Fifty Plus (50+) - Bicycle Safety for 50+'rs, MUPS, the Street and the Like

Bicycle Safety for 50+'rs, MUPS, the Street and the Like

I am starting a new thread using info taken from the thread:

"Almost Killed this Morning."

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=6840888#post6840888


I know this won't be a popular reply, but I can't help making it. I don't ride on the street because my son was hit by a pickup while changing a tire.He had pulled off the freeway and backed up on the service road to be away from the exit, had his emergency flashers on. He took every precaution possible and some moron still failed to see him and hit him. He landed 90 feet down the road (one of the emt's paced it off). He suffered a fractured pelvis,8 broken ribs and internal bleeding. The chief of trauma at Baylor Medical Center said they don't get to treat many people with his injuries, as they usually bleed to death on the way to to the hospital. He recovered completely after 2 weeks in ICU 2 weeks in the hospital and 3weeks in physical therapy. I can't begin to describe the pain and suffering he went through, and what it put his wife and my wife and me through. Last week I saw a man on a bicycle going very slowly down the middle of a lane on a very busy 2 lane road during rush hour. I couldn't figure out why he was doing that, when there are 2 or 3 very nice paved bike trails within 3 or 4 miles of his location. I can promise you that no amount of "being in the right", "having the right of way", or "having as much right to the road as the cars and trucks", will seem important to you while you're laying on the pavement waiting for the ambulance, or for the next 2or3 months of you life, if you're one of the lucky few that get to experience them. Scratching or painting a car pales in comparison to what you are risking. I expect to be attacked savagely for voicing this opinion, but my conscience wouldn't let me stay quiet. I am not trying to say bicycle riders have less right to the road or don't deserve as much respect as everyone else. I am saying the human body doesn't stand a chance against 3 or 4 thousand pounds of steel going 40 or 50 miles an hour. OK I'm ready, let me have it... John




John44, you're not alone. My riding is generally a combination of
road, MUP, and ...get ready for it...here it comes...sidewalk. I pick and
choose based on how much I may be loving or hating life at the moment,
what type of road I'm on and what time of day it is. I pity the first cop to give me
a hard time about sidewalk riding considering all the tailgating and cell phoning (illegal
in NY) going on on our roads.


No need to John-You are absolutely right. The only way you can cater for the Morons of this world is to be prepared for them. In particular on the bike. Don't play with the traffic and if you have to - then keep your eyes and ears open and don't do anything to jeopardise your self. Makes no difference as there will be always be one you cannot cater for.
===============================================

Response by DnvrFox


John, I studied the situation quite carefully. I did a lot of internet research, got all the facts and figures I could, and here is the conclusion I reached.

1. There ARE more accidents on MUPS, but, almost always, they are not life threatening.

2. There are fewer accidents on the street, but they involve a HUGELY greater chance of life-killing, life-threatening or life changing injuries.

Since I have already had one son permanently paralyzed from the shoulders down from an injury, and another who was born profoundly developmentally disabled, and also fell and was paralyzed for several years, and a wife with some significant medical issues, I can not afford to subject myself to any undue risk. I'm a pretty essential guy around here, and I don't need to be laid up in the hospital or at home with a head or paralyzing injury.

We are blessed with wonderful MUPS that go for miles.

Of the 67 bicyclists killed in Colorado the past few years, only ONE was on a MUP, yet we have a huge number of bicyclists who regularly use, commute on and recreate on our 600 miles of MUPS.

A bicycle hitting a bicycle is simply nowhere near as potentially dangerous as a bicycle/car collision.

So, my conclusion, like yours, is stay off the streets as much as possible.

A few stats:
============================================

There are 85 million bicycle riders in the US.

770 bicyclists died on US roads in 2006, down just 14 from the year before. Over 90 percent died in crashes with motor vehicles.

The "typical" bicyclist killed on our roads is a sober male over 16 riding on a major road between intersections in an urban area on a summer evening when hit by a car.

About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
====================================

Don't misunderstand me. I am NOT proposing that bicycling is an inherently unsafe activity. It is not - in fact, it is relatively safe, compared with many other activities, especially for the traffic smart, defensive, well-trained bicyclists. In fact, bicycling is an excellent activity for overall health and has a good cost/benefit ratio. What I am proposing is that not riding on the street increases your margin of safety from serious or critical injuries and death.

No savage attacks here.

Few MUPs around here, and the worst crash I ever had was on one of them (my first and last ride on a MUP). I'm afraid of cars, so I ride on the road as safely as possible. It's that or staying home.

As with all things, there is a risk reward equation to be solved here.

Many people wont fly.
Many will not skydive.
Many will climb out of a race car demonstration ride screaming and never go back.

On the other hand, I generally will not ride my road bike on Holiday Weekends.
I do defer to large fast vehicles in what I consider dangerous locations rather than insist on my rights.
I have built a bike that allows me to get around town making use of off road routes as much as possible.

I will however ride in heavy traffic situations on the road where I feel that the bicycle lane is poorly designed.

The decision to road ride or not is a dynamic one, based on each riders preference, skill, life situation etc. I don't think that any of us can tell someone else that it is right or wrong. That decision comes from within.

1st road riding safety tip. Follow the rules. If you want respect from cars, ride like a car, and show respect to the others around you.

Do I have a death wish? I ride the streets of LA daily. Traffic wrangling helps keep my mind sharp.

One of the reasons I took up mountain biking many years ago was because there are NO cars. True there are other hazards- but Trees jumping out in front of you and seeing the odd "Wild" animal are things you can overcome. It also teaches you how to do the important things on bikes- like falling off and Avoiding punctures. We still had to do a few miles on the road though to get to the hills and those few miles were a problem. Besides the odd bit of road rage- which you can cope with when one of your group is 6'6" and built like the proverbial outside convenience- You can never cater for the idiots on the road with their 2 ton missiles.

Since going to a road bike- I have not had too many problems- I obey the rules- wear bright clothing and keep my ears and eyes open. Haven't had a serious incident yet- but there are quite a few Dented and scratched cars around after getting too close and disregarding me on my bike.

Only have a few Mups round here and to be honest- I try not to use them. Prefer the back lanes and roads that rarely have any traffic on them- but I have to admit that with the quietness of modern cars- I have just bought a mirror to fit on the handlebars. Might give me a better chance of surviving.

I do most of my cycling on the road, because I like to ride a bike to go somewhere, as opposed to going somewhere to ride a bike. I choose my routes carefully with an eye more toward safety than efficiency, and for recreational riding, I choose my travel times, as well. (I like weekend mornings, starting at daybreak.) My personal perception is that north coastal San Diego County is one of the best places in the world for bicycling, and I think having lots of bicyclists out on our streets helps immensely.

I personally prefer to ride on the road. I actually just like it better, but in addition:
1. I would have to drive a considerable distance to ride on a MUP.
2. I like to do long tours like my TA last summer. That requires riding on the road.
3. I like to ride fast and that doesn't work well among unconscious pedestrians or people on bikes riding at <10 mph.
4. I like hills and the MUPs around here are Rails to Trails, so pretty flat.

Depending on where you live, bike lanes and MUPs may be better and or more accessable. In some places they even have hills. On the TA we rode some awesome bike trails in Colorado between Frisco and Breckenridge.

I would agree that there is more risk of death on the road, but consider it an acceptable risk. I will admit that I am currently recovering from a car/bike accident though, so what do I know :)

There's no bike trail between my house and the coffee shop, or hardware store, or grocery store, etc, etc,etc..............................

I ride parts of the MUP, some parts have so many frost heaves and root damage I avoid them. When on the rode I ride in the early mornings or time my rides so that I stay away from the crazy commuters. You may remember the story of a commuter that wanted to take vengence on me because I could make time on the shoulder and he was stuck - this was last summer. I learned from that. The only three times I have crashed the road bike was on the MUP. The only time I broke bones was off roading on a MTB. Although I have almost been killed several times on the bike - all on the road - no crash involved but some pretty scared drivers - all my fault. Some places I have lived the roads were not bike friendly, no shoulders, blind turns. Here in Northern NY for the most part there are wide shoulders (guess the high taxes pay for that). I have mixed feelings about the MUP, I like being away from cars, I hate dodging pedestrians and barriers that are put there to prevent moderized vehicle traffic.

No MUPs here, and the ones I could get too are pretty weird. With one exception they don't go where I'm going, and none are set for anything but loafing.

So there's the road out my door and the roads it connects to. None of them urban.

I don't particularly like the risk of impact from a motor vehicle, but they're few in number and the really distracted have already crashed a bunch. The biggest danger seems to be from stupid passing, rather than inattention.

Doesn't seem any more dangerous than taking a kayak to work. I've got ski boats and PWCs to deal with then, not to mention tows of many hundreds of tons.

If we had real MUPs that went somewhere, I'd use them. But I don't. Most areas in the US probably don't. Cities have MUPS.

The rural rail trails in my area are extremely safe. Very low usage most of the time, a bit more on nice weekends. As I reported in a trip report last week, I recently made a 30 mile ride on a local rail trail, passed another rider at the 2 mile mark, and rode the last 28 miles without seeing another person on the trail. The biggest danger on this ride was if I had had a problem, it might have been hours before anyone found me.

That is atypical, usually I see an average of 1 person per mile. I love riding like this. No cars, no trucks, no ATVs, very quiet as most of the time the trails are well away from the roads. Lots of wildlife. And almost all of the people I encounter are friendly. I've stopped to chat with other riders several times over the past year.

It is also nice that these trails go through small towns, usually every 4-8 miles. They are following train tracks, which stopped in towns. So there are bathrooms, rest areas, and frequently restaurants every few miles.

Taking the trail from my house, it is 4 miles until you get to a tavern, 4 more miles to a small town with multiple restaurants and gas stations and a water fountain, 4 more miles until pass through a 1000' train tunnel, 5 miles to the next town, with a very nice bike depot w/restrooms & 3 more restaurants. From there you have three different trails heading out (not counting the one heading back home). Each one of these gets to another town within 6-7 miles, with two of them continuing for several more miles past the first town and passing through other towns.

All told there are currently 64 rail trails in Wisconsin, totaling 1259 miles. Another 42 are planned, which will add another 656 miles to the system - and which will connect several of the existing trails to form multiple 100+ mile networks.

There are no MUPs that go where I'm going.

We are really lucky.

From my house, out the door, I can take a MUP directly to church, the super market, numerous restaurants, McDonald's, Wendys, BK, Arby's, the town hall, parks, Home Depot, Lowes, the rec center, various strip malls, friends, etc. And I only cross a couple of streets in going to these places.

Here in Philly, we have a number of MUPs, none more popular that the ones on Kelly and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drives. These parallel the road, at times coming within three feet of the road, on which everyone thinks he's driving Le Mans or a Grand Prix, even though the posted limit is 35. The drives are very curvaceous, and can be quite slick in the rain.

Most, nearly all, cyclists ride on the MUPs. Big problem- they're used very heavily by pedestrians (think families with kids in strollers and on 16" bikes with training wheels and highly unpredictable behavior), as well as roller bladers in full sweep often going >15mph. And of course you have your full-kit weekend warriors on their $4K Pinarellos (no kidding) who wouldn't know a traffic law if it hit them on the head. Even so, those of us looking for a pleasant recovery ride by the river use the MUPs anyway.

I did, last Monday night, and was very nearly killed. I was riding on the MLK side MUP, and all of a sudden, I heard a loud crack and then a bang, and I saw a car fly by me at eye level on my left side. The car careened in front of me, off a low stone wall that stood between the MUP and the river, took out a few rocks from the wall, and then veered back onto the MLK Drive before hitting a light standard. The crack seems to have been the tree he took out- the break was about 5' up from the ground so he was in the air when he hit it.

I did a controlled crash as I saw the car go in front of me- if I hadn't, I would have been crushed against the wall. Just some road rash and a strained deltoid for me, but the driver was pretty out of it. Called 911 right away, and with seconds a host of drivers and cyclists stopped to check on us.

The moral? I don't know. If I had been in the road, I might have avoided all this, but maybe not- it's very hard to say. But in general, I avoid MUPs as much as possible (this is about the only one I ride except the lower trail in the Wissahickon, and that's only rarely). I feel much safer on the street, and I do vehicular riding.

BTW, just to underscore maddmaxx- show respect and get respect. I've seen this played out countless times on the road. If drivers see you obey the laws and pay attention, they are generally pretty good about giving back. With very, very, very few exceptions, drivers don't want to hurt you.

Street When I ride in the street, I'm a car. I obey all the
traffic control devises, stay on the right side of the road, make
left turns from the left lane...in other words I act in a predictable
manner. Share the road as a you would in a vehicle.

MUP When I ride on an MUP I ride at my pace only when
I have a clear line of vision and the path is empty, slowing for all
blind turns. The MUP's are for everyones recreational use, even
though they are marked as "Bike Paths" around here. I always slow
to a crawl when passing pedestrians both face to face and when
overtaking from behind. Following Dnvr's advise from past posts, I've
installed bells on my bikes and they definitly warn pedestrians of
my presence without startling them. (Apparently I don't have a very
soothing voice). Watch out for toddlers, begining cyclists of all
ages and leashed dogs. Share the path.

Sidewalk I don't belong there. It's the territory of pedestrians.
Whenever I escape to the safety of the sidewalk I yield to all pedestrians.
I also must remember that cars crossing my path aren't expecting me
to be there and most likely won't see me. Sidewalks aren't really
all that safe for riding on. I try to use them only as a temporary escape
from traffic that I'm not skillfull, or brave enough to ride in.
Yield the right of way to all.

ALWAYS I have started mounting mirrors to all of my bikes. I don't
know how I ever got by without them and I highly recomend them to everyone.
Be visible. It's not dorky to be seen, it's dorky to be laying out in the
road. I use flashers, headlights, and a high-vis safety vest, always.

I've only ever had two nasty crashes as an adult, (can't count high
enough to list the childhood crashes). One I could have avoided if I had a
mirror and was using it....the other was a case of miss-communication
with a riding partner as we approached a "T" intersection. I should have
said "Let's turn to the other right". :cry:

I've probably missed several points but I'm confident someone will fill
the gaps as there's a lot of experience on this forum.

Do MUPs show much frequency of bike-pedestrian collisions? I could see that being very bad for the pedestrian, potentially.

Plus bike-car collisions are captured in the NHTSA databases on crashes, the General Estimating System and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. NHTSA has even done some pretty comprehensive studies of the data, available with a Google search. However, non-road (i.e. not necessarily police-reported) crashes, such as on MUPs, would not be in there completely. Where did you find your MUP statistics, Denver?

Road Fan

We are really lucky.

From my house, out the door, I can take a MUP directly to church, the super market, numerous restaurants, McDonald's, Wendys, BK, Arby's, the town hall, parks, Home Depot, Lowes, the rec center, various strip malls, friends, etc. And I only cross a couple of streets in going to these places.

I used to live in SE Denver, near the High Line Canal - great route! We could take it out to Aurora, up to Cherry Creek, down to Chatfield reservoir, and I understand I could have come out to visit Dnver!

Road Fan

We are really lucky.

From my house, out the door, I can take a MUP directly to church, the super market, numerous restaurants, McDonald's, Wendys, BK, Arby's, the town hall, parks, Home Depot, Lowes, the rec center, various strip malls, friends, etc. And I only cross a couple of streets in going to these places.

Eating at McDonald's will kill you before a car does:D

Do MUPs show much frequency of bike-pedestrian collisions? I could see that being very bad for the pedestrian, potentially.

Plus bike-car collisions are captured in the NHTSA databases on crashes, the General Estimating System and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. NHTSA has even done some pretty comprehensive studies of the data, available with a Google search. However, non-road (i.e. not necessarily police-reported) crashes, such as on MUPs, would not be in there completely. Where did you find your MUP statistics, Denver?

Road Fan

This was several years ago, and yes, I did find MUP statistics and also, somewhere, a summary.

I researched until I was satisfied. But, right now, I couldn't tell you where and how. Only that I was OK with the conclusion I reached, and I don't want to do that research again!!

Eating at McDonald's will kill you before a car does:D

A side of eggs only and a low-fat yogurt parfait won't kill you. This is my standard McD's breakfast on my early morning rides.

$2.37, about 250 Kcalories, very little fat.

Sometimed I have a plain English Muffin, also.

A side of eggs only and a low-fat yogurt parfait won't kill you.

It won't kill you, it will only make you wish you were dead!

:lol:

I am with DnvFox and Tom B. on preference for MUP's or Rails to Trails as they are called in IL, WI, OH, MN.
Some one said that no MUP goes were he goes. I can see that. I use these trails for exercise and not to get from A to B. I use a car for that.

Biking on roads is unsafe in IL and specifically in this town. The roads are in terrible shape and no pretense is made that they are made for bikes. there are so few road bikers that cars have no clue what to do. Bikes means kids. Often on the wrong side of the road and never heard that there are rules of the road.

This is a much different environment then Madison, WI or San Francisco or Denver. Here bikes are used by people who really have no car.

Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County are trying to become more bike-friendly. A city law (policy?) requires all new road construction and reconstruction to allow for cycling lanes. These are edge strips roughly 4 feet wide with a solid white divider line (same as a road edge line), and a bike symbol painted periodically on the ground. Some of them use dotted lines to indicate the intent that cyclists should change to the next left lane, say in preparation for a right exit lane to an interstate-like road.

At first glance, these seem inconsequential. Nothing can or has stopped a vehicle driver from encroaching on that space, and in London, UK there have been many stories of cyclists killed while riding in the bike lane. A practical concern is that car tires don't sweep this area clean, so in principle road debris can build up, but we also have a pretty good street sweeping program, and Michigan pays for beer/soda bottle return - broken glass is minimal. However, cyclists seem to like them here. I think the main benefits are that the marking informs drivers of the zone they are expected to stay in and vice versa for cyclists, gives cyclists a standard for straight-line riding, and informs drivers that there is in fact an adequate lane to drive in.

These information elements are not inconsequential. On our nearby classic ride, Huron River Drive (a 35 mph twisty rural/suburban 2-lane) shoulders are meager when present. The lane width is pretty good, nearly 3.5 m (close to Interstate standards), and it should be clear to drivers that there is adequate space, around 6 feet! However, it doesn't click for many - I often find a driver tailing me until the opposing lane is clear, then a FULL lane change across a double-yellow line, with a nearby and startling horn blast, as if his lack of situational awareness is my fault! I think many drivers don't really have the skills to know how much space actually exists in a lane.

So with some reluctance (I'd really just like wider lanes with at least 2 feet of paved shoulder), I am becoming in favor of marked cycling lanes rather than separated MUPs. It keeps cyclists engaged with traffic and improves motorist engagement with cyclists, and clearly indicates where there is actually adequate space for co-transport.

This was several years ago, and yes, I did find MUP statistics and also, somewhere, a summary.

I researched until I was satisfied. But, right now, I couldn't tell you where and how. Only that I was OK with the conclusion I reached, and I don't want to do that research again!!

I'd sure like to see it if you can find it, on a personal as well as professional basis. As an engineer I'm very involved in the Intelligent Transportation Systems projects, and it's necessary to understand how road design and related choices affect safety and mobility (if adding space for bikes reduces the road capability to move cars and goods, it won't be implemented). I haven't seen much actual data on MUPs, taken with a comprehensive scope. Breadth is one of the great strengths of the NHTSA data.

Road Fan

I think many drivers don't really have the skills to know how much space actually exists in a lane.


:roflmao2:


8 hours training..........liscensed to kill.

Lack of mobility is IMO the key problem with MUPs. For recreation they can be ok when not crowded, but for transportation they have problems. One is routing - do they help me go where I need to? Another is throughput - do they allow me to travel in an efficient manner (speed, consistency, safety)? Another is access - can I get on/off where necessary for efficient commuting. Another is maintainance - when they are damaged by weather cycling or by flooding, will they be repaired? Will the repairs be of adequate quality?

None of these issues is unique, but they all combine to make it more difficult for me to go from point a to point b.

I'd sure like to see it if you can find it, on a personal as well as professional basis. As an engineer I'm very involved in the Intelligent Transportation Systems projects, and it's necessary to understand how road design and related choices affect safety and mobility (if adding space for bikes reduces the road capability to move cars and goods, it won't be implemented). I haven't seen much actual data on MUPs, taken with a comprehensive scope. Breadth is one of the great strengths of the NHTSA data.

Road Fan

I'd like to see MUP data as well- I'm an injury researcher and use NHTSA data (the FARS) all the time, but these are restricted to fatal crashes occurring on the highway (which MUPs are not). Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a non-fatal FARS equivalent for MUPs? There are other resources but nothing with the breadth and depth of FARS.

I find the MUPs around here quite useful during rush hour, as they bypass major intersections, theerby reducing travel times. The dog walkers, weavers, etc. only come out on weekends, so I never see them.

Paul

I'd like to see MUP data as well- I'm an injury researcher and use NHTSA data (the FARS) all the time, but these are restricted to fatal crashes occurring on the highway (which MUPs are not). Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a non-fatal FARS equivalent for MUPs? There are other resources but nothing with the breadth and depth of FARS.

The GES is about as broad and deep as FARS, but for crashes, not breaking out fatal crashes.

Road Fan

After well over a quarter million miles on bicycles/tandems we do not ride MUPs as we consider them unsafe for our type of riding.
Peds chatting, peds/cyclists with earphones, dogs on super-long leashes, families riding the wrong way cause 'it's safe', motorcyles (yup!), inline skaters (swinging arms/weaving), skateboards and all kinds of other hazards.
On the road we are part of traffic; works fine for us.
Been hit by inattentive/drunk drivers several times, each time they were ticketed. One had his license suspended for 90 days, the other lost his provisionary/restricted license. Have survived two hits from the rear @ +/- 45+ mph) and we're still out there pedaling.
Yes, folk can get killed while riding a bicycle, lots of more get killed stopping a bullet, in car/plane crashes etc. Is the answer stay home and watch TV? Insulate yourself from the world and die anyway?
While you folks are certainly entitled to your opinions and fears, we (at well-over 50) do what we like/want to do. You don't do nuthin' you die anyway.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

The GES is about as broad and deep as FARS, but for crashes, not breaking out fatal crashes.

Road Fan

Thanks- I've been focusing on mortality data linked to FARS, but the GES is a good option for non-fatals. Only thing is, it's a probability sample rather than a census. Not a major shortcoming, for sure- still very usable and informative.

Thanks- I've been focusing on mortality data linked to FARS, but the GES is a good option for non-fatals. Only thing is, it's a probability sample rather than a census. Not a major shortcoming, for sure- still very usable and informative.

Yes, it is called an estimating system. If you work thru the NHTSA literature, you can find estimates of the error, so at least you can make bounded assessments, i.e, you can bound the residuals. It claims to represent over 6 million events per year, so it's covering a much larger set of events than is FARS. I had a NHTSA guy once explain to me the process and the pitfalls - it's intricate, and it depends heavily on accurate human assessment of crash and precrash conditions.