Upside-down thinking
 

Strange.

Here in the U.S., there are over 40,000 deaths from automobile accidents every year. Car crashes are the #1 cause of death among our teenagers. Many, many others are injured, maimed or crippled for life while using a car for transportation.

But...

Suggest riding a bicycle to anyone, and the first thing they say is, "Isn't that dangerous?"

Hi, totally agree with you LBM! It's been awhile, since I posted but I'm out sick, so what to do, ya know?

However, I wanted to let the folks know that my son was hit by a car a few weeks ago, and we were extremely lucky that he wasn't killed, or wound up in critical conidition. He was in front of our house, and the driver was going the speed limit, must've seen him, but was too late and hit the brakes--hit the rear end of his bike. My son had lots of narly road scrapes, but that was all. He was WEARING his HELMET! My doctor told us the next day, if he hadn't worn his helmet, he would've had some major problems, or worse!

So, all I'm saying is, please make sure your kids, nieces, or nephews, or anyone that you know wears their helmet . I'm glad my son listened to me about wearing his helmet.

Even with this accident, I still think he should ride his bike (although my parents keep telling me that he shouldn't)--once he gets a new one of course. (The frame is bent and the rear wheel is shot.) I'm a bit scared to let him out of my sight, but I know that he'll be okay. We shouldn't live in fear of something that MIGHT happen, and delude ourselves that we can't get into an accident if we DON'T ride our bikes.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Returning you to your previously scheduled program now in progress. ;)

Peace!

Wow, Sussette...I'm so glad he's ok!

WHAT A RELIEF!

(And it's good to hear from you, too!)

Why does this subject always remind me of this old, bad joke:

"You're not getting me on one of those airplanes--they're unsafe! I'll take the train."

"But trains aren't any safer. Just last week, there was a passenger train wrecked. Over a hundred people were killed."

"Oh my god--what happened?"

"A plane fell on it."

Biking is much safer than driving a car, until you become part of one of those many car accidents....

Exactly, Inkwolf.

Still, driving is the big killer in the U.S., not bicycling.

Travelling along at 75 mph. in a flimsey tin can is no protection. The internal organs of a human being can be crushed against the rib cage just from sudden impact.

I'd rather get road rash by falling off my bike at 10 - 20 mph.

I had three people from my high school graduating class die in car accidents, out of a total of 300. That's 1%. And those occured in a period of around three years. So does that mean that if humans had a life span of 300 years we would all eventually die in a car wreck? Also, two of those were in my homeroom. Ironically one of them was the daughter of the woman my father-in-law is engaged to.

So what makes you more nervous: riding a bike at 30 mph, or driving a car in heavy traffic at 70? I have nerves of steel on a bike, but on the freeway it's all I can do to not pull over and refuse to go on. Being passed by SUVs going 80 while a semi rides ten feet off my tail is too much for my senses. It's all a matter of what you get used to, and frankly I'm glad I can't get used to hurtling along at breakneck speed in a car. If you wreck at those speeds you and your car are destroyed. Conversely, in a bike wreck it's usually just a minor injury or at most a broken bone. Unless of course cars are involved.

Clay

Amen. I used to have a home/work commute that included a 4km freeway bridge over a wide river, this bridge also has a bike path.
In windy, rainy, poor visibility weather driving a car over this bridge, with both ends having multiple short-notice merges and ramps, has got to be much more dangerous than cycling over it.