Advocacy & Safety - How does your state rank in the danger zone?

I'm livid. I get so tired of the media refering to peds on wheels as bicyclists or cyclists. It really shouldn't matter, but in FL a bike is seen as a kid's toy, or something that a homeless person or someone with too many DUI's uses to get around on.

That being said, here (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-05-10/story/florida_the_most_dangerous_state_for_bicyclists?page=1) is a link to a poorly written article about cycling in NEFL.

And of course the hostility towards cyclists is unavoidable and explains much of the cause of the dangers we face here.

Just an example.

Oh boy, the new side mirrors for my truck have arrived!
Submitted by Mini Me on Mon. 5/11/2009 at 1:29 pm
Extra wide view. 1" galvanized steel frames. And best of all, a cattle horn mounted on and pointed outward on each side! I'm going on SKELETON PATROL!
His other post about horns covered in hemroids and bloody bits of spandex got pulled.

Here (http://jacksonville.com/community/mandarin_sun/2009-05-09/story/mandarin_athletic_association_mom_gone_but_not_forgotten_aft) is a memorium for a woman killed in a bike lane.
And the most damaging qoute,
Police said Mrs. Rettinger and a co-worker from the Baker Distributing Co. were pedaling east in the bicycle lanes when a driver pulled into and then out of a turn lane nearby and hit one cyclist's back tire. Both women fell and Mrs. Rettinger was hit by a second vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car has not been charged, police said.

I don't know that I have a point, but I do know that I'm pissed and shouldn't have to take this anymore.

It will never change. I cant speak for N. Florida, but South is the meanest, shadiest
most undesirable place I have ever had the displeasure of living(?). I dont know
what it is or related psychological stuff that might go long with CHOOSING to locate
in an area like this, but angry, ME ME ME malldriod lumpers love it here. My parole
from this soulcrushing hell is coming soon and Im counting the minutes ! :)

Yes, Fort Myers/Naples was horrid as well. Bad enough that I think I road twice in the four years that I lived there. Where are you?

Yes, Fort Myers/Naples was horrid as well. Bad enough that I think I road twice in the four years that I lived there. Where are you?

Im in Juno, which actually, despite my lunatic ravings, is a real nice place.
But, Juno's only about 1 mile square. As soon as you hit North/West Palm,
it gets real ugly. I commuted from Juno into Riviera for almost two years
and had some real bad stuff happen, everything from getting chased by
some crazy wacko, to the usual redneck rage, right hooks, long-beeps etc...
I also learned that using hand signals in the 'hood can have some very
undesirable results, too.....its crazy down here.

Check out this CRAIGSLIST posting:

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/rnr/1165641569.html

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/rnr/1165656673.html

This crap appears regularly. Someone takes time out of their life to do this.
Welcome to Florida :thumb:

According to our newspaper we've got a serious problem. 8 deaths in 12 years with population around 285k.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/773155.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=6838390#Comments_Container


Safety is a serious problem: Anchorage had 1,827 bicycle-vehicle crashes from 1994 to 2006, eight of them fatal, according to state records.

"That's too many," Schanche said.

Local roads and intersections where the crashes occurred are identified in the plan as priorities for spending money to improve safety.

I commute about 195+ days per year here in the Cape Coral, Ft Myers area. I cross Veteran's Bridge twice a day.....11.3 mile commute each way. I travel thru 3 of the "worst intersections" in Lee county each day.....15,000 miles + since Jan. '06 when I started keeping track.

Having mentioned that, I just don't have a problem, here. I rarely get honked at and 99% of the drivers I see are courteous. There is the occasional inattentive driver, but then if I were driving, the same inattentive driver would be a problem then too.

However, whenever I drive over to the East Coast cities for business reasons, I am constantly running into aggressive road rage situations. Having commuted in LA for many years, I am used to that type of irresponsible driving. I would not live in that environment, and that was one of the many reasons I got out of LA. The Miami environment is no different than LA, you could not pay me enough to live over there.

I don't know...My short commute in my little suburb near Boston is very pleasant. I occasionally have situations where drivers don't see me or aren't paying attention, so I ride with the idea that everyone driving a car is trying kill me. The biggest problem I have is that people are too nice. They always are waving me through intersections, which only creates problems with drivers of other cars who might not see me. I try to follow most of the rules and wait my turn.

When I commuted in Boston, that was a different story entirely. Cabs were the worst as the cabbies have complete disregard for bikers and will hit you and drive off. I actually threw my bike at a cab once. Pedestrians were bad, too. They are always walking in front of bikes, not seeing or not caring. I nearly hit several. The cars and rude drivers I could tolerate betters since I understand their behavior and got good at anticipating when I was about to get cut off or run over.

I conclude from these two very different experiences that drivers in commute mode are mostly jerks. I was one of them, so I can relate to the irrational need to go just a little faster to make a light, or prevent a car from getting in front of me, to zoom up one lane and suddenly cut into another to make a turn, etc. When I drive in the city now, monthly maybe, I am way more laid back since I don't have to deal with the daily anxiety of being late to work or missing something at home.

Anyway, safe riding.

TS

Check out this CRAIGSLIST posting:

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/rnr/1165641569.html

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/rnr/1165656673.html

This crap appears regularly. Someone takes time out of their life to do this.
Welcome to Florida :thumb:

Whoa daddy! What is wrong with those people?

that is scary.....

I have to go with my one size fits all Florida comment "The farther south you go, the less brains it takes to live."

I have to go with my one size fits all Florida comment "The farther south you go, the less brains it takes to live."

Is that why I feel like I've been slowly slipping in to a coma down here...? :innocent: Actually, I'm not quite sure I'm really alive anymore...

Can't really speak to driver habits, but, imo, the worst roads are throughout the south east. In cities and larger towns it is all right, but, once you get away from highly populated areas, road shoulders disappear. They don't narrow. They aren't in disrepair. They just don't exist. A typical stretch of rural state or county road consists of a nicely paved lane which abruptly ends, usually dropping off into a 5 or 6 foot deep ditch. Taking the lane here is not an option, it is mandatory, unless your into some really tough single tracking through a ditch.

Can't really speak to driver habits, but, imo, the worst roads are throughout the south east. In cities and larger towns it is all right, but, once you get away from highly populated areas, road shoulders disappear. They don't narrow. They aren't in disrepair. They just don't exist. A typical stretch of rural state or county road consists of a nicely paved lane which abruptly ends, usually dropping off into a 5 or 6 foot deep ditch. Taking the lane here is not an option, it is mandatory, unless your into some really tough single tracking through a ditch.

You are looking at this all wrong, Yankee. Those are eight to ten foot bike lanes, that also serve motor vehicles on occasion. :thumb:

I have ridden extensively in FL., and found it to be a fine state to ride in. Mostly I have cycled in Miami, but all in all excellent. Very courteous, friendly drivers. So not sure where you are coming from? Maybe a grass is always greener type of thing.

I don't know where Michigan ranks in the danger zone, I have had no problems with motorists passing too close, right hooking...etc.
Interesting that in the past three weeks, there have been three cyclists hit by cars reported in the local news. All were on the sidewalk.

I don't know where Michigan ranks in the danger zone, I have had no problems with motorists passing too close, right hooking...etc.
Interesting that in the past three weeks, there have been three cyclists hit by cars reported in the local news. All were on the sidewalk.

Drivers in my area of Michigan are also incredibly courteous. Even the people in muscle cars that floor it to get around me at least wait until it's clear and then pass with plenty of room.

The south's not all bad. We've got a good sized bike community in Huntsville. Mostly a bunch of hippies.

I must say that in my part of the state (S. IL.) drivers have really been curtious. They have given me plenty of room and an occasional thumbs up once or twice.

Keep in mind however that I don't give them much to complain about.

I'm in the Tampa area. It's worse than N. Central Florida and better than S. Fla. I wouldn't even dare drive a car in Miami anymore. A lot of N. Fla. is rural and not so bad due to lower traffic density, if for no other reason. Here in Tampa, we have the ignorant redneck mentality of N. Florida mixed with the macho punks and traffic density of S. Florida. The worst of both worlds.

I only have one mandatory trip per day and it's only 3.5 miles each way with mostly 25-35mph. residential speed limits. For the last 4 months, there has not been one single time I have taken that round trip without being harassed in some way at least once, often twice. Not one single time, and that's no exaggeration. And I don't even wear lycra or hog the lane or impede traffic. I don't ride the sidewalks though, and that's all it takes to be harassed around here.

I'm in the Tampa area. It's worse than N. Central Florida and better than S. Fla. I wouldn't even dare drive a car in Miami anymore. A lot of N. Fla. is rural and not so bad due to lower traffic density, if for no other reason. Here in Tampa, we have the ignorant redneck mentality of N. Florida mixed with the macho punks and traffic density of S. Florida. The worst of both worlds.

.

It is amazing to me. I visit Miami once every couple months for 2 weeks at a time. I always take my bike because, for me, it is a wonderful place to ride. I ride mostly from the south beach area to the U. I may have been beeped at, but I have not had a problem there. I think maybe perception is reality. I perceive south florida as paradise so it is. You perceive south florida as purgatory and for you it is.

.......I think maybe perception is reality. I perceive south florida as paradise so it is. You perceive south florida as purgatory and for you it is.

No, I perceive S. Fla. as hell. Tampa is purgatory. Maybe it's all relative.
Where are you accustomed to riding that's so bad it makes S. Fla. seems like paradise? Watkins Glen? The rec. yard at Sing Sing perhaps?:D

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I just entered "Ft Myers" in the search box to see what was around. I've ridden around Ft Myers 16,000 miles in the last year and a half and have only had a few problems. When I first moved here it was a little worse but I've notice people being more alert to cyclists lately and for one reason as there are quite a few more being added to the traffic with each passing week. When I'm not in a hurry I do the sidewalk cruise so I can relax and settle my nerves but most of the roads are good enough to ride on for the commute. I find it funny though how some people freak out when they have to pass me, do they really think their Corolla is nine feet wide and also the ones that get to the four way stop before you but still insist you go first, heck I just dropped all my gears and I stopped and you were there first...so go already. Most of the time I will just sit there 'till they go to get my point accross but I've found the majority of folks have been very courteous and as long as I keep that eye contact thing going I've been staying alive.

I live in Central Florida. I have ridden quite a bit in this area. There are toxic drivers around here. I have run into toxic drivers everywhere. In Central Florida, a large part of the problem is the road system. The roads out in the country are relatively few so drivers and cyclists are forced onto the same areas. It leads to "conflicts". It is not as bad in a state with a really extensive rural road net like Michigan. In Michigan, cyclists can ride on roads that have very light traffic loads indeed.

As for North Florida, I have gone up and done the Florida Bicycle Safari for the last 8 years. It is held in Live Oak Florida and Cherry Lake Florida. The drivers in North Florida tend to be the most patient and courteous that I have ever seen.

But drivers can vary dramatically by neighborhood. There is a little area to the east of me just north of Lake Jesup. It is country. The drivers out there are very courteous. They have this little rural enclave and no one seems to be in a hurry and they do not seem to get upset by cyclists. But other areas nearby have the usual terminally impatient drivers.

It can be worse. I live in Bucharest (RO, Europe). The drivers don't see cyclist, they ignore them, they assume the cyclist can stop at any time and that it's not going too fast (or faster than his car at that moment).
I've been in New York and cycled on the streets of NY, it was great, the traffic is used to bikes on the road.

. . . I don't know that I have a point, but I do know that I'm pissed and shouldn't have to take this anymore.

Have you been sentenced to read to read garbage? If not, don't.

http://www.roflmachine.com/fun/bump.jpg

Anyone catch the datestamp on Pat's last post?

-Kurt

There is no end to the "such and such a place hates cyclists" mantra on boards like these. I've personally discredited them with my own experience (in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri, Kentucky,....ad nauseum,) that I don't even bother to listen anymore.

roughstuff

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-04-06/story/city-bristles-over-low-rank-bicycling

There is no end to the "such and such a place hates cyclists" mantra on boards like these. I've personally discredited them with my own experience (in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri, Kentucky,....ad nauseum,) that I don't even bother to listen anymore.

roughstuff

aren't you special!

:rolleyes:

:lol: