Perspective on Cycling Safety

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I read recently that after many years of slow but steady decline in deaths of motorcycle riders in bike/vs/car accidents, these past two years have shown a sudden alarming leap in deaths for motorcycle riders. The only guess they have so far is the sudden proliferation of car drivers talking on cell phones...

[KnottedYet]

It was a kid on a cellphone who rear-ended my Subaru at a stop light last week.

[kelownagirl]

I wonder how the stats work as far as fatalites per million riders and fatalities per million drivers? Maybe the car fatalities are higher because there are so many more people who drive than bike?

We've had 4 bike-related accidents in my small town (100,000) in the past month. The one fatality was a 23 year old man without a helmet who jumped the curb on a mt bike, lost control and hit a telephone pole.

The other 3 people survived with injuries -
- 1 was a 16 year old boy without a helmet, crossing against a light.
- 1 was a man with a helmet on a bike lane, crossing the highway, someone turned left. His bike was more damaged than he was luckily.
- 1 was a man with a helmet riding downhill in the bike lane, through an intersection a few blocks from my house and a van turned left right in front of him. The van left the scene.

In my town, the last 2 are anomolies. More often than not, the "cyclist" who is hit and injured or killed, is riding at night, without lights, on the highway, without a helmet, weaving into traffic (and often intoxicated).

I get my panties tied in a knot when I hear about these types of accidents and then the inevitable calls for cyclists to stay off our roads.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I wonder how the stats work as far as fatalites per million riders and fatalities per million drivers? Maybe the car fatalities are higher because there are so many more people who drive than bike?

Yeah- maybe the statistics are like that because sometimes there are 2 or more people riding in the car and they are all killed in an accident- do they count all those passengers too? Likely yes.

[KnottedYet]

I read an interesting article once about vehicle safety. It said that the average proportion of fatal accidents in cars has remained fairly steady over the years, despite incredible advances in safety features.

The theory was that there's an acceptable level of risk stuck in people's minds, and as cars get safer people just drive more recklessly.

The only example I can remember is anti-lock brakes: now folks just follow closer than they used to before antilock brakes.

It was an interesting article. I have no idea how to find it again.

[Mr. Bloom]

I wonder how the stats work as far as fatalites per million riders and fatalities per million drivers?

I did look for that, but I'd wonder how they estimate a statistic like that...At least Car Miles are supported by # gallons of gas consumed (which is a measured statistic), but my guess is that any bureaucrat would underestimate the number of bike miles logged...

[Aggie_Ama]

I wonder if we would all be safer if they took the big SUVs away from all these people. The moms in their behemouth SUVs scare me more than old Bubba in his farm truck. You have 1 kid, do you really need a Ford Expedition?

I wish we rule you must show genuine need for such an extravagent vehicle. Of course half my friends would need to get new cars! And cell phones need to be regulated.

[Mr. Bloom]

The moms in their behemouth SUVs scare me more than old Bubba in his farm truck. You have 1 kid, do you really need a Ford Expedition?

What is a Texas Cadillac? A Chevy Suburan, or course

[Aggie_Ama]

The scary thing is my husband's Grandma who shouldn't even be driving, yet has a Dodge Ram 2500 Dually. I envy Europeans and their small cars. I drive a Dodge Caliber, 4 wimpy cylinders. The little car caries two adults, two schnauzers, two bikes and camping gear- why do I need more??

And I am sorry, the mom's here have Excursions- a Ford 250 with a bed cover.

[OakLeaf]

I read recently that after many years of slow but steady decline in deaths of motorcycle riders in bike/vs/car accidents, these past two years have shown a sudden alarming leap in deaths for motorcycle riders. The only guess they have so far is the sudden proliferation of car drivers talking on cell phones...

There's no comparison between bicycle accidents and motorcycles, except in one aspect: Most if not all of the jump in motorcyclist deaths has to do with repeal of helmet laws in several states.

I have no interest in discussing helmet laws. Zero. Don't start. Suffice it to say that I am alive right now because of a bicycle helmet I was wearing at 21 mph twenty years ago.

If the statistic is true that someone posted that more bicyclists are wearing helmets, that's a great thing. But the opposite trend is true of motorcyclists, and *that* is what accounts for the increase in deaths. Unlike a bicycle, a motorcycle has big rear view mirrors and much more power than a car - it also has more maneuverability than a car. Unlike a bicycle, a motorcyclist *always* has the last clear chance to avoid a crash with a car, no matter whose legal fault the initial problem might have been.

Incidentally, most present-day motorcycle fatalities are also single-bike accidents.

There's no excuse for not paying attention *whatever* your mode of transportation. Recently a pedestrian was killed in my area, running at night with her back to traffic and an iPod jammed in her ear. I cringe every time I see a bicyclist with earbuds in. But motorcycle wrecks have no place in a discussion of bicycle wrecks.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There's no excuse for not paying attention *whatever* your mode of transportation. Recently a pedestrian was killed in my area, running at night with her back to traffic and an iPod jammed in her ear. I cringe every time I see a bicyclist with earbuds in. But motorcycle wrecks have no place in a discussion of bicycle wrecks.

Well, if we are talking about car accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents.....why the heck aren't we "allowed" to talk about motorcycle accidents as well?? They are all related in various convoluted ways, though they may have varied causes. Discussions here are open to many ideas.
I imagine more motorcyclists are now wearing iPod buds too, just like joggers and bicyclists do. More car drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, (and maybe motorcyclists too?) are talking on cell phones as they move in traffic. In fact, Manhattan was going to make it against the law for pedestrians to walk across the street while talking on a cell phone. (have they actually passed that law yet?) That would be interesting, as every 8th person walking down the street in manhattan seems to be talking on their cell phone these days. I see teenagers talking on cell phones while weaving through traffic one-handed on their bicycles all the time....with no helmets either.

[Grog]

I also don't see why all of a sudden there would be a policing of acceptable and non-acceptable topics to discuss. One can find another posters' words offensive (which doesn't seem to be the case here), but saying that entire topics should not be discussed?

Besides, cyclists and motorcyclists have in common that they're a lot less visible than cars on the roadway.

[mimitabby]

Besides, cyclists and motorcyclists have in common that they're a lot less visible than cars on the roadway.

and they are both exposed completely and go down the road on two (usually) wheels.

[tygab]

Here is an interesting link to consider:

http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds_dying.jpg

<ramblings>
I am interested in risk analysis (I am in network security so I think about this topic a lot), and recently have been reading a great deal on how humans are poorly equipped to assess risk. We greatly exaggerate the unusual or unknown types of risks in our minds, while underestimating the risks with events that are far more likely to happen, for example death by heart failure, cancer, or as a passenger/driver in a car. Given the scale of those risks, I will hedge that as a cyclist who is exercising and eating well, I am doing more to combat or defer the outcome of the first two or three categories than risking my life! And we all should be pressuring auto manufacturers or our local gov for safer cars and transit ways, as car drivers, passengers, pedestrians AND cyclists [if you are never a car driver or passenger, more power to you but most of us mix and match in these categories].

I think the cycling deaths strike so close to home for us because most of us fear the end - we fear we will not have gotten to do or be everything we wanted, we fear how it will happen. I know at times I do. And we relate to the cyclist killed. So we imagine, this could be me! every time there is a new report on the board of a serious cyclist killed, and come to the conclusion cycling is very risky.

A little girl in our area (12 years old) was killed just days ago on her bicycle by a utility company truck. If I were to publish that here as another vehicle versus bicycling accident, would we relate to it the same way? I don't think so. Some here might relate to it more adversely, thinking perhaps of their own kids, while others might not react as much since the image of a child riding her bicycle down a residential street doesn't so much map with our images of ourselves as adult cyclists out on a ride.

The only way, I think, to combat my fear of a life interrupted prematurely by any kind of death is by living it fully if not daily, then over the weeks, months, and years that I have. Cycling is definitely fulfilling, and I'm not going to give that up.

Plus, I still do strongly believe the more cyclists there are, the more drivers will learn to coexist with us.

So, basically +1 to many of the sentiments already here!

[mimitabby]

Unlike a bicycle, a motorcyclist *always* has the last clear chance to avoid a crash with a car, no matter whose legal fault the initial problem might have been.
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sorry, i don't understand what you are saying here???