Today's Factoid

[vrkelley]

Quote from State of Washington Department of Licensing:
>> Over 39,000 bicyclists are killed or injured in the United States every year. <<

I'm guessing that number is much larger than from drunk drivers. With all of that fancy reflectant, lights, bells and whistle, how is this possible?

[Bop Bop]

Simple, you can put all the bells, gongs, whistles and other safety devices on a bike. But it's still the bikers responsibility to use them and to be constantly on alert.

Cyclists, just like drivers are responsible for adhering to the rules of the road, ride courtesy, paying attention and using common sense.

[lsits]

Does this include all cycling injuries? On-road & off-road?

[vrkelley]

Does this include all cycling injuries? On-road & off-road?

ls
It doesn't say. But these must be the reported injuries rather than the skinned knees or car bumps.
That number seems way too high.

[RegularGuy]

Competing factoid:

The majority of persons killed or injured in traffic crashes were drivers (65 percent), followed by passengers (31 percent), pedestrians (3 percent), and pedalcyclists (2 percent). (Reference: 2000 Annual Report)

Source: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov

[John E]

I concur with RegularGuy, in the sense that I have read that about 45K people per year die on U.S. highways, including about 1000 bicyclists. It is hard to compare pedestrian and bicyclist death rates meaningfully, because there are alot more pedestrians out there, but they cover shorter average annual distances.

[DnvrFox]

According to SPN News, there are 45 million bicyclists in the US of A.

That means that

44,961,000 bicyclists did NOT have a death or reported injury last year!

[closetbiker]

Competing factoid:The majority of persons killed or injured in traffic crashes were drivers (65 percent), followed by passengers (31 percent), pedestrians (3 percent), and pedalcyclists (2 percent)Source: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov

It seems the injury rate falls in the same bounds as the usage rate.

People make mistakes no matter what they do and it should only be a concern if it can be clearly shown that an activity has injury rates at a consistantly higher rate than other activities.

There is very little conclusive data that shows responsible cycling has higher injury rates as responsible walking or driving.

There is much conclusive data that shows an individuals health, and the health of others benefits from regular cycling and, in the event of a cycling accident, injuries to cyclists and others are considerably less than the injuries suffered by drivers, passengers, and pedestrians in an automobile accident

[LittleBigMan]

Quote from State of Washington Department of Licensing:
>> Over 39,000 bicyclists are killed or injured in the United States every year. <<

I'm guessing that number is much larger than from drunk drivers. With all of that fancy reflectant, lights, bells and whistle, how is this possible?
I agree that this is an unacceptable number of cycling injuries/deaths. But I have to point out that only between 2 and 3 percent of those were fatalities.

But thanks, Vr, for your heartfelt concern for all of us.

[Chris L]

Injured is a very vague term. As related above, only a very small percentage of those are actual fatalities. I'd also like to know the cause of many of those crashes. All of my most "serious" crashes have been totally self-inflicted.

[catatonic]

WTH....we are talking about cycle related injuries and the ad=bot gave me "Sonoma County Bike Tours"....is this supposed to shine a good light on poor ol sonoma county?

...really though, the ad-bot cracks me up :D



edit: ---There it is again!!! It's a conspiramacy....Ad-Bot is baiting me for disaster!!!!!! :p --

[Pat]

The annual US cycling death numbers have been around 800 per year. Interestingly enough, a cyclist has half the risk of death per hour that a motorist has. If you factor out the nuts who drive at night without lights, the numbers drop to 1/4 the risk of the motorist. When you factor out the people on bicycles who get themselves killed by stupid stunts (as opposed to experienced cyclists), the risk is probably 1/10 of motorists and maybe lower. Forester examined injury rates in cyclists and found the more experienced the cyclist the lower the risk of injury. The injury rates among experienced cyclists who commuted were so low that Forester could not accurately measure them.

The problem is with the definition of "injury". It could include falling over in a parking lot and scraping your knee. Or it could be people reported by emergency rooms.

The problem with comparing injuries to motorists is motorists are sedantary. A better comparison is with other atheletic activities like basketball, running, hiking, rock climbing, swimming etc. Cycling is not the lowest sport as far as injuries go, but it compares favorably to most of them.

[closetbiker]

...and not only "injury" is a very vauge definition, but the number includes all cyclists, including children who lack the cognitive and motor skills to ride safely without proper guidence.

Is this statistic to be considered applicable to responsible, experienced adult cyclists?

[TeleJohn]

...With all of that fancy reflectant, lights, bells and whistle, how is this possible?

The minority of bikers have their bikes equipped this way. Most roadies I see have no reflect/lights other than a bright jersey or jacket. Most bikes and riders I see on my commute are of the "wrong way" variety on dept store bikes with stock or no reflectors.

[John E]

... When you factor out the people on bicycles who get themselves killed by stupid stunts (as opposed to experienced cyclists), the risk is probably 1/10 of motorists and maybe lower. Forester examined injury rates in cyclists and found the more experienced the cyclist the lower the risk of injury. The injury rates among experienced cyclists who commuted were so low that Forester could not accurately measure them. ...

I generally concur, but also note that Forester has admitted that cycling is more dangerous, per distance traveled, than motoring. We cannot smugly match the "cherry-picked" death rates of veteran lawful vehicular "effective" cyclists against those of motorists at large, including testosterone-loaded teenagers with overpowered sports cars or nonagenarians with tragically compromised senses and physical coordination. (One of the latter plowed into the side of my boss's Mercedes last week, scaring, but fortunately not seriously injuring, his infant granddaughter.) Since I drive a safer-than-average car (2001 VW Passat wagon) conservatively and defensively, my own risk of death or injury while motoring is much lower than average. Having said that, I also note that the health benefits of cycling outweigh the dangers sufficiently that I am still a believer, although a cautious one. Years ago, I remember reading a story about a Swedish gentleman with life-threatening job-related burns, includng severe damage to his lungs. His doctors attributed his remarkable, unexpectedly thorough, recovery to the fact that he bicycled to about 9 miles/15km to work almost every day.

[BMXTRIX]

I would think that number would have to be doctor/hostpital stats which means that any kid who breaks a bone, sprains an ankle, or needs some stitches. Whether the person is 5 or 95 they get their number added to the stats. I know in freestyle bmx at Woodward Camp in Pennsylvania, there is usually one near death or death from stunt riding every year. The weekly injuries are almost countless as well. I would bet their stats aren't even accounted for and probably run near 1 or 2 thousand injuries every year alone.

[closetbiker]

...I remember reading a story about a Swedish gentleman with life-threatening job-related burns, includng severe damage to his lungs. His doctors attributed his remarkable, unexpectedly thorough, recovery to the fact that he bicycled to about 9 miles/15km to work almost every day.


Hey! That's the same distance I cover each way, each day. Good to see how much it can help the body. (unlike driving)

[Ebbtide]

ls
It doesn't say. But these must be the reported injuries rather than the skinned knees or car bumps.
That number seems way too high.

I'd guess the study was done by interviewing a sampling of bike riders. The injuries are likely to include road-rash, cuts, and bruises. I doubt the info is compiled from actual reports.




Another interesting "factoid" moment:



2 entries found for factoid.
fac·toid ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fktoid)
n.
A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition: “What one misses finally is what might have emerged beyond both facts and factoidsa profound definition of the Marilyn Monroe phenomenon” (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt).
Usage Problem. A brief, somewhat interesting fact.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fac·toidal adj.
Usage Note: The -oid suffix normally imparts the meaning “resembling, having the appearance of” to the words it attaches to. Thus the anthropoid apes are the apes that are most like humans (from Greek anthrpos, “human being”). In some words -oid has a slightly extended meaning“having characteristics of, but not the same as,” as in humanoid, a being that has human characteristics but is not really human. Similarly, factoid originally referred to a piece of information that appears to be reliable or accurate, as from being repeated so often that people assume it is true. The word still has this meaning in standard usage. Seventy-three percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence It would be easy to condemn the book as a concession to the television age, as a McLuhanish melange of pictures and factoids which give the illusion of learning without the substance. ·Factoid has since developed a second meaning, that of a brief, somewhat interesting fact, that might better have been called a factette. The Panelists have less enthusiasm for this usage, however, perhaps because they believe it to be confusing. Only 43 percent of the panel accepts it in Each issue of the magazine begins with a list of factoids, like how many pounds of hamburger were consumed in Texas last month. Many Panelists prefer terms such as statistics, trivia, useless facts, and just plain facts in this sentence.

[Seanholio]

Let's not forget bicycling-related injuries, such as mine:

I went to the local BBQ joint, Armadillo Willy's, still wearing my cycling shoes. The floor there is very slippery. As I was carrying the rack of baby back ribs and a basket of onion rings back to my table, the ground suddenly jumped up and kicked me in the posterior. In hindsight, my foot slipped and I fell down like a scarecrow. On the way down, I hit my head on a high chair and my elbow on something.

Completely dazed, I tried to stand up, but a kindly gentleman advised me to continue sitting. A crowd surrounded me, with the unspoken "Is there blood? Is he dead? Let's go look without helping!" hanging in the air. My wife came over, ordered everyone to back off and give me space, before getting down to make sure I was OK. Just a few bruises, and a little confusion.

The restaurant's insurance company called me on Friday to see if I was OK. It's amazing how they don't quite ask, "So, will you be suing our client?" For the record, I don't plan to.