uke

And if so, how did it change your perspectives toward cycling, if it did at all?

charmed

My daughter's friend's dad died in a vehicle/bike accident. He was hurrying home and did an unsafe, boneheaded move that he probably normally wouldn't have done if he weren't in a hurry. It didn't change my views on cycling, but did remind me that hurrying definitely isn't worth it.

Fast Cloud

No...fortunately. And I hope I never do.

buzzman

I'm reluctant to reply to this thread.

Especially since I post in here (particularly A&S) for entertainment purposes only. Often the insensitivity expressed in some threads (most likely due to the "safety" of the anonymity of the posters) makes it difficult to feel safe enough to genuinely say how deeply such an event can impact someone. So, I don't even know why I'm responding but I am.

To say it as simply as possible, I have lost 2 close friends in 2 separate cycling/auto accidents. Both accidents were clearly the fault of the drivers, both drivers were under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and were driving at excessive speeds and erratically.

Did it change my perspective of cycling? I don't know. Despite having ridden thousands and thousands of mile without one I started wearing a helmet after the first friend's death (please don't use this as an opportunity to remind me that helmets don't save lives etc...- I know, I know, I know. I just wear one now every single time I ride. ain't nobody's business but my own- leave it at that. But I don't ride 10' without one now- call me a pathetic superstitious wuss if you want but that's how I ride.)

Also, I no longer "evangelize" about cycling. Over the years I've influenced a great many people to ride bikes- to commute, for fun, even cross country but I only talk about cycling in terms of the benefits I have gotten from it. If someone wants to ride a bike, too- more power to them. But I don't push or talk anybody into it. It's amazingly effective advocacy to not openly promote cycling.

It has changed my perspective about cars and driving and responsibility more than it has influenced my outlook about cycling. Automobiles, IMO, are treated way too casually. They are often seen as a "right" when, in fact, they are a privilege. Licensing should be way more strict.

We just had a guy here in Massachusetts cause 3 fatalities on the highway the other night and leave the scene of the accident. Turns out he's had 75 traffic violations and been charged with leaving the scene of an accident in the past as well as having his license revoked several times. People like that need to spend time behind bars and be strictly held accountable and not be allowed to drive again.

But yeah, it changed me. But it certainly didn't stop me from riding.

Chris516

I have never known a cyclist, that ended getting killed in a bike/auto accident.

IbikezLA

No I have not. After visiting a ghost bike, for a guy that was hit similarly to how I was hit and left for dead, I have become more of an assertive rider with taking the lane/avoiding door zone and I try to be more aware of how the cars around me are behaving. Sure I can't prevent another person from rear ending me but I can avoid being buzzed and cut off. Although, I now have an underlying fear of riding in the dark by myself

merlin55

I've know 3 riders killed by People driving cars:
1. Our ABLA state rep and a Cat 2 Masters racer (pre USCF days) was killed while training in Texas in the late 1970s by a hit an run near Dallas. This guy worked with my dad at Bell Helicopter.
2. A young women in our Dallas racing club was killed about 1980 near Austin by a driver "who just didn't see her:
3. My best friend was killed by a drunk driver in Goleta, Ca in 1986...2 months after he got married

Life is short, we make our choices and take our chances....what else can we do?

AlmostTrick

No, but I have known many motor vehicle drivers / occupants who were killed in crashes. At least one pedestrian too.

Village Idiot

No, but life is random. You're just as apt to die in your sleep as you are by getting hit by a car or by having a piano fall on your head. No use to cower inside all day.

randya

did it make you insist on a car-free cycling environment? because that's where I think the OP is going with this...

uke

Thank (almost) all of you for respectful and informative responses so far. I was surprised at the prior accident thread that roughly 55% of 306 responders had been hit by vehicles. I did not expect the results of this poll to be as high as it currently is either.

CCrew

My answer is yes. One of the members of my son's cycling club was run over (and killed) on his recumbent by an inattentive driver. Nicest man you'd ever want to meet. It really didn't change my views, but I would say it made me more defensive, and less forgiving of boneheaded cagers.

unterhausen

A professor at Penn State was killed while riding on an 8' wide shoulder. His murderer was legally blind and driving without a license. The guy only got two years house arrest "because that's the best we could get" according to the D.A. This is the same D.A. that charged a truck driver that hit a car that pulled out in front of him and threw the book at him.

PlatyPius

When I was a kid, I watched my cousin get driven over by a semi while riding his bike.

buzzman

oh, an agenda... and I was suckered in. thanks for the heads up.

rhm

+1