On October 28, 2007, a man was paralyzed after falling off his bicycle. Drain covers like the one above can easily and cheaply be replaced with bicycle safe designs. Alternatively, the area of the metal grating which is used by bicyclists can be filled in with solid material. There are anti-slip metal plates that can be retrofitted on the bridges for cyclists. Metal grating bridges should be renovated to improve their safety for people who ride bikes.
State departments of transportation and local public works departments should replace dangerous sewer gratings and storm drains with ones which are more safe for cyclists. It is time for our state and local governments to accept responsibility for these bicycling road hazards, and take action to alleviate the danger. There have been numerous accidents around the U.S., including in my state, Florida, involving injured bicycle riders who slipped or fell on metal gratings. However, years and years of bicycling accidents should have taught state and local governments that steel gratings are dangerous for cyclists. In the 1940s and 50s, it seems that thousands of steel grating bridges were constructed because steel was cheap, water didn’t seem to collect on the driving surface, and the bridges swayed less in the wind than with solid surfaces. Storm drains can have linear gaps that are the perfect size to devour a narrow road bike tire. This photo shows one particularly dangerous gap – large enough to engulf a road bike tire – in metal grating on State Road A-1-A in the Florida Keys. Metal grating bridges may have gaps between grating sections which can swallow bike tires. People who ride bicycles are put in jeopardy when trying to ride across open metal grating bridges, sewer grates and storm drains.
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