vol

I'm just thinking, the more you ride, the more chances you'll get an accident, whether by others' or your own fault. For a regular commuter, as the miles add up, you may tend to become less careful than when you just began commuting. For those of you who have commuted for a long time, what's the longest time you have done without a single accident? We are talking about safety-related incident, of course. What do you think helped you to achieve the safe riding day after day?

ijsbrand

I don't think it works like that. The more you ride, the better you will know which roads to avoid at what particular times. I simply know that the roads are far too crowded with cars around 5 PM here, which makes traffic far more dangerous, especially on the crossings, then on any other time of the day. Planning a trip just 15 minutes later then already makes a huge difference.

The more you ride, the better you can anticipate the behaviour of the other road users, as well.

Bad luck can always be around the corner, but the chance to experience bad luck to me does not necessarily increase with a higher milage. Just don't do silly things. Don't isolate yourself from your surroundings. Know how the other traffic moves.

xenologer

Agree, your question seems based on the common assumption that cycling is inherently dangerous and that cyclistists are powerless to affect their safety. This is not true; cycling is not russian roulette.
The longer you commute the safer you become. (assuming you are perceptive enough to learn and gain experience; some people are clueless and dont learn....)

I've been commuting around ...?5? years now; and never had an accident.
Have had some close calls early on; but was fortunate each time to evade/escape and have changed habits to prevent repeats.

There's another thread about 'close calls'that you might check out:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...May-All-Learn)

manapua_man

I accidentally knocked over my plant when I got on my bike this morning.

vol

There are two aspects about having a long commuting time: you are more experienced, but you also have more chances encountering drunk drivers or otherwise erratic driving behaviors which experience may not help.

Mark Stone

My last crash was 2003 April, almost ten years ago. There was another one in 1991, and those two were it. I've ridden and commuted for around 40 years, and I think the more experience you have the safer it is. The thing you gotta remember is that there are no set rules. Every cyclist, every route, every day is different. Sometimes taking the lane is appropriate, sometimes not. Sometimes riding a sidewalk is best; sometimes not. But you can't stop thinking, you've always gotta be a block ahead of yourself. With experience you recognize the little constellations of events that hint at danger, and you learn to adjust. I understand what you're saying:The simple law of chance dictates that the longer you ride, the more likely the "eventual" will happen. However, years in the saddle produces a stronger, opposite effect. Our senses are more acute, we understand the streets to a greater degree, we make adjustments well in advance of things that look like they may be dangerous.

B. Carfree

I went from 1980 to 2005 without coming into bodily contact with the road or a motor vehicle, a span of nearly 400,000 miles. I've only been unseated once, and I landed on my feet (Slight hop, so only a 9.8 score; darned Ukrainian judge.). The early incidents, in the '70s, involved my ignorance of the need to take the lane and control it when it is too narrow to share. Once I understood that, I had no issues until I moved to Eugene, a particularly bike-hostile environment (The only place I have ever been cursed at for riding legally). I wasn't really in an accident here so much as a "purpose", as in the motorist hit me on purpose. Heck, I even had a woman hit my son and I when we were on a tandem and he was obviously a child.

Ignoring the true barbarians who will attack any cyclist (thankfully rare birds), there are some things you can do to minimize your risk:

1. Know your roads. Many roads that appear to be plenty wide to share lanes have some places that are narrower than the rest or have hidden shoulder defects and you need to be in the proper portion of the lane for those squeeze places. Sometimes, all you need to do is alter your speed so that no one is beside you for a short road defect. Intersections are notorious as places where you need to control the lane.

2. Know the traffic patterns. Some roads are just too full of crazies to ride at certain times of day.

3. Be considerate without being passive. It's okay to pull over to let people pass even when you are not required to. You will likely see them again this week, so smile and wave them by. By the same token, when you need the lane, take it like you own it, because you do.

4. Speed is your friend. Face it, the biggest threat to your safety is the speed differential between you and the motorists. The faster you ride, the less this differential. If you apply yourself, you can average close to 25 mph on roads with no traffic control devices. That buys you a lot more time to assess the risk of the car that is overtaking you at 60 mph than you have when you are going 12 mph, and you have more choices of where to make the pass happen. It also allows the motorist more time to see you when you are riding faster. It's okay to sweat.

5. Control your bike. Learn to ride a line. Buy some rollers and use them to improve your bike handling skills. Play some bike polo. Go ride some single-track on your commuting bike. Things happen and you will be better able to avoid panic, and injury, if you can control the bike.

6. Last, but certainly not least, NEVER RIDE IN THE DOOR ZONE. Even if the city puts the bike lane in the door zone, NEVER RIDE IN THE DOOR ZONE. Sure, the odds of someone kicking the door open into you on any trip are low, but you will eventually be doored if you ride in the door zone, so NEVER RIDE IN THE DOOR ZONE. I've had scores of doors that would have gotten me if I had not followed this simple rule. Stay far enough away from parked cars that if any door opens you won't even flinch. I never get closer than five feet to parked cars, which puts my tire track at a minimum of six feet from them.

JoeyBike

Paying attention to what I am doing. My mind is not allowed to wander from my bicycle in traffic.

Have not had an "accident" involving another vehicle since 1985. At least once a year the road surface will take me down. Often invisible sand or loose rocks in a corner.

caloso

Experience counts. I have a vague recollection of a study tHat showed a huge drop off in injuries. I think the tipping point was 900 miles per year. Or was it 900 hours?

JoeyBike

Back in the early '80s when I owned my last (of many) motorcycles the statistics showed that 95% of all motorcycle fatalities occurred during the 1st year of riding motorcycles, and of that number 95% got killed on the very first ride (usually someone else's bike). Seems motorcycles are even less forgiving for inexperience.

Medic Zero

TIPS:

A) Always expect that drivers, pedestrians, and other cyclists are going to do the most inconvenient/dangerous thing and be prepared to react to that i.e. always be planning your escape routes.

B) Take the lane when it is appropriate.

C) If you ride at night, at all, have multiple lights: #1: "be seen" light - a bright flashing light on the front of your bike #2: at least one rearward facing flashing light that is quite bright #3: A "see" light to light your way forward, illuminating pot holes and the like #4: a helmet light to aim at drivers that approach from the side. This last is invaluable.

D) Bell and horn. A bell is just common courtesy for signaling to other cyclists and pedestrians, but can save you from collisions with both. I highly recommend an Airzoundz horn. At ~35$ it is one of the best safety investments I have ever made. You refill it with your bike pump (up to 120 PSI, ignore new packaging stating 85 PSI). The horn has saved my bacon multiple times, it comes in most handy when a car pacing me starts drifting into my lane, but has saved me other times too.

E) Always wear a helmet. Even a low speed crash can result in you hitting your head. I've seen the most experienced cyclists go down and split their hemets. Their "lid" saved them from much worse head injuries (one had a good consussion).

F) Gloves will save the palms of your hands from horrible road rash. I always wear gloves.

G) I highly recommend a mirror. I am very partial to my Safe Zone helmet mounted mirror. Some people will say that this is a piece of safety equipment, but I have yet to swerve off the road or bail off my bike because I saw a car behind me that was going to run me over. That said, having a mirror makes the commuting experience far more enjoyable because instead of constantly having to crane your head over your shoulder when you have to change lanes or take the lane, you just glance up at your mirror. Of the pieces of equipment I won't leave home without again, my mirror, my helmet light, and my horn are at the top of my list.

H) I recommend putting reflective tape on your bike. There are a couple of great threads here about it, (recommending the best kinds etc) search for "making your bike glow down the road". I'd swear that I stop cars in their tracks that approach from the side with the spectacle of my bike frame glowing like something out of Tron!


Longest time between accidents? I guess two years now.

This month I just reached two years commuting. That's almost an hour in the saddle each way, 12-15 miles a day depending on whether I'm in school or not. Over the past two years I've been in school about every other quarter. On the weeks I'm going to school as well as commuting to work 3 days a week, I ride 6-7 days a week. No accidents yet! *knocks on wood!*

I inexplicably took a break for cycling for several years, before that I was car free over three years, working as a bicycle messenger for two of them, commuting about 10 miles (each way) to a hospital another of those, and picking up the occasional shift at an area hospital while I was couriering. During that time I had four incidents:

1) A car passed me, then slowed suddenly to turn right, but was halted by pedestrians in the crosswalk. I was moving at a nice clip and he cut in front of me and then stopped so I ran into the back of him and ended up on the trunklid. As soon as I was off his car he took off. No damage to me or the bike that I recall.

2) Working as a legal messenger, every now and then you'd end up on the sidewalk for a block or half a block to get from one business to another that were just far enough apart that it didn't make sense to lock up at one and walk from there to the other and back. As I was riding on the sidewalk a little old lady came out of an underground parking garage and hit me. She acted so mortified and kept saying she didn't see me because the sun was in her eyes that I let her go without getting her info because I wasn't really hurt and I didn't see any damage to the bike. As soon as she left and I hopped on the bike I couldn't help but notice that she damaged one of the wheels pretty bad. Lesson: always get their info, even if you think nothing happened! She totally jedi mind tricked me.

3) Flying down Second Avenue at a really good pace in the bike lane where the bike lane is the leftmost lane on this one way street I had a car suddenly turn left in front of me to dive into a parking lot. I went down hard, but skidded a long way. I don't recall any significant damage to the bike, this was one of those occasions where I wasn't wearing gloves (I ALWAYS do these days) and had a nice silver dollar sized chunk missing out of the palm of one hand and some torn up clothes.

4) During Seafair (early August) I had a youth (maybe 18 years old) try and run me over in his brand new Cadillac. I was riding two abreast with a group of cyclists taking the right lane of a road that has two lanes going each way. Despite the other lane being completely clear, he refused to go around us, honking his horn, flashing his highbeams (it was after dark) and and revving his engine. I was at the back of our pack of riders and got sick of this after several blocks and finally rode over into the other lane and opened my arms wide sort of showing him to go around. When I swung back into our lane he punched it and rear ended me at full throttle from several car lengths back. Somehow I just got pushed forward and didn't go down, but the rear wheel was taco'd and I was super sore the next day. The police were completely unhelpful despite multiple witnesses (passerby and my friends).

That's it though. If you don't ride on the sidewalk you won't ever have to worry about #2. #1 and #3 are harder to avoid, but I tend to take the lane on 2nd Avenue now and would recommend the same to folks on similar streets. Sometimes the bike lanes are really poorly laid out and it is better to not be in them! I consider that bike lane on the far left of multiple lanes of one way traffic, many of whom are going to be turning left, a death trap. #4 I think I brought on myself a little bit by moving into the other lane and basically taunting him by doing so, but who knows, maybe he would have rear ended whoever was rearmost in our pack of cyclists sooner or later, he wasn't showing any inclination to go around at all. I'd recommend being extra careful during festivals, especially "hot August nights" types. If you can reroute your commute around such things it is often for the best.

bubbagrannygear

The last few years I've averaged 7,000 miles per. About half of it commuting and probably 75% of the commuting in the dark. Generally find myself on the pavement once or twice a year. Lessons learned;

1) In the dark slow down on the turns - your light won't show the road surface you are turning onto.

1a) at night an icy road is indistinguisable from a wet road. When the temperature is just at 32 degrees you have to assume the worst. This can be hard when 99% of the pavement is just wet and not icy. (Have gone down on ice each of the last two years - getting a bike that will accomodate wider tires for studs next winter)

2) Be conservative in intersections -always assume a car entering an intersection will turn even if there is no directional used. Goes double for right turns.

3) Do not assume a car turning right from an intersecting street will stop even though there is a light or stop sign. Cars are more likely to do this at some intersections and at some times of the day than others so some experience and local knowledge helps. At night, even if they have stopped - don't assume they have seen you. Most of my close calls with vehicles have involved these two situations. I generally try to guage the drivers intention by judging his speed approaching the intersection and will slow down and prepare to brake if I have doubts he will stop. If the car has stopped, I look to see if I am covered by passing car which I assume the stopped driver will see. If there is no car I will take the lane to put me a little further from the stopped car and gain a little margin for error should the driver not see me and attempt to go.

acidfast7

is this correct?

if so, that's 16000 miles/year or 43 miles/day every single day ...

for 25 years!



that must be a record of some sort.

spare_wheel

I had several accidents involving motor vehicles when I first started riding daily. This was decades ago and I was the typical polite and law-abiding newbie cyclist. Since then I have learned that being assertive, holding my line, taking the lane, and aggressive communication are much safer than being a timid thigmotaxing bike "ambassador".

On the other hand, I have hit pavement multiple times while pushing myself during competition and "training". Cycling "advocates" and safety nannies love to exaggerate the risk of a non-motorist crash but if these crashes were even a tenth as dangerous as they claim, dozens (if not, hundreds) of cyclists would die while racing each year.

wolfchild

The more somebody rides the more skilled they become. The more often you ride the more experience you'll gain...I think people who are at the greatest risk are, newbies, "weekend riders" and other cyclists who don't ride very often... Good luck also helps, sometimes experienced riders will do everything right and still get hit.

RGNY

i t-boned a car when i was 11, on my first road bike, because we typically all rode on the sidewalk (like the nice policeman told us) and i decided to cross the street from between parked cars. still cringe in the face of the dumb....

31 years later and all i've had is a couple skinned knees from mountain biking.

awareness and being non-complacent is the key. be prepared for the worst case scenario and pick your battles. i strive to be considerate, communicative and predictable, but in the end i'm going home safe and ride to that end regardless of "rules".

every year i see new cyclists salmoning white knuckled up the street in deathly fear. i just hope they stay safe enough to acquire experience.

Baytree

For me it's a matter of location. In San Jose, I got hit once per year on the dot. Never had any serious injuries, but still. There were a lot of drivers who didn't pay attention, and the streets I had to ride on were usually unsafe for other reasons (fast traffic, no shoulder, etc). The exact reasons varied, but ultimately all came down to someone in a car made a mistake and I didn't react fast enough to compensate.

I've now moved to a smaller city where bicyclists are MUCH more common. I ride on residential streets or the highway, both are well-designed roads for cyclists. And.... not a single accident since moving here! That's three years and counting.

gerv 

I thought the same way until one day an oncoming vehicle left-hooked me. There are some situations you just can't anticipate. The surprise left hook is definitely one of them. And there are others.

sbslider

I think the hardest thing about commuting is being alert 110% of the time. My last accident and close call were because I was not totally focused on what was going on around me and preparing for bailout if need be. One way I have moved toward improving that is choosing routes that have less potential for these situations.

You mention encountering drunk drivers, if that is high on your fear list then taking dedicated bike routes or other routes that keep you away from cars is very helpful. That is what I tend to do, it is much more enjoyable riding away from cars. You may not have that option, if not then just focus as best you can.

jyl

I have never had an accident involving a car or pedestrian or other bike. Almost 50 y/o now. Started riding a bike in downtown city traffic when I was 8 y/o, okay it was only Vancouver B.C. but still it was an actual city. I've had myself a big solo crash (excessive speed) and some routine falls from going too fast, slick roads, mechanical, various reasons. (Not counting mountain biking falls, this is just road riding.)

Have had some close calls with cars, I thought hard about every one and changed what I was doing. One thing that helped, more recently, was getting a motorcycle license. The safety stuff you learn in a motorcycle course and then riding is directly applicable to bicycling. I imagine there are bicycle safety classes too.

You can't eliminate the threat of random chance. You can reduce it to a fairly small level. Currently I think I have about two close calls a year.

pdlamb

At the risk of getting kicked to A&S, I think things like being assertive, holding your line, taking the lane, and communication are law-abiding, and, since they tend to prevent motorists from being stopped for half an hour by police while the cyclist is transported from an accident scene, polite.

Leisesturm

There are some interesting contrasts in opinion in this thread. On the one hand you have lengthy multi-point tip lists from riders in their 20's who can remember when their last accident was, and on the other, shorter, more cogent advice form much older riders that have gone decades without a significant biking incident. I wish the high mileage, low incident riders were as verbose as their sage wisdom as the know it all's but isn't that always the way...?? If you are a new commuter reading this, I would urge you to ignore anything that has been posted in the long multi-point threads up to this point! I mean that. Absolute rubbish.

It is absolutely possible to ride safely without a mirror, a horn or a helmet. What do you think cyclists did before these things were invented?? I was riding for twenty years before the modern helmet was invented. Riding much harder then than I can ride now, and I still smoke riders half my age every now and then. Of course, now that helmets are here it behooves one to use them. Main reason, it provides a handy place to mount a helmet mirror... Yeah, mirrors are handy dandy things to use on the road as well. Not necessary, handy, there is a difference. Second reason is, people expect you to use a helmet, especially law enforcement. If you are wearing a helmet, anything else you might do wrong that day will be given much more benefit of the doubt. Just try taking the lane without wearing a bike helmet. See how well that goes.

I'm fast, but I cannot cruise at 25mph. Not even close. If that's what's necessary to be safe in 45mph traffic then I think 95% of the biking public is in deep tofu. So maybe its something else. I think so. Remember what I said about helmets... perception... I was on a rural road the other day. I was headed towards a blind curve. A real steep 15mph for the cars curve. All of a sudden both lanes are blocked because some numbwit decides that the car ahead of him isn't going through the curve fast enough so he passes on the inside in the curve! Had I been "taking my lane" like I am supposed to in that kind of situation I would have been that cars hood ornament. Even on a rural two lane I am never out in the main flow of vehicle traffic without a good reason. Cars are real quiet these days and they can be on you before you even know they are there. If your habit is to ride out in the lane the PERCEPTION on the part of the driver is that he has been held up by this extremely inconsiderate cyclist. He will not pass with care and... ... who needs that. I have found that when I leave the lane free for whoever wants it that the vast majority of drivers wait until they can pull fully into the oncoming traffic lane to pass. Some won't. So work on your line!

I am really loving the suburban commute scene with the summer alternative of the rural route through the farms. Pure commuting JOY! The wife makes noises about wanting to move into Portland proper. I'm really not feeling that. I commuted from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan for 25 years. I've done my time in the urban trenches. Urban Portland commuting looks very hardcore. Those guys (and gals!) do cruise at 25mph. And its chock a block. Drop your waterbottle and you cause a 20 bike chain reaction collision. Why do I mention it... because of the earlier mention of the dreaded DOOR ZONE. A feature of urban cycling is the presence of parked vehicle traffic. There is a definite disconnect between the advice of various government and city publications advising cyclist awareness of door zone risks and the advice from cyclist organizations advocating shunning the door zone altogether. Most urban speedlimits are 25mph. As I already mentioned, I cannot ride that fast. Neither can most cyclists, that includes Portland hipsters. So... the PERCEPTION that a motorist has when stuck behind a cyclist who eschews the door zone is that they are being HELD UP. That means one thing in Portland, OR and quite another in Newark, NJ. I wouldn't risk it either place. Cars hit each other all the time. I don't want to be inbetween either of them. The door zone is a much safer place than other road placements and I have cruised more miles without incident in the door zones of various cities than many of you will ride on any kind of road surface.

What matters? Road surface matters. Storm drains, potholes, debris, oil. These things can put you down, and going down can mean anything from road rash to a broken collarbone or worse. Try not to fall. Intersections are dangerous, if they are only controlled by stop signs they are doubly dangerous. You should be able to HEAR anything coming towards a stop sign fast enough to hurt you so... do not listen to music if you ride in town! Its really that simple. Stay upright at all times through good bike handling and awareness of the road surface and vigilance at intersections. Anything else is for extra credit. Wnen bad things happen to cyclists it happens through their own carelessness, or it happens at an intersection (driveways are intersections).

H

idc

I've had maybe 1-2 bike accidents per year but none of those are related to cars or traffic!



That said, I have several close calls commuting per year, although hopefully this number is reducing. I ride less on roads now, especially during peak hour traffic and especially busier roads. I avoid riding in the dark when I can. I no longer listen to what people say about vehicular riding. It's fine and dandy on weekends, in roadie groups, whatever. In peak hour traffic there are always going to be impatient a-holes and it only takes one to take you out. Unfortunately as a cyclist on the road you are always going to lose if you get in an accident, so you have to decide how you want to handle that. Advocacy groups will tell you to be predictable and lawful, but many drivers are neither of those. The law also does not take into consideration some things that really matter to cyclists, like drain covers, pot holes, etc.

I rode 7000+ miles last year, well over half of those were commuting.

nashvillwill

The only accident I've had only involved me and was simply the result of myself not paying attention. Here's a tip; Don't cross street car tracks parallel to the rails.

alexaschwanden

No accidents with cars so far, a few tip overs no big deal.