PORTLAND, Oregon — When was the last time you flipped through a driver’s manual? For most of us, probably not since we first got our license. Ever heard the term cross bike? How about sharrow?
The Street Trust has a free voluntary course called Oregon Friendly Driver that helps people relearn the rules of the road. While the Oregon nonprofit focuses on companies with employees that do a lot of driving, they say everyone can benefit from their free 60-minute online refresher, which is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
"So this class covers a lot of material that you won't necessarily cover in driver's education, but that you need to know when you're out on our roadways," said Lindsay Huber, the deputy director of the Street Trust.
Understanding bikes lanes, cross bikes, bike boxes and crosswalks, the Oregon Friendly Driver class aims to get drivers more prepared for what they'll see on the roads.
"A big part of the responsibility of driving is building up your defensive driving skills," Huber said. "People will call them "spidey senses," being able to recognize when someone is going to maybe make a mistake, so that we can, you know, not be involved in a crash because nobody wants to be involved in a crash even if you are 'right.'"
The course also comes with an emphasis on safe speeds, and a reminder that small increases in speed have huge impacts to victims struck by a vehicle. Data from 2000 is considered dated, as many vehicles on the roads now have larger frontal impact areas and some carry more momentum at impact. Despite being dated, those studies show that the rate of death or serious injury quadruples with an increase of speed from 20mph to 40mph.