chroot

edit: Please consider the first poll option to mean "no crashes (yet)."

Hi all,

I'm a new roadie (read: accident waiting to happen?) and am curious about the actual frequency of crashes experienced by most roadies. I'm going to make the tacit assumption that the crash rate is dependent only on the number of miles ridden (this is approximately true of motor vehicles), though I'm sure the crash rate really also depends on secondary factors like equipment, training, experience, speed, and so on.

I'd also like to consider a 'crash' to be an accident so severe that it either put you in the hospital, or kept you off your bike for more than a month. Minor accidents, dopey falls while learning to use cleats, pothole wheel-eaters and the like are, in my opinion, par for the course.

Take your estimated total mileage, and divide it by the number of crashes you've experienced. Then pick the poll option that best describes your crashes-to-miles ratio.

Thank!

- Warren

ExMachina

How about a "no crash in 5000"--that's me (knock wood)

That said, I don't race (much) and I'm very selective about where and with whom I go riding. I'm also very anal when it comes to bike maintainence.

The less particular you are about the conditions you go riding under (traffic, weather, new roads, ride partners' abilities etc) the more you open yourself to the unanticipated events that usually are the prelude to a crash...

joejack951

Interesting thread. I've had a few dopey falls but no crashes per your definition in about 5000 miles since I started riding last May. So I don't fit into your poll but I could if I assumed the next 5000 would be crash free (crossing my fingers that they will be). Racing, offroading, rain/snow riding, and downtown city riding would be my picks for most crash-likely situations.

Wildwood 

By your definition 1 crash in 50K miles over about 20 years of adult cycling. Broken collarbone that took 6- 8 weeks to heal.

cydewaze

Ahh, I voted before I read the definition.

chroot

Hmmm... a suppose a brain fart led me to forget to include an option for people who have never crashed. Unfortunately, I cannot edit the poll. How about using the first option to mean "no crashes (yet)?"

- Warren

spacefuzz

i also voted before reading your defenition of crash. i think of crashes as anytime you go down and aquire some road rash. enough to keep you off the bike for a few days to a few weeks. then i only have two. for severe crashes that require hospitalization, i only know three people who ever crashed that hard.

chroot

Well, as much fun as road rash isn't, I'm not terribly worried about it. Just like snowboarding, I'm entering this game expecting to get hurt at least a few times. I expect to fall over while trying to unclip a few times. I expect to hit something at a funny angle and bail every now and then. At least I'll be entertaining to the riders behind me!

I'm just worried about the -severe- accidents, the ones that change lives. This forum is, of course, filled with horror stories about roadies being run over by eight consecutive FedEx trucks, and I wanted to get an (unscientific) handle on the real frequency of such horrific accidents.

That said, I'm almost positive that driving a car is on the whole more dangerous than riding a bike, no matter how you slice it. (No pun intended.) If anyone has any real evidence either way, I'd be interested in it.

- Warren

johnny99

I've been riding 5000+ miles per year since the 1970s. I have never been treated in a hospital for any reason. I have never been off my bike for more than a month for any reason. The last time I fell off my road bike was almost 20 years ago. Mountain bike crashes are another matter.

On the other hand, I do know some klutzes that collect road rash regularly. They really don't pay enough attention to road and traffic conditions around them.

Elvish Legion

Using your def of a crash none in over 3k miles give or take of riding. I've taken some spills but gotta just get back up and keep moving!

Elvish

teamawe

I define a wreck as hitting the ground.

A crash is where during a fall I dont know where my a$$ is in relation to the earth.

samp02

I thinks its in how you ride. If you race you might have the chance of crashing more. Some group rides might lead to a crash. One major crash for me.....ouch

puddin' legs

Racing, 2-3 a year on average. Riding, once a year.

noisebeam

This is a far riskier poll to vote in than a flat frequency poll.

No way am I tempting my luck.

Al

bkrownd

What's a hospital?

my58vw

Well according to your definition I have never "crashed", but I have ended in the hospital. I would consider a crash where there is significant or limited ability to ride a bike for a period of time... i.e. 2+ weeks. When I was hit by a car I was back on the bike within 2 weeks.