Who here is afraid of getting killed while commuting?
 

I started cycling a lot for fun and health and decided it would be great to commute to work by bike. I live in New York City and commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan about 10 miles each way. Along my route I see several ghost bikes placed there as a memorial for cyclists killed in action.

I try to do the usual, wear bright clothing, wear a helmet, use front and rear blinking lights, ride on bike paths along safe routes. I don't ride against traffic, I don't ride on sidewalks, I try to look both ways several times before riding against a red light.

Despite all this, I still feel very vulnerable while biking. Number one is people in New York drive like maniacs. Almost every single day I see a car running the red light inches from my wheel. I can even predict it on the worst intersections. Once I have the green light I don't go, I just wait for the car that shows up out of nowhere flying in front of me and all other cars.

Then you have here those extremely small bike lanes where you can feel the air conditioning inside the car next to you on your right while bumping against rear view mirrors on you left. Any door that pops open or driver that does not know the size of their car will hit me.

Among the most popular bike lanes there are the bike salmons, riding on the bike lanes against traffic. I usually have to hug the park cars and push them into oncoming traffic.

At many wider streets I have to deal with double or triple parked cars. Once I approach a double parked car I slow down and look behind me to see cars flying inches from me. If I am fearless I push myself into their lanes. If not I stop behind the double park car, wait for the cars to stop coming and then I go. The problem with this second approach is that usually when I reach the intersection the light has turned red. So then I have to stop twice, once at the double parked car and a second time at the light.

If I approach a heavy used intersection while the light is green I usually can't go straight. The problem is cars are all making right turns and since the bike lane is all the way to the right if I go straight the cars will hit me. If you are in Brooklyn I am specifically talking about Adams Ave and Atlantic Ave.

The other thing that really scares me is reading about all the people killed while riding their bikes. If you check www.streetsblog.org you will read almost every few days of somebody getting killed while bike riding in NYC. Just last week a musician was killed by a hit and run truck on 2nd ave. There was a teenager killed in front of my house on Coney Island Ave. A doctor was killed in the Bronx riding the bike lane when someone opened a door to her right and she swerved and went under a truck to her left.

Those of you here who ride on congested areas such as New York City how do you cope with all of this aggravation, stress, and fear of getting killed? Who here has stopped commuting due to the fear of being killed?

step down off the ledge, son....there are only ~ 800 deaths per year from cycling nationwide. That number hasn't changed much in decades and a good portion of those deaths are caused by the cyclist doing stupid things like riding drunk, in the wrong lane, with no lights, etc.

I've been commuting for like 4 decades..even in NYC and worse...in Newark! :eek:
But I'm still pretty. :D

Sure I'm afraid of it. But the chances of getting killed while commuting are low enough that the enjoyment I receive from doing so overrides the fear. I don't know if I significantly reduce my chances of getting killed by driving either.

Not me.. My Ancestors were Gladiators! :D :p:innocent: Traffic doesn't bother me. Dying is part of living and if I get tagged in traffic at least I go doing something I like to do. :thumb::p

Since I was run down from behind by an idiot driving an Escalade at 40 mph (She ADMITTED to that much, so who knows?) and spent 8 days in the hospital for a fractured skull & broken leg (and ribs) count ME in! SEpt. 2007.

Hey, per the last surveys Washington DC had the worst drivers. I deal with it every day. Don't stress, watch out for yourself, be happy.

Afraid, no. I do think about it. I thought about it when I was driving a car too. You assess risks and take appropriate precautions.

Keep in mind that as Chipcom said, most people who get killed while riding were doing something stupid at the time. Don't ride between a bus or garbage truck and a curb, don't ride against traffic, don't run intersections without looking, don't ride in the door zone, don't ride at night without lights and reflectors. That covers at least 80% of all adult cyclist fatalities right there. Probably more like 95%. The remainder are situations that may well kill you if you're in a car, like someone crossing the line while texting and hitting you head on. Just keep alert and enjoy.

Fear is good. It keeps you alert :D Except that I'm afraid of dying in my sleep, unfortunately, I can't remain alert or I won't sleep, so I just have to live with this fear :eek:

That is very unfortunate I hope you are better.

I'm not as afraid of dying as I am being left a drooling vegetable. In the end though, I bet most of us probably get killed by something random we never worry about.

Worried enough to be hyper alert, but not so worried as to be stressed about it. I've been pleasantly surprised by the car traffic in Atlanta especially along my commute route. I think they're just used to seeing me all the time.

I've already been rear ended/knocked out/left for dead. I still ride because I love this.


how 'bout those guys that get bit by sharks and then continue to swim with them :innocent:

qft.

^^ This^^

And living is nothing but a slow way of dying. 5 years ago they told me, after a motorcycle wreck, I would never walk again. WRONG!

It took a long time to get back to were I could ride a bicycle again, but here I am. Oh yea, I still ride a motorcycle also.

I always thought of that as altruism... ( They're not in a car, so they won't take anyone else with them. )

Me too. Yesterday evening the second bicyclist in 2 months got struck by a car and killed in my area. The first was within walking distance of my condo, and the second was about 2 blocks north of the turnoff spot on a road I regularly ride on to work. But both of them seem to have been riding without lights and the bright colors/reflectors that most of us ride with. I'm not worried, but I'm as alert on the bicycle as I was on my motorcycle where you have to ride like everyone is trying to kill you.

It was another Escalade that hit the guy yesterday. Those bloated mom mobiles scare me more than any other vehicle out there.

I got a little scared when a fatality happened along one of my routes near my house recently. but I got over it. I wouldn't say I'm scared, but knowing it could happen makes me a better cyclist because I'm more vigilant. as long as I keep up with what's happening around me, I'm ahead of the curve.

I need to dig it up again but... I saw statistics that assigned causes to cyclist deaths. If you took out the obvious stuff (sidewalk riding, wrong-way riding, ninja riding, etc.), the percentage was pretty small (single digit percentage?) Be actively engaged with traffic and ride such that, as far as you can influence it, you make drivers make good decisions.

You gotta push the thought of death wayyy back into the gray matter, other wise you'll never enjoy cycling, im more afraid of choking to death.

Have you read the statistics on car accidents? And I'm not just talking deaths, which are nearly 40,000 per year, but injuries too, which are over 100,000! Can you believe people still get into their cars and drive everyday? The worst part is, they get into their car every day without a care in the world, as if those dangers don't exist which is primary contributing factor to why they do exist. So just be alert, but don't be afraid. If only every motorist drove that way.

but the car that tries to avoid them can certainly take someone else out...just cuz someone is on a bike doesn't mean that they exist in a vacuum. ;)

Here's the thing tho...demographically it looks like us old farts are getting a higher percentage of those fatalities these days. :eek:

I think about it, but in a slightly different way. Nothing in life is completely safe. I could be in a car accident, or there could be a bomb on a bus, or I could slip while walking and hit my head.... I don't think biking is inherently more dangerous than other modes of travel. Actually, I believe biking is quite safe provided that I'm paying attention (and quite unsafe if I let my attention wander).

Your going to die from something,and I thought it was going to be from smoking and eating pork ribs.