New Innovative Bicycle Safety Roundabout Class Launches at Stanford
Stanford Transportation, in partnership with Public Safety and Risk Management, has launched an innovative STARS bike safety class to train bicyclists on how to navigate campus roundabouts, follow all rules of road and be courteous to other road users. The class will educate riders, especially new students who may be unfamiliar with our campus roadways, paths, and bike friendly infrastructure in a new interactive way that can be measured for comprehension and behavior change. Other class highlights are Bike Bingo, an interactive educational lesson.
Register for the Class on STARS
This online experience is designed to put the learner on a bike on the road entering, riding within, and exiting Stanford roundabouts. Kurt Hickman, Stanford Director of Visual Media, filmed 360-degree drone footage of the roundabout and campus from above. The training goals are to provide a temporal, sensory experience of navigating roundabouts and to anticipate and search for other vehicles, pedestrians, along with potential impacts. The online aspect provides a 24/7 availability of mentored experience to the Stanford community, which will augment Stanford Transportation’s training materials and classes.
The goal of the STARS Bicycle Safety Roundabout Class is to create a safer environment for all campus road users. This training will go beyond just riding in roundabouts; it also covers bike basics 101 including helmet use, stopping at stop signs, yielding the right of way, using lights at night, and learning how to safely navigate riding around or near Marguerite buses so riders are seen by drivers. The interactive class will ensure that more students can participate virtually to learn and test their bike safety knowledge about the rules of the road under the California Vehicle Code.
Questions? e-mail bike-information@stanford.edu
The Stanford Bicycle Program
Under Stanford Transportation, the Bicycle Program was formed in 1991, and with over 30 years of experience in educating our Stanford community of bicyclists, we have a lot to celebrate. We are proud to be recognized nationally as a Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly University, the only campus awarded this honor four consecutive times (2023-2027).
With over 22% of university commuters opting to ride bikes to work and over 3,000 undergraduate students riding on the campus daily, cycling is one of the most sustainable ways to get around. This density of riders requires bike safety to be a #1 priority to ensure safety, share the road, and respect all users, especially recognizing the need to address our mobility-challenged population.
Unfortunately, bike crashes do occur on campus. Most crashes are attributable to rider error—unsafe speed, not stopping at stop signs and not yielding to who has the right of way. These factors supports the need for more education, especially for new to Stanford riders. Wearing a properly fitted bike helmet for every ride and following the rules under the California Vehicle Code that applies to bikes is key in creating a safer environment for all users including those with mobility challenges.
Stanford now has six roundabouts on the campus branded as Circles of Life, as they provide a way to navigate the intersections with safety in mind for all users when used correctly. Stanford plans to expand roundabouts in the future and strives to provide an effective way to educate all users.
Stanford Transportation’s comprehensive website, All About Roundabouts offers tips on how to ride and how vehicles and pedestrians can safely get around, too. Thank you for your support. We hope you will take the class and share your feedback!
