Big_knob

Big_knob

For myself living in dodge city, that would be a bad idea & an un "accessible location".

littledog

There are numerous drive by shootings on my usual route. I have never been there when it happened though. I had a car with a couple crackheads attempt to steal my fanny pack once. And I had a big fountain pop with lots of ice thrown in my face but I didn't crash. And numerous incidents of verbal threats and harrasment. The scariest is drunk drivers though. A drunk driver ran over a pedestrian. The police arrived and set up road blocks while checking out the scene. Another drunk driver then plowed through the barricade and smashed into a parked police car at the scene. This was in the middle of the afternoon.

So yeah,it is pretty bad. But I hate taking the bus. And there aren't any better routes to take. This has all happened in the last two years that I have been riding. At first I was terrified but now it really doesn't bother me that much. It won't keep me from riding.

PSYCLONE

Wouldn't twin 50 caliber machine guns on the handlebars be awesome?

buzzman

There's a big difference between feeling safer and actually being safer.

Arizona's gun violence rate is among the highest in the nation. Arizona ranked 5th out of the 50 states in the rate of gun-related deaths in 1997. (Rate refers to the number of deaths per 100,000 persons.) Arizona's total number of gun-related deaths increased 4% in 1998 -- bringing the rate of gun-related deaths to nearly twice that of the national rate. (Source: Arizona Department of Health Services, Firearm-Related Fatalities Arizona 1988-1998)

A large number of Arizona residents -- 8,448 -- died from the misuse of guns in the last decade (1990-1999). Sixty-one percent of these deaths (5,140) were the result of suicide; 34% (or 2,860) were the result of homicide; 2 % (or 201) were the result of unintentional injury or accidents; and 3% (247) were the result of legal intervention or an undetermined cause. (Source: Arizona Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Annual Report)

Gun-related deaths in Arizona increased 21% in the last decade. This compares to a much smaller increase (13%) for deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes. (Source: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Trauma Program, The Impact of Firearm Violence in Arizona, 2000)

Gun-related homicides in Arizona increased 68% in the last decade. This major increase occurred despite a drop in homicides in the late-1990s -- from the peak of 383 in 1995 to 303 in 1999. (Source: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Trauma Program, The Impact of Firearm Related Violence in Arizona, 2000)

About 2/3 of homicides and suicides in Arizona are committed with a gun. The percent of homicides committed with a gun increased significantly from 58% in 1988 to 68% in 1998. In contrast, the percent of suicides committed with a gun remained relatively stable (66% in 1988; 67% in 1998). (Source: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Trauma Program, The Impact of Firearm Related Violence in Arizona, 2000)

More Arizona residents die from the misuse of guns than from all infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. From 1988 to 1998, there were a total of 8,933 gun-related deaths, compared to 8,381 deaths caused by infectious diseases. (Source: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Trauma Program, The Impact of Firearm Violence in Arizona, 2000)