closetbiker

Always perplexed at others (non-cyclists mostly) mentioning to me how dangerous cycling is, so I've kept track of things I've read that disprove such notions. I recently read "The Culture of Fear" by Barry Glassner. In the introduction, he lays out his theory, which is,

"Mary Douglas, the eminent anthropologist who devoted much of her career to studying how people interpret risk, pointed out that every society has an almost infinite quantity of potential dangers from which to choose. Societies differ both in the types of dangers they select and the number. Dangers get selected for special emphasis, Douglas showed, either because they offend the basic moral principles of the society or because they enable criticism of disliked groups and institutions.

Richard Nixon said, "People react to fear, not love. They don't teach that in Sunday school, but it's true."

The short answer to why Americans harbor so many misbegotten fears is that immense power and money await those who tap into our moral insecurities and supply us with symbolic substitutes. "

At the conclusion he adds,

"Statements of alarm by newscasters and glorification of wannabe experts are two telltale tricks of the fear mongers' trade.

Other tricks are:

* the use of poignant anecdotes in place of scientific evidence,

*the christening of isolated incidents as trends,

*depictions of entire categories of people as innately dangerous.

The success of a scare depends not only on how well it is expressed but also, as I have tried to suggest, on how well it expresses deeper cultural anxieties. "

This all adds up for me in relation to as why (as I see it) cycling seems to get treatment at a lower level than other road users. I beleive, in general, that we are a disliked group to motorists and there is a monetary incentive to try to keep us in cars as much as possible. I think that discriminating towards cyclists is a substitute to handling the real problems of motor vehicles and it is also a way of giving others an excuse as to why they don't ride bikes to get the exercise that we all need - "it's too dangerous!"

The British Medical Association has said the benefits of riding a bike outweigh the risks by a ratio of 20 to 1.

The American Medical Association concluded: "Even after adjustment for other risk factors, including leisure time physical activity, those who did not cycle to work experienced a 39% higher mortality rate than those who did."

The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis says the risk of death for heart disease is 1 in 397, a motor vehicle accident is 1 in 6745, and for a bicycle acident is 1 in 376,165.

I'm sticking with my therory that cycling is a good, and not a dangerous, thing.

closetbiker

So, am I ready for the looney bin yet?

Kevin S

Some people might say that BF is the loony bin. Imagine, saying that cycling is safe.

bac

Yup, when one examines the facts, the numbers speak for themselves. The excuse/addage that cycling is dangerous reminds me of people who won't fly in an airplane.

The facts tell one that there is a much greater chance of meeting one's maker in a car on the way to the airport, than on the flight itself. However, try and explain this to someone who won't fly. They simply refuse to understand the facts. :confused:

MichaelW

People are often afraid to fly because they fear that the wings will drop off. That is quite obviously nonsense. No, they really should be afraid in case the fusalage falls off the wings.

hayneda

I agree with this explanation. I do believe that cyclists are generally looked on with disapproval simply because we occasionally delay motorists for a few moments. Having personally witnessed the wrath that some exhibit while driving and delayed by a tractor or other slow moving vehicle, I think this is the root of why we are such a dispised group.

Dave

closetbiker

I don't mean to open up the helmet issue, but, in regards to the discriminatory way authorities deal with cyclists, I emailed the provincial Brain Injury Association after I read a letter in the paper where the Ass. endorsed a local helmet by law for cyclists and I said:

I read your letter and visited your website. On the home page I noticed:

Did You Know?

* Brain Injury is the #1 killer and disabler of people under 45.
Prevention is the only cure.

and on brain injury facts I noticed:

# Motor vehicle accidents account for the overwhelming majority of deaths and disability by unintentional injury.

# Research indicates that as many as 9 out of 10 unintentional injuries can be prevented.


I was wondering how the Brain Injury Association is working to try to prevent brain injury in motor vehicles?

They replied:

We advocate for safe driving practices (obeying speed limits, observing road conditions, no drinking and driving etc.)

This seems a reasonable response for saving drivers. Their message for cyclists was not to ride safer but to wear a helmet.

I was pushing the buttons of John Ratliff on the Helmets Harmful post by bringing up Dr. Atkins fall and subsequent head injury. Beats Walking replied, "was Dr. Atkins wearing winter footwear that takes into account walking on ice? Or was he just wearing some wingtips that he'd be walking in all day at the office? I'm not saying the winter shoes/boots/whatever would've stopped him from falling and hitting his head, but they would've been a lot better than shoes you slip and slide around in on a slightly waxed floor. " Another good response. It makes sense and is not discriminatory to adjust the behavior that leads to problems rather than use statements of alarm by newscasters and glorification of wannabe experts, or use poignant anecdotes in place of scientific evidence, the christening of isolated incidents as trends, depictions of entire categories of people as innately dangerous.

closetbiker

..and to enforce my intention that I do not want to offend anyone with might be construed as an anti-helmet post (it's really a rant against poor risk adversion policy) I'll strap on a helmet to deflect the expected stones thrown my way to avoid getting a head injury!

uciflylow

It's funny how some people view guns the same way! If you have one you are bound to shoot yourself or someone else sooner or later.

wabbit

You're probably more likely to get head injury in a car accident, that is driving a car. It's not like we wear helmets in a car.

I was recently at a physio and I mentioned that I'd had recurring pain from an injury, due to a bike accident last fall. SHe said, "Maybe you should do a sport less dangerous!" Like what? Like runners or hockey players don't get injured? Or perhaps, sit at home and get no exercise at all? You won't get injured that's for sure.

closetbiker

From The book of risks by Larry Laudan,

Ponder this; hundreds of thousands of Americans are injured each year on their beds and another hundred thousand or so are injured by the clothing seriously enough to require emergency medical treatment. Anxiety about risks of life is a bit like hypochondria. In both, the fear or anxiety feeds on partial information.

hayneda

I think I'd rather assume the risks of a fatal crash while riding a bike than those of heart disease from riding the couch.

Dave

John E

Couch potatoes invoke the safety issue to rationalize their inactivity and to justify their overreliance on motor vehicles. "Well, going to a store two miles away takes an hour on foot; that's too far to walk." (I just returned from a 4.5mile/7km round trip bike ride to return a rented DVD. I also jog that distance every weekday as part of my commute.)

Inoplanetyanin

Cycling is more dangerous than sitting at home and not cycling. It is also more dangerous, than driving an automobile - if compared on the same road.
How can it be less dangerous than driving a car? According to your statistics...

Cyclist is less noticable, if hit - cyclist had GREAT chanes of fatalality, number of vehicles passing a cyclist is much greater than those passing a car.

Bicycle routes are rare in most of the cities...
Cycling is dangerous, but so is life in general... Weh are risking by living...

Be safe!

Inoplanetyanin

I definitely FOR the helmets. Was looking at one today. Kind of expensive... $90, will try to shop some more.
I bought a new motorcycle helmet for $75 two years ago...
By the way, the helmet will be of bright color... yellow or white, which will also help to reflect sun's heat vawes.

What color of helmets do you guys have? Anyone careying of matching the helmet with the color of the bicycle?


Best Regards.

froze

That's why I get so tired of hearing about one person who is shot while riding their bike and left for dead and on and on and on; and this crap gets posted on these forums and everyone is suddenly afraid it's going to happen to them! America has brainwashed us into thinking constantly about various fear issues and mandate requirements upon us to force us to fear ourselves. When I was a kid the cold war was going on and in grade school we use to have nuclear blast drills where we all would get under our desk bend over and put our hands over our heads. The part they left out was we were suppose to kiss our ass goodbye because surviving a nuclear war would have been virtually impossible. But seriously, what a thing to do to a bunch of grade schoolers! Now instead of a nuclear holocast its terrorism, or cars with air bags blowing at us from all directions, or gee someone in China got SARS and now 150 people have died...suddenly the news makes it sound like the whole world will be dead in 3 months! Good grief, the black plague during the 1700's killed many many more than that, why heck 150 is nothing, cancer deaths make SARS look like a hiccup on a daily basis, more people died of the flu around the world than by SARS this year. I could go on but this message would be too long on this subject.

Stop living in fear and stop listening to all the media crap and start enjoying life.

So is cycling dangerous? maybe for the moroon who does not obey the rules of the road but for most people no way; no more than walking down a sidewalk. I agree with Hayneda, I would rather risk death on a bicycle than sit at home and be safe only to risk death from heart disease.

JDP

I agree. My Dad's parents both died in their 60's from heart disease. My Dad, in his 60's now, has already had a heart attack. Fortunately it was mild but he doesn't lead a sedentary lifestyle. In my case, sitting on the couch is much more dangerous and a crappy way to go.

closetbiker

Everyone can have their own opinion, but some opinions have the weight of sound reasoning and judgement.

So, should I take Inoplanetyanin's judgement more seriously or, the BMA's, the AMA's, or Harvard's judgements?

Simple choice!

closetbiker

I liken this to the "I'm going to win the lottery" argument. As long as the winner is in the public's eye, someone is going to place themselves in the winners position, no matter how great the odds are that it won't happen. Everyone thinks they're going to be a star, or win that money. Very few do.

Pete Clark

Statistically,

One hour of driving carries almost twice the risk of death as one hour of cycling.

One hour of driving carries you almost twice as far.

So...

...cycling and driving to work have about the same risk of death, generally speaking.

But when you throw in fitness...

Pete Clark

Sitting and not doing anything is very dangerous indeed...

closetbiker

Health Canada says, estimated deaths:

for cardiovascular disease,

79,389

for car accidents,

2,900,

for cyclists,

70.

Pete Clark

Oh, come on!

People do whatever they want to, whether it's dangerous or not.
They drive, don't they?

Do you hear people saying, "Gee, I'm afraid I'll get in an accident if I drive over to the corner store to rent a video!" Naw, never.

The people who harp on how dangerous cycling is (though statistically, it's not, and they never do it themselves anyway) will do any number of other more dangerous things. If it's dangerous, people want to do it even more and will pay big bucks for the opportunity, then thrill coworkers with the story on Monday.

If they can't do something thrill-seeking, they will raise their blood pressure by watching something dangerous on t.v.

I'd rather die on my bike than sitting on the couch, watching someone disarm a nuclear bomb that's ticking away.

Don't forget, Monday morning, most people will be out there, listening to their favorite radio show while 80 mph traffic weaves around them, and they will continue to do this every day, day in, day out...

closetbiker

Yes, but why are they afraid of some things and not others?

West Nile, SARS, child abductions and cyclists are perceived as real threats. Blows me away.

I feel better after reading the book though. It's either, a) because they offend the basic moral principles of the society or, b) or because they enable criticism of disliked groups and institutions. and c) power and money await those who tap into our moral insecurities and supply us with symbolic substitutes.

Stor Mand

Why, you ask? You can lay much of that blame on the news media ... spewers of fear and all that is wrong with this world. If not for the news media, would the world that you live in seem as scarey?