Inpd

I have the option of riding on country roads near my house or putting my bike on a bike rack and driving 20 minutes to a nice 30 mile paved dedicated bike path.

I've always wondered if I'm safer by riding on the dedicated bike path. Sure they are no cars but there are lots of fast cyclists who often ride in pairs or triples going in the other direction and I've had some near misses.

So my question is, if you've had an accident where was it?

Do you think I'm safer riding my bike trail or country roads?

The drivers in my area are courteous but all it takes is one guy/gal texting and ...

Chris516

I haven't had any major accidents on a bike path. But then, I don't ride on a bike for safety reasons. Yes, I said safety reasons. I have three major (physical)health issues since birth. The one time I did have a 'situation' on a bike path. Was when I got stuck late at night after blowing a tube. It became a harrowing experience. I will admit, I was ill prepared. While I did have a spare tube, the help I got late that night wasn't good. Until they dropped me off at a convenience store. I was stuck there. Until I found out the asst. manager had to take his son in for surgery, at a hospital only a couple blocks from my apartment(when I was living in that city). His store was 60+mi. from the hospital, so I had an easy ride back.

I have been hit a couple times on the road. But the 911 response, has been quick. The only 'incident' close to major on the road. Was when I was 14yrs.-old. I was hit by a senior citizen who was making the same turn I was, and my foot got stuck under her car. I have been hit a couple more times since I was 14(I am 48 this year). But, I feel safer riding on the road, than I do on a bike path, or in a bike lane. Because someone will see me down, more than they will on a bike path.

Worknomore

Much depends on traffic volume. I ride low volume traffic narrow country back roads all the time and have never had an issue. By low volume I mean being passed by traffic maybe once, or less per several miles of travel. When traffic volumes increase I prefer wider, shouldered roads. I'm not a fan of busy narrow roads at all. Not a fan of having to drive to ride either though I sometimes do it.

bikecrate

I've seen riders get messed up on MUP's. One so bad he was face down and unconscious. There are many reports of riders getting struck on the roads in this area. The only serious incident I've had is a left hook on a quiet two lane road while on vacation in a beach community. What does it all mean? Really nothing to me other than bad things can happen anywhere. I believe if you ride sensibly with some awareness of the situation around you that it reduces the chance of those bad things. Personally, I'd rather ride from my house and not waste the time and gas going someplace. However, you could always compromise and ride to the MUP.

genec

Accidents vrs deaths... I think statistically there are more accidents on MUPs... but then most of the accidents are simply bruises and bloodied knees... rarely is anyone ever killed on an MUP. The road on the other hand can involve more than scrapes and bruises... and you are dealing with more than cyclists, peds and dogs.

So the sheer numbers of people being hurt is not a valid stat... you have to also look at the severity of the injury.

vatdim

I've had way more accidents and conflicts happen to me when riding on bike paths. Cars pulling in front of me or cutting me off at junctions, pedestrians mindlessly crossing my path, kids running around and falling down in front of me, other cyclists being clueless as to how to ride their line properly. Also, there's all sorts of debris lying around, e.g. broken glass, dog crap, etc. You can tell I grew to hate bike paths.

I hit a car once on a major urban road in rush hour traffic. It was a right hook, I fell off my bike and rolled over a few times. Had road rash and a bit of muscular pain for a week. Other than that, though, I feel much safer there.

I love cycling on country roads with light traffic. As long as you are aware of cars and make sure the drivers are aware of you with some conspicuous clothing and lights, you should be fine.

Tundra_Man 

My anecdotal experience, FWIW:

Had a few close calls on the road, but never any accidents.

My big accident was on the MUP, a little more than a year ago. A rider coming in the opposite direction pulled out so he could talk to his buddy he'd been riding behind. Unfortunately when he pulled into the left side of the path he did so directly in front of me. We hit head on, and I wound up dislocating my jaw. Still have jaw pain from that goofball's decision.

kickstart

Most of the incidents I've witnessed have been on MUTs involving young children, or "advanced" cycling enthusiasts, both seem to have the same inadequate judgment for their skill level.

walrus1

Urban road since 98%-100% of my commute is via road. Never had a serious crash only a few bruises. That being said I've had more near misses with pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge then anywhere else.

Also, your title implies that collisions happen and can't be avoided. You should use the word crash or collision.

It's a crash. Not an accident.

https://transalt.org/news/magazine/2012/Summer/2

FBinNY 

You can play the numbrs game until the cows come home, but that's all it is -- a numbers game.

Every riding situation has it's own hazards and benefits, so it's not about which is inherently safer, but the adjustments you make to each situation. As for the numbers game, it's hard to draw conclusions, because there's not good baseline data on things like numbers of cyclists and miles traveled, so calculating a "rate" is difficult, if not impossible.

OTOH - mixing cars into the picture pretty much ensures that there'll be more energy involved and so whatever accidents occur will likely result in more severe injuries.

Like so much in life, "you pays your money, and you takes your chances".

asmac

Even saying "where do 'most of your accidents' happen" implies that we have lots of accidents. I ride on city streets, highways and MUPs and, other than slipping once on a slippery wet patch on the street with no injuries, have never had an accident while riding a bike (knock-on-wood!). So I think, based on my own experience, that the premise of your post is flawed -- as individuals we just don't have a lot of accidents. Of course, accidents can happen anywhere and can have serious consequences though, as others have said, being hit by a car is likely to be more damaging than falling on a bike path though not necessarily.

IMHO, you just ride where you need to ride to get where you're going and, if it's possible, all things being equal, you are probably better off riding where there is less car traffic. It seems obvious.

Marcus_Ti

All of my accidents have been on MUTs where driveways intersect the MUT, and airheads speed into the crosswalk without looking for traffic in the crosswalk.

keyven

Never quite thought of it that way, but I agree it's a pretty important distinction to make.

A drunk driver will fall back on the word "accident", which hints that it was a matter of bad luck rather than the fact that he was blind stinkin' drunk at the moment of impact.

It's a socially accepted way of deflecting or minimizing blame, that somehow Fate and/or Luck contributed to the accident and it's implied he's less than 100% liable when he chose to drive home impaired.

In other words, he would have been fine if that tree hadn't jumped into his path.

GravelMN

I think it is important to consider not only the total number of "accidents" but the type and severity. There are lots of minor bumps and DFOs on MUPs and similar routes, but IME the most severe accidents (resulting in in-patient hospitalization, surgery, extended recovery, disability or death) in our area happen on rural highways near larger cities. Second most common would probably be in city traffic, but luckily, you rarely hear of serious injury or death of a cyclist inside of city limits.

When you add MTB, Cyclocross, etc. how do you even define an "accident"? Occasional crashes are just part of the game and you sometimes get banged up. I suppose you could try to weed out atypical accidents that result in serious injury or death. (don't see much of that either, thankfully, just bruises, scrapes and the odd broken wrist or collarbone.

B. Carfree

Bike paths generally require constant attentiveness to avoid getting dinged by either someone who is momentarily spacing out or just due to poor maintenance, design and/or engineering. A low traffic county road really only requires a rider to be focused when actual traffic is present, which is only a small fraction of the time. As such, I endure the few miles of bike path that get me near the edge of town and then enjoy the rest of the ride much more.

And in case no one has mentioned it, crashes involving bikes and cars are pretty rare and those that result in death are even more so. I think the best estimates are that it will take an average rider several million miles to have good odds of being killed, and at least some of those are drunk ninja salmon. Sure, someone wins the lottery, but it's not like it's something to plan on. Be visible (Dinotte super-bright rear lights wake the dead, or at least the brain dead), listen, look and have an escape route in mind in case things go south, but don't be surprised if you never have to ride into the ditch.