Marin County Bicycle Coalition to Develop "Share the Road" Materials for National Distribution

Fairfax, CA: The Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) has been selected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a Share the Road Toolkit and other materials for national distribution.

NHTSA is the federal agency charged with improving safety on public roadways. The Share the Road Toolkit will address the question: "What does it mean to Share the Road?" Its contents will include tested and successful Share the Road campaign activities that have been developed in Marin and other programs that have been developed elsewhere throughout the United States. MCBC will conduct a national survey to gather information on the best Share the Road programs in use. The Toolkit will fully identify how to launch and maintain successful local Share the Road campaigns that will enable communities to create programs that clearly communicate how motorists and bicyclists can interact safely.

The scope of the NHTSA cooperative agreement also allows MCBC to produce and test a "What is Share the Road?" presentation in a variety of formats for nationwide use. The presentation will be designed for citizens throughout the United States to give at school PTA meetings, Rotary meetings, and other public events. The materials will also be translated into Spanish. Topics covered will include defining Share the Road for motorists and bicyclists, talking points relevant to a variety of audiences, basic bicycle safety skills, and what motorists should take into account when navigating with bicyclists on roadways. MCBC will develop, refine, and test the effectiveness of the presentation in Marin County with bicycle, motorist, law enforcement and other groups.

Kim Baenisch, MCBC's Associate Director, is managing the program and says, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to develop and test these Share the Road materials in Marin County. Our goal is to provide a universally understood message that will improve road safety locally and nationally."

MCBC has been conducting Share the Road activities in Marin County since 1999. Some programs have included collaborating with local agencies to install 70 Share the Road signs on our public roads, providing free "Basic Street Skills" bicycle safety education classes through a Marin General Hospital Trauma Program grant, supporting police-assisted safety checkpoints for distributing Share the Road written materials in conjunction with the Marin Share the Road Program, and launching a Share the Road Sign-on Statement campaign last year. All of these efforts are designed to educate both drivers and cyclists about their equal rights and obligations when using the public road system.

MCBC wants your help to evaluate the future "What is Share the Road?" presentation. Contact Kim Baenisch at kim@marinbike.org or 415-456-3469 x 2# to set up a viewing and feedback session for your organization. MCBC wants your feedback regarding what should be included in the presentation. Click here to access our Share the Road comments request. The first draft of the future Share the Road presentation will be shown at MCBC's annual membership meeting on Tuesday, April 5 at 6:30 PM at the Corte Madera Town Center meeting room.