Originally Posted by
bragi
As for bicycles being dangerous, it depends on you. If you jump from road to sidewalk and back again, run lights, pass on the right in heavy traffic, ride at night in black clothing with no lights, and generally act stupid, natural selection will eventually assert itself. Personally, I think bicycles are safer than cars if you ride like an adult. (Statistically, there are more deaths per million miles on a bike than there are driving in the US; however, the deaths per million hours on a bike are far lower than there are by car. Make of this what you will. and don't ask me the source, I forget, but I promise I'm not just pulling this out of a hat...)
That is actually an extremely valid point. The real reason bicycles are perceived as "dangerous" by a lot of people is simply because those people have not had any form of training or education in how to ride properly. Just look at some of the posts on these fora from newbies and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Those of us who regularly ride for transport know full well that cycling is more than just balancing and turning the pedals. However, most people don't realise this, and without this realisation, any cycling experience they have is highly unlikely to be a pleasant one. Then of course, there is the old marketing saying that a person who has a negative experience generally tells 30-50 people about it (contrasted with the 3-5 they tell about a positive experience), and before you know it, there is suddenly an over-hyped perception of cycling as a "dangerous" activity.
For those who want to build lots of bike lanes to attract cyclists, just be careful what you wish for. Remember that even if these lanes succeed in getting all the untrained people on their bikes (which is highly unlikely and certainly hasn't been my observation in a city that spends more money on "facilities" than entire states), you'll them have to share tha narrow strip of bitumen with all those untrained cyclists wobbling about all over the place. It certainly doesn't fit with my vision of a cycling utopia.
The real solution lies in training people in riding a bicycle in traffic. For children at school I think it's essential. Cycling is a skill they can use throughout the rest of their childhood and well into adulthood. They might also graduate into better drivers if they already have several years of being trained to ride on the road (and to therefore expect cyclists to be on the road). The only downside with this is, of course, that the benefits would be more long term, and probably less visible in the immediate future that simply building a "facility", and that doesn't win votes or donations to "advocacy" organisations.
__________________
I am clinically insane. I am proud of it.
That is all.