Originally Posted by sggoodri

...yelled to his friend: "You'd better not ride in the road, or you're going to get hit by a car!" His friend responded by steering off the roadway onto the soft shoulder, where he then lost control and ended up falling in the drainage swale.

There were no cars in sight.

Originally Posted by bmclaughlin807

I know lots of people with excessive fears of being struck from behind on a bicycle. Not one of them has ridden a bicycle since they were about 10. They're the same ones that think I'm crazy for riding my bike to work everyday, but ... here I am.

Originally Posted by donnamb

My stepdad fears riding on the correct side of the road because he thinks he'll get hit from behind. He's a stubborn guy, nothing will convince him. Doesn't stop him from riding on the road, though, he just rides on the wrong side.

Originally Posted by sbhikes

I know people who have an excessive fear of traffic, but they still do ride in the roads. But they hop on the sidewalk as soon as they get the chance and are very vocal in their fear while riding in the street. They just can't wait to get away from the roads they fear.

Originally Posted by genec

The reason for the whole phobia is due to our under training as youth. As we first encounter the bicycle as young children, we have poor motor skills and poor balance... our instructors (parents) see this and suggest that we should ride on sidewalks and "watch out for cars." This instills in us a sense that we should be paranoid of cars when we are out playing with our "toys."

Originally Posted by sbhikes

probably it is true for a lot of people.