Originally Posted by
John E
As for the effect of cyclist training on the rate of cycling-related incidents, one has to look only at the at-fault statistics compiled by various cities. I would argue that proper cycling technique would have eliminated almost all of the incidents in which the cyclist was at fault, plus a significant fraction of those in which the motorist was officially at fault, but which the cyclist could have prevented through proper defensive driving.
One of the things that really bothers me about the proper cycling education argument is that wrong way cycling is very prominent in the crash stats and is fairly obviously not proper bike riding. I really have to wounder about the mechanisms that keep wrong way cycling as such a popular urban myth of safe cycling. I'll assert that the lack of cyclists comfort on todays roads is a major contributer to maintaining that myth.