Cyclists cause 10% of car-bike accidents

[kfergos]

OK then - hands in the air those of us who have been hit by cars.....

I haven't said much about it here, but my hand is up. MMQFC - anyone else?

OK - how many of us caused our own accidents - hmmmm is that crickets I hear.....

I was hit by a car and I caused my own accident. It was in my first 6 months of biking as an adult. I was in Worcester, MA, riding one mile from my work to the train station. I rode, at the time, on the sidewalk and in this case it was on the wrong side of the road to boot. It was dusk. I did have blinky light (I think), but it wasn't very powerful. I crossed into an intersection and was hit by a car turning right. I doubt the driver even saw me. He looked for cars on the road and never expected a fast-moving vehicle on the sidewalk. (Now that I think about it, I'm not 100% sure it's legal to ride on the sidewalk in Worcester -- I know some cities do ban riding bikes on sidewalks.)

After that, I took some LAB bike classes, started riding my bike like I drive a car (slow and predictable ), and haven't been hit in 15,000 miles.

Edited to add: Having read the rest of the thread, I have a couple comments.
1. Bicyclists clearly have to be proactive about riding defensively to protect themselves as much as possible from harm caused by negligent drivers.
2. Is this the way it should be? No. Drivers, particularly irresponsible drivers who text or talk on their cell phones while driving, should absolutely be held responsible for causing collisions with bicyclists.
3. Unfortunately, we can't force drivers to drive safely around us. We can work on better driver and bicyclist education, so everybody knows what they should be doing -- I've had innumerable drivers tell me to "get off the road" or "get on the sidewalk," showing terrifying ignorance on their part; but on the other hand, I've also seen all too many cyclists riding the wrong way, riding without lights, riding on sidewalks, etc., again showing their ignorance -- and meanwhile ride defensively.

Q: Do you think requiring a drivers to pass a driver's test every 10 years, or maybe every 5 years after the age of 65, or something like that, would help? Also, would requiring something like a bicyclist's license for cyclists riding on the road help ensure bicyclists at least know their rights & responsibilities?