While standing on SE Hawthorne Blvd last night I looked up and saw an ad on the side of a TriMet bus that caught my eye…
The ad struck me as being sort of odd, but I can’t quite figure out why. What do you think about it?
The billboard was paid for by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) as part of their annual ‘Bicyclist Safety’ program managed by their Transportation Safety Division. According to an annual evaluation of the program from 2008, ODOT spent about $125,000 on bike safety efforts. This money was split between four funding programs (a mix of grants and communication pieces like the one above). For comparison, in 2008, ODOT spent just over $100,000 on ‘Pedestrian Safety’ programs and $950,000 on its ‘Occupant Protection’ programs (primarily seat-belt use education and enforcement).
In 2008, 411 people were killed in traffic crashes in Oregon and 26,805 were injured. Of those fatalities, 350 people were in a car (either driving or passengers). 52 people were killed while walking and 10 of the fatalities happened to people riding bicycles.
Earlier this year, ODOT held a series of open houses across the state to help them update their Traffic Safety Action Plan.
Learn more about ODOT’s safety efforts on their website.