A Focus on Helmets Clouds Our Vision of What Makes Kids Safe
This article was originally published, in slightly different form, on Strong Towns member Will Gardner’s Substack, StrongHaven. It is shared here with permission. All in-line images were provided by the author.
This raised crosswalk and the separated path on the right are examples of infrastructure that keeps walkers and bikers safe.
With the fall routine comes the launch of the bike bus here in my hometown of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Last year, we piloted a new route down Sconticut Neck with a few families. I’m happy to report that the route has doubled in size.
I wanted to highlight this new route here as an example of what works (and what doesn’t) with street design in our town. The route has two very different sections:
Riding along Sconticut Neck, we have to ride single file on an unprotected shoulder, and the noise of fast-moving cars prevents conversation.
The wide shoulder is nice! Now, if we could have some protection….
On the bike path extension, we have room to ride side-by-side and can chat as we pedal. This section is much safer, more comfortable and more fun.
More commutes should look like this!
Helmets Don’t Make Our Kids Safe
Discussions of kids’ safety are often limited to what kids (or parents) should do, things like wearing helmets and using lights at night. Helmets and lights are a good idea — we teach kids about these as part of the bike bus — but we’re lying to the kids if we imply that these things will be enough to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands:
No helmets?! Riding three across?! Headphones?! Unsafe, unsafe, unsafe!
Bicycle fatalities are about 60% lower in the Netherlands than in the U.S. Could the Dutch make their kids even safer by forcing them to wear helmets everywhere? Possibly, but that’s at the margins — they’ve already done the heavy lifting of creating safe infrastructure. If we’re being truthful, we should be telling our kids that, while wearing a helmet and bright clothing may make them a bit safer, they will never be as safe as they could be because adults keep failing them.
The Predictable “Accident”
Before this summer, I wrote about how town leaders neglected to ensure that the development of a new Starbucks included a sidewalk:
A year from now, what happens when that kid decides to swing by Starbucks on his way home to grab a Unicorn Frappuccino? After waiting forever for the signal to cross (and possibly just giving up and crossing against the light), he turns onto Alden Road toward the new Starbucks. The SUV turning north on Alden is accelerating, making up for lost time after waiting at the light. They don’t see the kid on the bike. The news will report on whether or not the kid was wearing a helmet and/or bright clothing. It will note whether or not the driver stayed at the scene. Barring any gross negligence, the ensuing investigation will call the whole thing an unfortunate accident. Facebook commenters will decry drivers these days or scold the kids who ride on roads.
It was a gloomy prediction. And unfortunately, it didn’t even take a year to play out as expected:
Thankfully, the child who was hit wasn’t killed or severely injured. But with this infrastructure (and more like it) in place for the coming decades, there will undoubtedly be more carnage.
RADICAL CYCLIST by rovélo creative
Thanks to the hard work of auto industry lobbyists over decades, most Americans believe that street safety is primarily the responsibility of our most vulnerable populations. Likewise, as Americans, we tend to blame all crashes on the decisions of individual knucklehead drivers, cyclists or walkers.
Time for Action
Our new bike bus route passes two different crosswalks where pedestrians have been killed by cars in recent years (their names were Carolyn and Katie). Likewise, we pass the sites of several recent crashes where cars flipped over and ended up in peoples’ yards. After each incident, investigations were carried out and blame was dutifully assigned to individual drivers. But, despite the accumulated carnage, no public discussion has ensued about how we might prevent these types of crashes from happening tomorrow. Likewise, no immediate action has been taken to make this corridor safer.
I have to think that the main reason that no action has been taken is that well-meaning decision-makers do not believe that anything can be done in the near term. When the only narratives available to them are “drivers these days” or “road safety is the responsibility of children,” they’re not able to see any clear course of action. And far be it from me to convince them of anything different in a Substack post or even through neighborly conversation.
What might have a shot at changing minds is doing a few “safe to try” experiments. What if we temporarily protected space for kids on the side of the road here, added some paint there or bumped out a curb at another spot? Maybe if we try some stuff and the sky doesn’t fall, more of our towns' decision-makers would start to see where they have options to prevent death and injury, make our streets more vibrant, and show our kids that we’re genuinely prioritizing their safety. I’m working with others on implementing some of these experiments, and I’m hopeful this work will see the light of day this year.
Learn more about keeping kids safe in next week’s Local-Motive session: “Getting Kids to School More Safely and Actively,” with Uytae Lee, the YouTuber behind the popular “Stories About Here” CBC program.
Will Gardner is an education consultant and the founder of Alma del Mar Charter Schools. He’s currently scheming about how to improve his town, but he’s happy to help you with whatever you’re working on. You can find him at StrongHaven.substack.com.
