Falling off a bike is a pain familiar to people around the world.
Chris Cherry, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UT and researcher in the Center for Transportation Research, is one of the world’s foremost experts in bicycles, and has experienced that pain himself.
In fact, one crash along Neyland Drive led him to research the number of incidents that involve cyclists trying to cross railroad tracks.
Video from the study showing biker after biker wrecking along the same section of bike path where Cherry himself wrecked has now gone viral.
WBIR and the Knoxville News Sentinel each featured the video and his research Tuesday, while Citylab, Jalopnik, and Bike Radar have helped it spread far beyond the region, even to Australia.
Along with his graduate students Ziwen Ling and Nirbesh Dhakal, Cherry published research in the Journal of Transport and Health detailing the cause of wrecks when crossing rails and what can be done to prevent them.
Even before the paper’s publication, City of Knoxville officials worked with Cherry to improve the approach along the path and to place signage warning bikers.
His original video can be seen on YouTube