About every fourth cyclist hit by a car in a so-called 'right-hook' accident in Denmark is killed, reports BT.
Although the number of fatal cycling accidents has dropped in recent years, the Transport Ministry, represented by Trafikstyrelsen (the transport authority) and Vejdirektoratet (the Danish road directorate), has published new guidelines to help municipalities reduce cycling accidents even more.
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New guidelines
"The guide is an important tool to keep the number of right-turn accidents to a minimum," Marianne Foldberg Steffensen, the department manager at Vejdirektoratet, told BT.
The 'strategy for prevention of right-turn accidents' guide consists of recommendations based on experiences collected by the Danish authorities at home as well as in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
Read the guide (in Danish) here.
Right hook accidents
'Right-hook' accidents commonly occur when a car passes a bike as both approach a crossroads. As the car turns right it cuts the cyclist off, hitting the bike.
One of the suggestions is, therefore, to shorten cycling paths so they stop 15 to 25 metres before a crossroads.
This way, cyclists going straight on can manoeuvre themselves to the left of cars turning right and thus avoid a collision.
