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I am convinced bicycling is not safe
wrote in message ... On Nov 14, 8:00 pm, (Tom Keats) wrote: But my concern is about incipient new ridership who may be affected to any degree. The very subject line of this thread was obviously designed to dissuade people who may be considering bicycling. Then he throws in unsubstantiated, unqualified, unquantified, ostensibly hearsay statements like: "Accident statistics on bicycling are horrific per mile traveled." Great way to promote bicycling, eh? ... Well horrific is a subjective term but it is true that bicycling has per-mile injury rates far higher than driving. We shouldn't be too surprised by that. Most of the injuries to bicyclists (80%) are caused by falling off, wiping out, things motorists don't have to worry about. And then, when a car and bike smash together, only the bicyclist gets hurt. Bicycling may be a little more deadly than driving but neither is remotely likely to result in fatality. Motorcyclists have far worse fatality rates than anyone but better injury rates than bicyclists. Again it is easy to predict this stuff that is found in the numbers. Bicycling has benefits that can't be gained any other way. That's the difference that we need to get across to beginners or potential new riders, and what is often forgotten when people start talking about the danger of riding. The benefits dwarf the dangers. People who are safety obsessed about bicycling are probably barking up the wrong tree. There is no safety in traffic. The only cure is to not leave the house. People who are too paranoid to ride a bike on the street get in a car and go 80mph on the highway without a second thought. That's simply irrational behavior. But bicycling has its dangers and they should be acknowledged. Here in particular, the truth shall set us free. The truth is that bicycling is the superior mode, providing superior health benefits and other benefits as well as superlatively efficient transportation, despite a relatively high injury rate. And I think it's okay to acknowledge that, because of the unique challenges of riding a bike, bicycling may not be for everybody. Like el Banana for instance. Many residential streets are safe for cycling but some aren't. Same goes for roads both rural and urban. High speed highways with no shoulders are never safe for cyclists. Bike lanes are not as safe as some think. Bike paths are the safest provided they do not become too crowded. Ergo, we should all work for bike paths as much as possible. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
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