A NHTSA and BTS report (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/810971.pdf).

EDIT: This is a PDF document.

Wow, the definition of "cyclist" was someone that rode once in 30 days... yet 28% reported no access to a bike. The average number of days riding per month was 5. 29% of the trips were for leisure, with only 5% for commuting. And 24% ride facing traffic...

is it any wonder this is not considered a "cycling nation?"

And the number of cyclists that felt threatened by cars was 88% Seems low to me.

1/4 MILLION a year hit by motorists!

Makes sense to limit the number of motorist/bicycle interactions if possible. Probably the main reason why I often run red lights - so I can ride in the car-free gaps created by traffic signals.

I can usually make my 20 minute commute with less than 10 cars passing me riding fast and furious. Stopping for each red light would raise that number to over 100 cars on some days and 500 on other days.

I am assuming that less cars passing me = less chance of being wacked. Red light running may not be aesthetically pleasing to some, but experience, and statistics, tell me that it can be safer that obeying the law to the letter.

Be nice if they could break down the car/bike incidents to how/why the cyclist got hit. Lots of contraflow accidents for sure as well as right hooks. No lights at night would be a significant number I bet. I wonder how many cars just passed too close and made contact?

A NHTSA and BTS report (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/810971.pdf).

Thanks for the posting and link.

1/4 MILLION a year hit by motorists!

Makes sense to limit the number of motorist/bicycle interactions if possible. Probably the main reason why I often run red lights - so I can ride in the car-free gaps created by traffic signals.




Despite the hammering you get here for some of your beliefs, you are not the only one.
Kentucky advocacy groups say the same thing and provide compelling
statistics to prove their point. Before the obligatory hillbilly jokes,
Louisville's one of the most forward thinking bike cities in the country.

1/4 MILLION a year hit by motorists!

Makes sense to limit the number of motorist/bicycle interactions if possible. Probably the main reason why I often run red lights - so I can ride in the car-free gaps created by traffic signals.


Precisely why I ride on the MUP to campus instead of on the road. When closer to campus, I ride on a mixture of road and sidewalk. When riding to the grocery store, the first half is typically on the road, while the second half is completely on the sidewalk. The fewer cars around me, the better.

Precisely why I ride on the MUP to campus instead of on the road. When closer to campus, I ride on a mixture of road and sidewalk. When riding to the grocery store, the first half is typically on the road, while the second half is completely on the sidewalk. The fewer cars around me, the better.

You might be surprised how few members of BF have MUPs that go anywhere near the right direction for utilitarian usage. Your sidewalk comment will draw some fire, but even though I would tell you to stay off the sidewalks in New Orleans, I would not blink an eye if you rode them in the bordering community of Metairie next to major roads. NO ONE walks on the sidewalks in Metairie more than a block from bus stop to destination. So the sidewalk is just there - empty. Why not use it to bypass some high speed traffic operated by clueless drivers on tight lanes? Just be careful at the cross streets.

On page one it says this:

"These results were then weighted to reflect the national population of 208 million non-
institutionalized people 16 or older residing in the United States."

Does this mean that there are 208 million people in the US who are both not in prison and over 16? I think the report should have explained this better.

You might be surprised how few members of BF have MUPs that go anywhere near the right direction for utilitarian usage. Your sidewalk comment will draw some fire, but even though I would tell you to stay off the sidewalks in New Orleans, I would not blink an eye if you rode them in the bordering community of Metairie next to major roads. NO ONE walks on the sidewalks in Metairie more than a block from bus stop to destination. So the sidewalk is just there - empty. Why not use it to bypass some high speed traffic operated by clueless drivers on tight lanes? Just be careful at the cross streets.

Yup. I don't care about the sidewalk fundamentalists here. I ride where I feel I get the best mixture of safety and speed. Sometimes that's the sidewalk, sometimes that's the road, sometimes that's the MUP. What others do is up to them, AFAIC.

I ride where I feel I get the best mixture of safety and speed.

Perfect. Sound like a great sig-line.

If only the Powers-to-be were awake to such things instead of making silly laws that puts cyclists in more danger than necessary. "NO NO...you must ride in traffic and stop at the lights so every single knucklehead texting behind the wheel can have a fair shot at you!"

will you add (PDF) next to the link - clicking it just made my browser freeze-up for a few minutes while it downloaded because I didn't know it was a file and not a web page... you wanna tell people it's a PDF so we can d'load directly instead of freezing up our machines.

thanks for the link

On page one it says this:

"These results were then weighted to reflect the national population of 208 million non-
institutionalized people 16 or older residing in the United States."

Does this mean that there are 208 million people in the US who are both not in prison and over 16? I think the report should have explained this better.

That is what it sounds like to me. Essentially, just think about who they could have sampled easily that is relevant to policy makers. Presumably, no one is cycling in prison.

I have to take this report with a major grain of salt, the survey was done in 2002, 6 years ago a lot has changed since then.

Probably the main reason why I often run red lights...

Is there no thread where you can't bring up red light running? :rolleyes:


I am assuming that less cars passing me = less chance of being wacked.

Only if you can't hold your line.

I can usually make my 20 minute commute with less than 10 cars passing me riding fast and furious. Stopping for each red light would raise that number to over 100 cars on some days and 500 on other days.

I could accept that running the red cuts down on the number of passes, but I find that spread hard to believe. How many traffic lights do you have? Are they all very close together the entire way?

(No, I haven't watched your videos, which I realize might give me these answers.)

Only if you can't hold your line.

Allister, I know you well enough by now to know you are just having fun with me!

No doubt in my mind, if a drunk runs me over from behind, he is going to say....."Dat biker musta SWERVED"

Oh....almost forgot....RUN THE DANGED LIGHTS! :lol:

I could accept that running the red cuts down on the number of passes, but I find that spread hard to believe. How many traffic lights do you have? Are they all very close together the entire way?

Depends on my route.

My old route ran the entire length of St. Charles Ave from Carrollton to Canal Street. It passes two universities and a large hospital/medical complex, a large park, as well as being a major commuter artery for many drivers. The run is about 5 miles of reasonable traffic. Running the lights one busy day I had Zero cars pass me and I lost count at near 250 that I passed. Not that 250 would have all passed me otherwise, but in the course of the commute I was either passing totally stopped cars in traffic, or riding in "dead zones" created by the signals i.e., no cars at all. The speed limit is 25-35. I can hold 23 for a long time barring headwinds.

Traffic signals on this route are about 5 blocks apart. No traffic lights in New Orleans are timed - it's all random mayhem designed by a sadist or a motorist hater. Drivers have good reason to be pizzed off most of the time, so I try to avoid pizzing them off even more by slowing them down further.

I am quite polite by nature!