Advocacy & Safety - Wasting our time

I think we're wasting our time worrying about bike safety in general. Did anyone see the news this morning? Three (3) runners died in the Detroit marathon Sunday. All three went down within 16 minutes of each other. Ages between 26 and 64 (I think). To hell with bike helmets and sewer grates set the wrong way, we have to get defibulators (sp?) positioned at every mile marker and a cardiac team present to use it. Or just ban this running/marathon craziness. This time it was adults, but next time it could be young people - think of the children!

From the standpoint of society you're right: Cycling safety is terribly unimportant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_preventable_causes_of_death

From the standpoint of getting people out of their cars that's not true. In fact, look at where motor vehicle collisions show up.

Wow look at MVAs for children on that list!

The problem is you can advocate safety all you want you are still gonna have people blowing lights and signs, riding around in the middle of the lane at 3 am opposing traffic, etc etc. I have a friend who I hate to ride with because he has no regard for traffic and blows through every intersection no matter what. How he isn't roadkill yet I'll never know.

Around here 8 out of 10 bike accidents are people who aren't "cyclists" like us but just people who picked up a wal mart bike to get around, and most of the accidents are late at night. You can advocate safety all you want, those people don't care, just need to get around, and you can't place safe things like bike paths everywhere.

I'm drunk!


Really? Cars suck. [wiki]


Bad cyclists suck.

posts edited for brevity

From the standpoint of society you're right: Cycling safety is terribly unimportant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_preventable_causes_of_death

From the standpoint of getting people out of their cars that's not true. In fact, look at where motor vehicle collisions show up.

Geez. From the table, a typical Saturday night at the local bar looks awfully dangerous

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Preventable_causes_of_death.png/400px-Preventable_causes_of_death.png

but really, doesn't cycling combat several of the leading causes of death?

If you're cycling, you're not in a car, you're being active, bringing down your blood pressure, lowering your cholesterol, managing your weight.

From the charts on accidental death, "other land transport accidents" barely register, yet deaths from falls of people over 55 is significant.

Maybe we should put helmets on seniors?

closetbiker: Here in Key West you can walk into any bar and find a fat chick* who is drunk, smoking, holding any number of illicit drugs in her considerable cleavage, incubating several particularly virulent strains of HIV and slowly succumbing to foaming gonorrhea. She'll have a gun in her purse and be leaving for the night in her car that has no headlights. But if she wears a helmet on her bike on the one day she's sober, well, she'll be OK on this forum.

*Insert fat guy here if it works better for you. Substitute plumber's crack for cleavage.

Substitute plumber's crack for cleavage.

No! Please! I'd rather have the cleavage. :D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Preventable_causes_of_death.png/400px-Preventable_causes_of_death.png

but really, doesn't cycling combat several of the leading causes of death?

That's my perspective. The couch (or bar, or trap of choice) is our biggest threat and cycling an excellent defense.

Around here 8 out of 10 bike accidents are people who aren't "cyclists" like us but just people who picked up a wal mart bike to get around, and most of the accidents are late at night. You can advocate safety all you want, those people don't care, just need to get around, and you can't place safe things like bike paths everywhere.

Those darned mere humans!

This time it was adults, but next time it could be young people - think of the children!

Yes! Think of the children!

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong@sbcglobal.net/childrenworldwide.png

closetbiker: Here in Key West you can walk into any bar and find a fat chick* who is drunk, smoking, holding any number of illicit drugs in her considerable cleavage, incubating several particularly virulent strains of HIV and slowly succumbing to foaming gonorrhea. She'll have a gun in her purse ....

Guns are not listed very high on that chart compared to the rest, not trying to change the topic but just fyi.

Guns are not listed very high on that chart compared to the rest, not trying to change the topic but just fyi.

Maybe because they are not one of the leading causes of death among children 'worldwide'?

I personally haven't had any motorist cut-me-off, or do anything I would call a "road rage incident" in like, the past seventeen years.

I think half the motorists who pull that crap are perverts and child molesters, looking for a teenage boy, until the kid on the bike turns out to be twenty-something, and breaks his teeth with a U-lock.

Nothing more needs to be said.

I personally haven't had any motorist cut-me-off, or do anything I would call a "road rage incident" in like, the past seventeen years.

I think half the motorists who pull that crap are perverts and child molesters, looking for a teenage boy, until the kid on the bike turns out to be twenty-something, and breaks his teeth with a U-lock.

Nothing more needs to be said.

I started this thread for grins. Now we're smashing child molesters with bike locks? Where have all the funny cowboys gone? (apologies to Paula Cole)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/Fredcat/Cats%2008/Cat-CatEatingFromDogFoodBowlPlehThe.jpg

hotbike: I just now noticed your checklist at the bottom of your posts. You getting ready to ride a bicycle or winding up a B-25 on a carrier with Jimmy Doolittle?

I started this thread for grins. Now we're smashing child molesters with bike locks? Where have all the funny cowboys gone? (apologies to Paula Cole)The thought brought a smile to my face.

From the standpoint of society you're right: Cycling safety is terribly unimportant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_preventable_causes_of_death

From the standpoint of getting people out of their cars that's not true. In fact, look at where motor vehicle collisions show up.

Looking at that list, we should simply ban the automobile, as too dangerous for people to use. Heck we should have banned the automobile as too dangerous to use in 1912.....

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Preventable_causes_of_death.png/400px-Preventable_causes_of_death.png

Why does the obesity bar "fade out"?

Why does the obesity bar "fade out"?

Cause it goes up and into the cloud layers. There's a lot of fat bastards wobbling around. The smoking bare is kept artificially solid so that you can see it against the clouds. Honest.

just put down the bottle, Grampaw

just put down the bottle, grampaw

lmao

Why does the obesity bar "fade out"?

Perhaps because the correlation between obesity and somnolence makes it more difficult to differentiate between really dead and just not moving?

Somnolence? I actually had to look that up. But once I did, I couldn't stop laughing.

No! Please! I'd rather have the cleavage. :D

On a fat guy? Ech.