Originally Posted by
B. Carfree
Being born is dangerous, since no one is going to get out of this life alive. Do you think cycling is significantly more dangerous than other normal day-to-day activities.
I think that cycling
is more dangerous than breathing of putzing around the house, or even driving, but agree that the dangers are wayyy over stated by this video
Originally Posted by
FBinNY
Also, consider that fully half the severe injuries and deaths in the USA involve children. It's possible that Dutch parents, being more knowledgeable about bicycles, do a better job teaching their children to ride safely.
I once attended a LAB safety course and a video they showed gave some statistics that seemed credible to me, based on what I have seen. The one you stated was one of them. Another was that close to 70% (I forget the exact number) the fault was assigned to the cyclist by the "reporting agency", i.e. law enforcement. Some may claim that LE is biased, and I won't dispute that, but bias can only account for so much error. On my daily commute I see numerous close calls by salmon, gutter huggers and sidewalk riders.
Originally Posted by
B. Carfree
In case you hadn't noticed, the U.S. is currently incapable of investing in massive public infrastructure due to the nature of the folks in charge of the House of Representatives. Many states are having trouble finding a way to keep pavement on their roads and water systems functioning.
I would lay more of the blame on a mostly apathetic and misinformed electorate that puts those people there.
I agree with most here who think better infrastructure will make it much safer. I am also a realist, and recognize that the U.S. will never become a cycle-centric society. Anything meaningful about bike safety will still have to deal with the fact that great infrastructure will not be universally available.
I am fortunate that the town I commute in has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the country. For all that, I still have to add about a mile to my commute to avoid an older boulevard with three high speed traffic lanes and no shoulder. (Route selection is one of my big safety recomandations)
I don't Salmon (except in some rare and exceptional cases) and one section where I did ride a sidewalk (one block of high speed Blvd/no shoulder, no reasonable alternated) was recently rebuilt with bike lanes.
I think protected bike lanes are an over reaction to the number of cyclists hit, mostly at intersections, while coming off sidewalks or salmoning. They are expensive, eating up an inordinate amount of scant funding. They also create awkward and confusing conditions at intersections. Bike lanes, and education on their proper use, i.e., don't hug the gutter when stopped-give room to right turning cars, are a better solution. Better in that more miles of them can be installed with the available funding.