# Analysis of Solutions Improving Safety of Cyclists in the Road Traffic
## 7 Summary and Discussion  
The growing role of the bicycle as a mode of transport, recreation and tourism has made it an integral part of the transport system of the cities, regions, and countries. National strategies assume a significant increase in the use of the bicycle as a mode of transport. The data about accidents involving cyclists in Poland presented in this paper may give rise to the question, whether it is a reasonable solution to encourage cyclists to ride on Polish roads? Would it not be an opposite effect to the expected one to increase the share of that vulnerable group of road users in road traffic? If the growing popularity of cycling is accompanied with the development of safe and functional transport infrastructure dedicated to that mode of transport, the danger for cyclists should decrease. However, the infrastructure provision only seems to be insufficient to achieve a higher level of cycling [40]. Choice of routes and location of transport infrastructure devices for cycling in the spatial structure and road and street network of cities and agglomerations is determined by the state of legal regulations on traffic, road and cycling infrastructure, landforms and socio-demographic characteristics of cyclists and their preferences in route selection. The method/concept proposed in this paper seems to be universal, because as it was shown in [38] that _bicyclists around the world hold similar opinions on what improvements are required to promote cycling and enhance their experiences_. Of course, country/region specificities, including legal or behavioral conditions or availability of some data, may require some modifications, such as skipping some steps of the proposed intervention selection model. It should be noted that the construction of infrastructure for cyclists is not the only way to improve the safety of this group of road users. Due to the high costs and deficit of the road surface in the road and street cross-section, other forms of activities in this area should also be used and the decisions should be made in accordance with applicable European standards and norms. However--due to the multitude of organizational and technical solutions available--the selection of interventions that increase the safety of cyclists is a very complex, multi-faceted task. Giving it a certain structure and creating an algorithm describing the procedure for selecting measures and devices and assessing the effectiveness of the implemented solutions, which is presented in the article, helps in making decisions and systematizing the order of work during the implementation of investments related to the bicycle traffic. However, an important obstacle in the process of taking right decisionsabout the development of cycling infrastructure may be the lack of necessary data about the number of journeys and cycling trips. Answers to the following key questions are often unknown: What is the amount of cycling traffic? What strategies will increase cycling? What are the benefits of increasing cycling? [41]. The use of new technologies, based on the data analysis generated, e.g., by mobile phones and navigation systems, which can be used for the development and monitoring of the cycling infrastructure system, can be very helpful [9]. The advantages of the use of new technologies should be appreciated, as they could be used for the creation of potential route rankings based on user preferences and the identification of cycling routes, which may improve safety as well as promote cycling. An international experience has shown that concern for the safety of cyclists also contributes to reducing the risks to other road users. The growing popularity of bicycle traffic and concern for the protection of cyclists requires the creation of an appropriate bicycle infrastructure network that will meet the expectations of cyclists, will not cause conflicts with other road users, and most importantly, ensure road safety.