Advocacy & Safety - Anyone Else scared to ride after reading these threads?

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?

I always ride "paranoid", in other words, I always assess the situation, assume that cars are trying to kill me and always have a plan so that I can escape the worst.

I always ride with a heightened sense of awareness, but it is not fear. The death threads are a reminder and become a mental exercise of how to avoid a collision.

Everything you do involves some level of risk; the major things are what are the risks, what you can do to lessen those risks, and what level of risk is acceptable/unacceptable to you. Having said that, I took a Motorcycle Safety class prior to and then the Advanced Riders course after I bought my motorcycle. Best thing ever. A lot of what I learned there applies to bicycling. The SIPDE process (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIPDE_Process) is really the best defense you have.

Having spnet some time where terrorists, snipers, and Scud missles are always a possibility, I have applied the lessons learned to my riding. Constantly look for threats and plan for evasion. Of course driving on the capital beltway from time to time helps, but bottom line is that if you are aware of your surroundings and always preparing to react to how they may change, your chances of survival without injury increase dramatically.

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?

My advice: Fuggedaboutit.

Ignore the whining of posters who troll the Internet constantly for bicycling mishaps and incidents and then report their treasure on this forum. If someone is bent along the line of vicarious identification with every victim of an accident or incident he/she can find bad news about ANY activity happening somewhere.

My guess is their idea of advocacy is to whine on this forum about accidents and meanies in Timbuktu et al. in order to commiserate with a community made up of similar "oppressed victims."

haha actually yes.

However my friend dragged me on a ride, and I realized it's nothing like this forums portray, so I had fun, fear is gone, however I'm too much of a wuss to ride in the rain so I've been off my bike. :(

Pffft....get drunk, wrongway ride with a lightning rod in a storm while juggling blindfolded. Just take care of you and your ride, don't fret one iota about what gets posted here.

It's all "forum fever" so I ignore most of the scaremongering.

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?"

Someday it will be you. If not cycling then something else, but eventually you're going to bite it.

There.. Does that make you feel better?

Having spnet some time where terrorists, snipers, and Scud missles are always a possibility, I have applied the lessons learned to my riding. Constantly look for threats and plan for evasion. Of course driving on the capital beltway from time to time helps, but bottom line is that if you are aware of your surroundings and always preparing to react to how they may change, your chances of survival without injury increase dramatically.

Though my attitude toward risk is derived from a different war than yours, I agree with your approach. Ands, thanks for serving.

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?

Nope it's not just you. I've been riding for awhile now and often wonder what it is that i am doing out there on the bike. All of the accident stories and pics don't help either but it's been that way as long as i've been on these forums.

It just shows what can happen. Still i think cycling has a lot of upside and isn't ultimately fatal. I think that life is short and I hate to give up something i love because of fear.

Ive been commuting for years in three different states and Im terrified as of late.
I think what Im scared of is human nature here in S. Florida. People are
so angry and aggressive it is keeping me in a constant state of paranoia.
Anything prompts the Darwinian rejects down here to violenty act out.
Its almost funny when a blue haired fleabag in a Caddy honks and gives you the finger
for not stopping for her right hook or left turn across a divided hiway, but its definately
not funny when an angry redneck tries to run you off the road for the same stuff.
Just a daily commute here in Waste Palm.

Ive been commuting for years in three different states and Im terrified as of late.
I think what Im scared of is human nature here in S. Florida. People are
so angry and aggressive it is keeping me in a constant state of paranoia.
Anything prompts the Darwinian rejects down here to violenty act out.
Its almost funny when a blue haired fleabag in a Caddy honks and gives you the finger
for not stopping for her right hook or left turn across a divided hiway, but its definately
not funny when an angry redneck tries to run you off the road for the same stuff.
Just a daily commute here in Waste Palm.

Sounds like something in the water. :rolleyes:

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?

it depresses me that there are people out there who have no sense of context or understanding of how and why things happen. That critical thinking seems to be severly lacking in the posts. And then to think that these people are "advocates" depresses me more.

After going over the "helmets cramp my style" thread recently, it gives me incentive to throw away the helmet simply on the grounds of the poor arguments from those who insist the helmet should be a priority.

The fear spouted by these posters show a level of understanding that indicates a reasonable thing to do would be the opposite of what they post.

It doesn't seem like "fear posting" to me and it doesn't depress me. If reading the crash stories makes you depressed, just keep things in perspective; for every wreck there are thousands of uneventful rides.

I consider accident accounts as a chance to learn how wrecks happen, and how best to avoid them. Knowledge is power. If you hide your head in the sand and avoid all crash posts, there is nothing to be learned. Many members who post here have a LOT of experience riding in traffic. We should be able to learn from them.

It doesn't seem like "fear posting" to me and it doesn't depress me. If reading the crash stories makes you depressed, just keep things in perspective; for every wreck there are thousands of uneventful rides.

I consider accident accounts as a chance to learn how wrecks happen, and how best to avoid them. Knowledge is power. If you hide your head in the sand and avoid all crash posts, there is nothing to be learned. Many members who post here have a LOT of experience riding in traffic. We should be able to learn from them.

Well, what have YOU "learned" from the fear mongering posts about accidents/incidents that happened somewhere at sometime? Or from the following ever predictable agenda driven speculation about the "cause" of the accident from the resident self appointed experts of BF?

Riding has some risks which I gladly accept and usually minimize though smart riding. I also drive cars, enjoy rare red meat, and even listen to the odd political discussion. Riding is likely one of my more sane choices.

I grew up before seat belt laws in the greater Los Angeles area. More than half the folks smoked, and even smoked indoors! Frankly, it's a wonder any of us are alive to tell the tale!

Human beings have a difficult time assessing risk when the likelihood of an event becomes rare. The dangers of traffic are in this category.

You can do a lot to make that small risk even smaller. Don't ride on the sidewalk, against traffic, or at night without lights for example. If you approach these forums as a primer to avoid common mistakes, you can get a lot of good from them.

Remember, these forums are visited by folks from every English speaking nation, and some that use English as a second language. (Like from Texas.) That is a wide area to draw from. Most cities have less than one bicycle fatality a year!

Take a deep breath, put it in perspective, and enjoy your ride!

Well, what have YOU "learned" from the fear mongering posts about accidents/incidents that happened somewhere at sometime? Or from the following ever predictable agenda driven speculation about the "cause" of the accident from the resident self appointed experts of BF?

LOL, I anticipated you would ask this question, and almost included an answer in my last post.

What I've learned depends on the situation of the crash. If I listed everything it would take me all night. If I listed one or two things you would discount them as trivial because they are things you probably take for granted, since you've learned them through many years and miles of experience. It's the riders like yourself, with such extensive experience, that can teach others the most in "crash" threads. but for some reason you usually prefer to ridicule others, rather than offer your guidance. Why do you find it so hard to believe that people can learn from the experiences (and follow up discussions) of others?

LOL, I anticipated you would ask this question, and almost included an answer in my last post.

[SNIP]Why do you find it so hard to believe that people can learn from the experiences (and follow up discussions) of others?
You haven't answered the question (What have you learned?) in this post either.

Maybe because these fear mongering posts on BF of the product of Google trolls for mayhem and misconduct offer no knowledge gained from experience and the following discussions (i.e. political and agenda driven rants and speculation) are the opposite of useful to anyone whether experienced or not. Especially useless are the "where was the bike lane," or "where was the helmet", or "I bet there was a cell phone involved" nattering; doubly dubious are the after the fact, Monday Morning Quarterbacking solutions offered up by the always-in-the-right-place-to-avoid-accidents experts- "here's what I would have done in that situation and avoided that accident."

Yes I consider experienced advice such as use lights at night, don't ride into intersections with your eyes closed, be careful, etc., quite trivial. If you find that kind of banal advice useful, good for you. I think it is stale after the first grade.

Life is filled with risks, and life is not fair. A person could give up cycling, and elect to drive everywhere, only to then die from a large rock thrown from an overpass onto the freeway traffic below, or succumb to an illness aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle. Better to say "life is a challenge" than to say "life sucks."

If I ever get any scared thoughts, it's definitely not from bicycling, my bicycling experiences were pretty tame compared some of the other things I did in my youth, and I count my good fortune to be able to have lived to the age I am now.

Those posts just remind me how lucky I am to ride in a city where the motorists are aware of cyclists, but I still try to keep myself aware of the motorists. There are plenty of agressive motorists but I only notice them when I am driving.

After reading these threads of so many accidents, it makes me scared to make my daily commute. The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?
What if you read just as many threads about people that lived great, healthy lives due to bicycling? Would that make you wonder, "what if it was me who benefited from that healthy lifestyle?"

My positive commuting memories are so plentiful that I think of those whenever I ride home. I love my bike.

:)

Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads?

Depressed? Yes. Angry? Yes. Scared? H3ll no!

After reading these threads of so many accidents, ...

Because it's boring to post threads that say, "Well, I had another uneventful ride to work today. Looking forward to another similar ride back home."

:D

"No news is good news," as they say.

You haven't answered the question (What have you learned?) in this post either.

Maybe because these fear mongering posts on BF of the product of Google trolls for mayhem and misconduct offer no knowledge gained from experience and the following discussions (i.e. political and agenda driven rants and speculation) are the opposite of useful to anyone whether experienced or not. Especially useless are the "where was the bike lane," or "where was the helmet", or "I bet there was a cell phone involved" nattering; doubly dubious are the after the fact, Monday Morning Quarterbacking solutions offered up by the always-in-the-right-place-to-avoid-accidents experts- "here's what I would have done in that situation and avoided that accident."

Yes I consider experienced advice such as use lights at night, don't ride into intersections with your eyes closed, be careful, etc., quite trivial. If you find that kind of banal advice useful, good for you. I think it is stale after the first grade.

Thanks for your honest insight. I like reading the crash posts because I learn how to avoid a similar fate. Others like to read them to tell the posters they are all weenies. Education and entertainment, it's all good. :)

if you think the forums are scary,

try searching google news woa!

Wear a mirror prepare for battle.

our pedacyclist traffic is around 96 percent. even gas scooters/segways
I see people with helmets, vests, lycra, I guess take the sidewalk if you need to, even though that bike lane looks ok.

I always love getting dropped by a pedacyclist.

Anyone else feel depressed after reading these threads?

Never because of the content. Just the fact that I am hanging out here at all sometimes makes me wonder if I should be depressed.

The statistics show that deaths are infrequent, but it always comes up in my head "what if it was me?" Anyone else feel depressed after reading these treads? or am i just selfish for my own life?

Well, after being run over by a motorist, shot by passengers and grabbed by passengers, not to mention various beer bottles that have sailed close by me and the coke that bounced off my helmet, having my bike stolen from under me by two gangs, being attacked by another cyclist who intentionally ran over my front wheel with his back wheel; I am still riding. So no, the statistics don't phase me. :D

I think what Im scared of is human nature here in S. Florida.

I grew up riding in Florida, that must be why nothing scares me. I was on the Tamiami Trail by age 7. St. Petersburg at age 10 made me aware of the frailty of all drivers.

I don't ride paranoid or as if everyone is out to get me. It's too stressful. I ride carefully and I pick the safest routes I can. In the end all I can do is pedal my bike and enjoy it and be proud of the difference it makes.

Remember forums regardless of subject (cars, bikes, politics) always tend to dwell on the worst cases. Those cases are not representative of the subject as a whole. Remember tens of thousands of ppl bike commute every day without event. Imagine how boring that forum would be. It's still saddening to read the specifics of a fatality or details of a bike rider's life that is now extinguished, though. Being constantly reminded of what can happen just keeps me honest/out of denial that it might not happen to me someday.

If I ever do get to feeling fear for my life, I just hit the dirt trails where motorized vehicles are not allowed. :D

No.

I'll tell you what scared me. It was when I was standing in the visitors' lounge listening to the cardiologist describe my dad's quadruple bypass after his massive heart attack. My dad was 54, I was 27, nearly exactly half his age. He was in that situation due to genetics, a sedentary stressful job, lack of exercise, too much alcohol, too much nicotine, and too much fatty food.

I couldn't do anything about the genetics, and I'd followed my dad into the same profesion, but I could do something about the other factors. Riding a bike is a big part of that.

Far more people are killed by preventable health factors than traffic. I like my chances on the street better than on the couch.

Meh, every once in awhile it'll phase me, but one ride will sort that out.

Maybe we should start posting every time there's an auto accident.... no, on second thought that would probably crash the server. When are they going to ban those death traps?

... Maybe we should start posting every time there's an auto accident....

I do this at work every day.

There's a big TV in the lunch room and it's always on and it's always full. Pretty much every day there's coverage of some horrific collision and I always say,

"Again? See what happens when you drive those death traps? When is everybody gonna get smart and start riding bikes?"

With a smile on my face of course.

After going over the "helmets cramp my style" thread recently, it gives me incentive to throw away the helmet simply on the grounds of the poor arguments from those who insist the helmet should be a priority.

whoever originated the e-mail with pictures of a motorcyclist colliding with a semi with his head stuck inside the back of the truck, claim that he survived the collision (i'll believe it only if i see a reputable source evidence it though).