Perspective on Cycling Safety

[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.

[Fredwina]

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.

Could be worse, Excursion or Ford Extinctions with 2 foot lift kits are the rage here.
Reminds of the time when I did a climb (Lytle Creek).I stopped when the road turned to gravel to rest, some guy came in a lifted truck and proceeded to spend 10 minutes trying to turn around when he could have done it in about if he had used the gravel...

[latelatebloomer]

Mr. Silver, thanks for starting this thread, 'cause I think it's an important point. After my crash (no bones broken but massive bruises, black eye and plenty scared) I really had a hard time getting back on the bike and I wound up avoiding this forum, as helpful as it had been, because of the reports of deaths and injuries from all over. I actually had the mindset "ok, is this the time I get killed or maimed?" when I went out on the road. And I still get scared sometimes.

I tell myself 1) I'm a cautious, conservative rider and I play it safe. Nothing wrong with that. 2) A lot - not all, but a lot - of the accidents come from people doing dumb stuff, like riding in the wrong place, at night w/ no lights, etc. 3) I keep myself very visible. In fact, I'm getting a little frustrated at how many of the nice jerseys for large women are dark! 4)and I'll add that bit about racers to my mantra. The first night I went to the Lehigh Velodrome for the Master's Nationals in Aug., there were 3 crashes. Latelate will stay off the track.

[Mr. Bloom]

latelate, you're right. We can't control WHAT HAPPENS, but we can INFLUENCE OUR ODDS.

Tonight, I had a late night at the office, leaving in the dark, 45 minutes after sunset.

At a congested intersection near campus, I saw a student, in full cycling regalia, even clipped in...without a single reflective fiber on his bike or his body. Can we say DARWIN AWARD CANDIDATE???

If we have a burglar alarm in our house, we tend to feel safer. Are we safer? NO! A stupid criminal could still rob us...but we've made ourselves a harder target by having the alarm. Likewise, in cycling, can bad things happen? YEP! But, we improve our odds greatly if we have CLASS:

• Courteous
• Lawful
• Alert
• Smart
• Sane

Good for you for getting back on the bike! After Silver's wreck last year, while she was still in the hospital, I bought her new Madone to show that I support her continued cycling, but also so she's have some motivation to get back on the bike!

[Melalvai]

We may be asking the wrong question. It's not about how many die on the bike or in the car. What about health benefits? I believe every time you get on a bike instead of in a car you increase the odds of experiencing quality life (independent of injury risk):
1. The health benefit will increase your lifespan and the quality of those years
2. It is just so much more darn fun to be travelling on a bike than in a car.

Of course #2 will only happen if we feel safe on the bike and that has a lot to do with how many people die on a bike or in a car, or how many of each we know personally. I personally know 5 people who have died in separate car accidents, all of them tragically young...9 yrs old...13...18...19...21.