Is urban bicycle commuting Dangerous? The Fearmonger

[RichardOhKaNoi]

when are americans going to wake up.... in Europe they build the bike lanes on the sidewalk. the pedestrians have there side walk and the bikes have there sidewak it is the same side walk devided by a yellow or a white line. but not in the stupid street.

[brandeezy108]

@RichardOhKaNoi you act like all americans choose where the bike lanes are held. some side walks are like that in us. bike lanes are in the street. we can choose to do it in the sidewalk too. there is nothing more we can do but, bike or drive carefully. it would take forever to change every sidwalk for that purpose, though it's not a bad idea, we don't have the funds, based on the economy. again that's not our fault. it's the government, which has its ups and downs.

[deathhamer2009]

wtf

[skoockum]

While it's dangerous to ride a bike (in fact every activity - including sitting on your couch at home - has a degree of danger to it), in the US there are actually more driving deaths per mile than cycling deaths. So, while in a car/bike incident the car is certain to win, it's still safer to be on a bicycle than it is to be driving.

[psteverific]

Wait... am I understanding this correctly?

"A 2003 study of walking and cycling says that a cyclist is 12 times more likely to be killed in a colision with a motor vehicle than the occupants of the vehicle"

Only 12 times? So 1 in 12 collisions resulting in death, it is an occupant of the motor vehicle that is killed?

That can't be right... sure a bicycle can kill a motorcyclist, but even so, that number sounds way too low.

Can someone clarify this point?

[luvmastertx]

I don't remember where I got the 12x statistic. Somewhere on the internet. In my opinion riding a bicycle is not really very dangerous, What is dangerous is sharing the roadway with motor vehicle drivers. The point of all of my videos is to take full responsibility for you own safety. Don't trust anyone but yourself. I now have another video on bicycle fatality statistics that you might find interesting. Based on hours of exposure bicycling is safer than driving. - Luvmaster

[psteverific]

@luvmastertx Oh, don't get me wrong, I think your point comes through well, and I wholeheartedly agree.

In motorcycle training courses we try to drill in the idea that one must take primary responsibility for one's own safety. Yes, it's true that all road users have a resposibilty towards the safety of other road users... but they're PEOPLE.... you can't trust them!

[psteverific]

Hear Hear!

This is an important message. Cycling is dangerous, but it can be made safer when cyclists understand the risk they are taking and actively take measures to reduce the risk.

It's not enough to say "I'm within my rights as a road user, if anyone hits me, they are at fault"

Having someone to blame will be of little consolation when you're taking your meals through a tube.

[drinklime]

The biggest problem I had in a few miles of riding in the bike lane was when some SUV made a right turn alongside me and I had to hit the brakes. It was really infuriating and made me not want to ride on the street anymore. At least not on that road (Sheldon Rd in Tampa)

[Mumblemumble375]

I'd rather cycle than walk, no matter how dangerous it is :) It depends on what road you're on

[cjrswan]

Yes wen do we start blowing up cars?

[dregerclock]

You say that most cyclists hug the side of the road, and take sidewalks and swerve in and out around cars parked alongside the road... and then say that 30% of car cycle accidents are rear-end accidents. Doesn't that kinda go agaisnt what you are saying? if cyclists held a straight line and (when needed) controlled the lane, maybe the stats would nto be so bad. On top of that... the more common way cars hit bikes is when they are doing left or right turns on a street and don't see the bike.

[luvmastertx]

I believe what I said is that 30% of motorist vs motorist collisions are of the rear end type. Only 6 percent of auto-bike collistions are of the rear end type. My point is that if all bicyclist were to ride out in the lane more auto-bike collisions would be of the rear end type which are more fatal to cyclist.

[chrissaboy]

I would have thought being cut off was the number 1 problem for cyclist!

[dynobreath]

The reason most cyclist are hit from behind is because they hug the curb allowing the motorist to believe they can pass the cyclist without leaving their lane of travel. It is better to stay far enough out in the lane causing the passing motorist to slow and pass in the other lane. This is perfectly legal in most states.

[CycleMan2200]

Its safer riding in the street VS. sidewalk as a whole. About 60 percent of collisions are with cars are at intersections where the sidewalks cross, not to mention driveays. I cycle in the middle of the lane a little over 70 percent of the time, since most roads where I live are less than 13 feet wide.

[12stringsforme]

Are the accident rates any worse than for any other vehicle. Doubt it.

[luvmastertx]

Depends on how you determine the accident rates. You need to know how many bicycle riders are in the area and an average mileage to determine the accident rate per miles traveled. These numbers are almost impossible to find. Most riders surveyed only estimate their yearly mileage. My best guess based on miles traveled is that it is more dangerous to ride a bicycle than to drive a car. I encourage you to do your own research.

[12stringsforme]

''Effective Cycling", one of the bike commute bibles, states experienced riders have one accident every 10,000 miles. My 20 years of urban traffic commuting, including 15 years in winter conditions, suggests this is accurate. Proper lighting, clothing and adherence to the law is key. My only accidents have been falls or bumps due to innattention or excessive speed on ice. Where conditions demand it, I take the lane, using common sense.

[luvmastertx]

Twenty years urban commuting is impressive. You are setting a good example. I am curious. Do you use an odometer and if so what is your yearly average mileage? I average 3000 miles a year in 11 months. I do not ride in January for health reasons. Luckly, I do not have to deal with snow and ice.

[12stringsforme]

I do not trouble with an odometer for commute or recreational riding either. 12 km a day for commute, plus 200-300 km a week for recreation in good weather. Winter riding is very rewarding, google "icebike" and check it out! Our city has a good dedicated winter ride community.

[luvmastertx]

That comes out to like 10,000 miles a year. That is a lot of miles. Two hours of riding a day on average. If you have one minor crash a year that is a crash rate of 100 minor spills per 1 million bicycle miles traveled.

[chrissaboy]

Last time I was in a cycling accident was when a car reversed around a corner in the cycle lane and another car passed me to the right! There was no escape and no way around him, even though I stopped he kept going!

So no...obeying these 'Effective Cycling' laws doesn't always work!

[MelloVEL0]

True, taking the lane isn't always the safest. Adapting to what's going on around you and making an informed choice would be safer I would have thought.

I'd like to know, if any statistics exist or come to light in the future from collisions where cyclists did take the lane, see if there is any difference.

Probably the only idiot proof result would be to have separate tracks for every type of vehicle!

[roadmonitoroz]

You say the only idiot proof way is to have separate tracks for every type of vehicle. That still wouldn't solve the problem as I see people pretending to be other types of vehicle. ie

(1) Cars / trucks pretending to be a bus using bus lanes.

(2) Regular cars pretending to be taxis (using taxi lanes & ranks)

People will always think their too good to follow the law or too self important to consider anyone else's feelings or the inconvenience it will cause to the other person.

[MelloVEL0]

True, but there is maybe a way around that if you wanted separate tracks, taxis and buses around Cambridge get to use closed off streets protected by rising bollards who have the activation thingy-me-bobs (the tech term) to let them pass, some normal cars certainly try to sneak through when it's been levelled by the previous car seconds before with disastrous results to their engine. You might be able to find a clip on youtube. Could be possible!

[roadmonitoroz]

Yeah I've seen a few of those bollard clips. Very funny and entertaining... People getting severe damage to their vehicle for trying to cheat the system LOL. I personally gave up cycling because I got tired of the driver antics (my videos prove that fact). I would only ride for recreation now on cycle tracks (pack bike in boot, drive to location, get bike out, cycle, return bike to boot, drive home. Pity it has to be that way though.