Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
These threads distort our perception. Most every cycling fatality in the US finds its way here, and many around the world, making it seem that cycling fatalities are much more common than they are.
In reality about 700 cyclists are killed in the US each year. That number has gradually decreased over the last decade, as participation in Road cycling has increased.
In 2008, 1/7th of those fatalities involved children, who are much more prone to not abide the rules of the road and dart into traffic. Almost 1/4th of the cyclists killed were legally drunk. Many more were riding at night without proper lights, and or riding the wrong direction.
It's a tragedy when anyone is killed. However the perception that careful, prudent, Adult cyclists are dropping like flies is incorrect.
Don't let the BF threads make you unreasonably afraid.
Amen to that... unfortunately most people don't understand statistics and can easily be manipulated into paranoia by isolated anecdotes. We see this everyday in the news media, and that's really what's happening in the health care debate right now.