[MENTION=210772]Looigi[/MENTION], small injuries are probably more common on bike than in cars, but serious injuries and deaths are different. The car protects you to an extent, but then its typical speed mitigates that protection, as does the speed of surrounding vehicles. We could argue about accident statistics all day, and maybe we shouldn't. My own personal take, which others do not have to adopt, is that risk of serious injury or death per trip (not per mile or per hour) is the important metric FOR ME, and it appears to be lower on bike than in a car. I don't know if this affects safety, but I consider the monetary values of cars and bikes, and already, there is a lot more at stake in a typical car than on a typical bike.

I look at what a typical reaction to a stupid move is. When someone cuts you off or nearly collides with you and you are both in cars, your first impulse is to say how stupid it was or to ponder what could have happened. You might curse someone out or at least reprimand them. If you bump into someone in a supermarket aisle, your first impulse is to apologize, before you even consider whether it was your fault or not. One reason for the difference is probably that we feel less separated from each other when our bodies are close and un-enclosed. Another reason is that there is less at stake. The risk of injury and big property damage is a lot less, so you are less likely to become incensed that someone made a bad move.

The lower speeds we use on bicycles does seem to make us safer than we typically are in cars.

Not only that, when we drive cars, not only are we exposing ourselves to the dangers I'm speaking of, we also are endangering others. This is the columnist's point, and a lot of people lose sight of that. If I walk in the crosswalk against the light and you see me, you might yell and say, hey, that's dangerous. It is, because I'm exposing myself to danger. But what is this danger? It's the danger of moving cars. Who creates that danger? The people driving the cars. So there are two kinds of danger. The kind you expose yourself to and the kind you create. The latter kind ought to carry much more responsibility. Yet we are so inured to the consequences of our car-oriented society that death or injury by car is just life as it is. If you're driving a car and kill someone unintentionally, it is nearly shrugged off. You won't face criminal charges. You may not even face civil charges.

Consider that last point for a minute. If you want to murder someone, the best way is with a car. You'll probably get away with it.

Don't you think that should change? Do we really have to accept the danger level on our roads? We have legislated that level of danger out of our workplaces.