Originally Posted by
macteacher
The other day my friend grilled me on the hazards of commuting. He ended his arguments with a link to this tragedy
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_20802.aspx
He's told me that i'm risking my life for no logical reason at all, and that it is only a matter of time before some crazy driver swerves for one reason or another and hits me. That drivers can't be trusted, that they are crazy and my odds of surviving an accident in tact are very slim. Ride on a trail on a pathway, but on the major arterial roads he said i'm crazy for doing so. He ended that if he was ever in an accident, and it meant him surviving or killing a cyclist, he'd do whatever it takes to survive.
I didn't really know how to respond to that. I simply told him that i'm lit up like a Christmas tree, I have a mirror and try to be aware of my surroundings and be predictable.
He went on to say that I am assuming drivers will see me..but all it takes is an 80 year old man who can't see very well to miscalculate how much space is needed and to sideswipe you and bam, ur dead or injured.
How do you guys respond to comments like these? The reality is, he now has me thinking and doubting more than ever.
Everybody has to die at some time.
If you're out enjoying a nice ride on your bike and you get killed, well, there would be a lot worse ways you could go.
Ask your friend how he would like to die.
A lot of people would answer this question by saying that they would like to die in their sleep. To that I would respond, don't you worry every night when you go off to bed? :-)