local level, which is directly affected by threat of large settlements. Anyone with knowledge of such efforts please contact Coolley or Elliot.

Mac Elliott

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Last Updated October 10, 1997