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What about severe injury vs. death

1424 Views 30 Replies 12 Participants Last post by fiziks, 14 d ago

shrubs

Discussion Starter · 17 d ago

I found this listing of cities inspire me to ask a lot of questions.

Does this include the popular bicycle rentals?
Any bike advocacy going on in these cities?
Any efforts on vehicle vs. bike rider education?
Many other Qs.

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JSR

· #2 · 17 d ago

I cant answer all your question but I’m very surprised about Tucson’s place on this list. I spent a month there this winter, finding a biking paradise.

There is an extensive MUP system. Bike lanes on almost all major streets. A number “Bike Boulevards” which are routed through quiet neighborhood streets, well marked with sharrows and signs, special protected crossings of major roads, traffic calming features.

The only explanation I could guess at is that the arterial roads are motoring madness. There always is a bike lane, but there are many motor traffic lanes in each direction and people drive super fast. As many as three left turn lanes at some intersections. Road surfaces are very bad.

bvber

· #3 · 17 d ago

shrubs said:
Many other Qs.

Yes, why does that chart not show any California cities like the following reports?

The 20 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Cyclists – CarInsurance.org

We looked at 77 cities to find the 20 most dangerous U.S. Cities for cyclists. Which cities were the most dangerous for cyclists and why? Find out more.

www.carinsurance.org

www.cliqproducts.com

The Most Dangerous Cities for Cyclists

Photo Credit: oneinchpunch / Shutterstock While cycling has grown in popularity in recent years, it has especially boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people moved to the outdoors to exercise and looked for alternatives to public transportation. At the same time, cycling has become more...

www.cliqproducts.com

www.cliqproducts.com

fiziks

· #4 · 17 d ago

bvber said:
Yes, why does that chart not show any California cities like the following reports?

The 20 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Cyclists – CarInsurance.org

We looked at 77 cities to find the 20 most dangerous U.S. Cities for cyclists. Which cities were the most dangerous for cyclists and why? Find out more.

www.carinsurance.org

The Most Dangerous Cities for Cyclists

Photo Credit: oneinchpunch / Shutterstock While cycling has grown in popularity in recent years, it has especially boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people moved to the outdoors to exercise and looked for alternatives to public transportation. At the same time, cycling has become more...

www.cliqproducts.com

Not surprised to see Louisville on your second list. I lived there as a kid and riding a bike was taking your life into your hands. I went back there a few years ago and it was worse.
I was also not surprised to see several cities in Florida on the list. I've been to various cities in Florida numerous times, and in many places it isn't even safe as a pedestrian. A few places I've been in Florida don't believe in shoulders or sidewalks. Also, you can ride year round in Fl.

I am surprised to see Minneapolis on the list. Minnesota is generally very bike friendly and there are plenty of bike paths and lanes through Minneapolis. There are hundreds of miles of dedicated paved bike trails in both rural and urban areas. But you can really only ride May through Sept.

Lombard

· #5 · 16 d ago

bvber said:
Yes, why does that chart not show any California cities like the following reports?

The 20 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Cyclists – CarInsurance.org

We looked at 77 cities to find the 20 most dangerous U.S. Cities for cyclists. Which cities were the most dangerous for cyclists and why? Find out more.

www.carinsurance.org

The Most Dangerous Cities for Cyclists

Photo Credit: oneinchpunch / Shutterstock While cycling has grown in popularity in recent years, it has especially boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people moved to the outdoors to exercise and looked for alternatives to public transportation. At the same time, cycling has become more...

www.cliqproducts.com

Did anybody happen to notice the number of cities where the share of fatalities where cyclist was wearing a helmet was 0%?

Reactions: 1

fiziks

· #6 · 16 d ago

I'd like to know how they determined the number of "commuters".

duriel

· #7 · 16 d ago

It's per 'resident'. That is posted by someone somewhere and ended up on the internet so it must be ?

fiziks

· #8 · 16 d ago

This one is per commuter: The 20 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Cyclists – CarInsurance.org

I also spent part of a summer riding a bike in D.C. as a teen. It was not the safest place to be on a bike, but it was pretty easy to get away from the cops if you were on a bike... not that I ever had to...

Reactions: 1

SPlKE

· #9 · 16 d ago

fiziks said:
This one is per commuter: The 20 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Cyclists – CarInsurance.org

I also spent part of a summer riding a bike in D.C. as a teen. It was not the safest place to be on a bike, but it was pretty easy to get away from the cops if you were on a bike... not that I ever had to...

You, in DC:

Wheel Horse Sky Vehicle Bicycles--Equipment and supplies

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Reactions: 3

velodog

· #10 · 16 d ago

I ain't afraid.

One Wheel

· #11 · 16 d ago

SPlKE said:
You, in DC:

View attachment 488594

First it was "Four More Years of the Full Dinner Pail" and "Vote for Al Smith and Make All Your Wet Dreams Come True." Now I need a "Disregard the Constabulary" jersey, too.

dir-t

· #12 · 16 d ago

JSR said:
I cant answer all your question but I’m very surprised about Tucson’s place on this list. I spent a month there this winter, finding a biking paradise.

There is an extensive MUP system. Bike lanes on almost all major streets. A number “Bike Boulevards” which are routed through quiet neighborhood streets, well marked with sharrows and signs, special protected crossings of major roads, traffic calming features.

The only explanation I could guess at is that the arterial roads are motoring madness. There always is a bike lane, but there are many motor traffic lanes in each direction and people drive super fast. As many as three left turn lanes at some intersections. Road surfaces are very bad.

I've been hearing for years that Tucson is great for road biking and whenever I visit my FIL there I wonder, "how in the world could that be? This looks like a nightmare". Thanks for the explanation.

duriel

· #13 · 16 d ago

Tuscon is rated high cause a lot of riders ride all year, tourists and biking tourists off the hook. If you know where to ride, it is average. People drive like shiet all over, so if you have more miles you have more deaths.

Reactions: 2

SPlKE

· #14 · 16 d ago

duriel said:
Tuscon is rated high cause a lot of riders ride all year, tourists and biking tourists off the hook. If you know where to ride, it is average. People drive like shiet all over, so if you have more miles you have more deaths.

That was my take on the stats too.

shrubs

Discussion Starter · #15 · 16 d ago

I can road ride, not MUT, here in the Nashville area if I am judicious on: time of day; how much use the roads I will be using get; and of course like Dirty Harry says "You feel lucky, Punk?".

Kerry Irons

· #16 · 16 d ago

shrubs said:
I found this listing of cities inspire me to ask a lot of questions.

Does this include the popular bicycle rentals?
Any bike advocacy going on in these cities?
Any efforts on vehicle vs. bike rider education?
Many other Qs.

Recognize that most fatalities in urban areas are with various "issues" that most reading this web site do not have. Examples would be wrong-way riding, riding at night without lights or reflectors, and impaired riding. These folks are riding bikes because they have no alternative. They are not thinking about safety in the way folks commenting on these numbers are. The danger to experienced road riders is MUCH lower.

Reactions: 4

Lombard

· #17 · 16 d ago

Kerry Irons said:
Recognize that most fatalities in urban areas are with various "issues" that most reading this web site do not have. Examples would be wrong-way riding, riding at night without lights or reflectors, and impaired riding. These folks are riding bikes because they have no alternative. They are not thinking about safety in the way folks commenting on these numbers are. The danger to experienced road riders is MUCH lower.

This may be true........partially. My observation is that stronger more competitive road riders seem to get in more accidents than more recreational riders. Note that I'm not talking about city commuters, but rather those of us who ride because we want to, not because we have to.

velodog

· #18 · 16 d ago

Lombard said:
This may be true........partially. My observation is that stronger more competitive road riders seem to get in more accidents than more recreational riders. Note that I'm not talking about city commuters, but rather those of us who ride because we want to, not because we have to.

This is pretty much true of automobile drivers also.

Pushing the limit, no matter the tool, magnifies the probability of something going wrong.

Reactions: 1

fiziks

· #19 · 15 d ago

Kerry Irons said:
Recognize that most fatalities in urban areas are with various "issues" that most reading this web site do not have. Examples would be wrong-way riding, riding at night without lights or reflectors, and impaired riding. These folks are riding bikes because they have no alternative. They are not thinking about safety in the way folks commenting on these numbers are. The danger to experienced road riders is MUCH lower.

At least one of the studies cited dealt specifically with bike "commuters" and not the general population. It had a similar ranking of cities as the other lists. I know of several biking accidents in my home town in the last five years in which someone was seriously injured, one of which resulted in a fatality. All were car vs. biker except one which was bike vs bike (I was a witness to that one). All were "experienced" bikers (road riders) and not people riding bikes because they had no other alternative. No one was impaired. All were broad daylight. Almost all were at intersections. But it was clear from the two that I personally witnessed, not all bikers were thinking about safety (nor were the car drivers). So I think it is incredibly disingenuous to imply that the fatalities are not representative of the general biking community or the "typical" biker, even though my city is not on the list.

I have had more incidents with cars on my bike than I have on my motorcycle. One thing I have experience multiple times on my bike (and not on my motorcycle) is animosity from the car driver or passenger(s) towards me (not that it doesn't happen to others). I've been run off the road and to the ground twice (one was clearly intentional, the other time I'm not sure), I've been yelled at several times, and one time I had a driver swerve into the clearly marked bike lane so the passenger could take a swipe at my handlebars when I was going down hill at over 20mph.

Ride like no one sees you. Heck, people don't see police cars with flashing lights on the side of the road, so what chance do we have?

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Lombard

· #20 · 15 d ago

velodog said:
This is pretty much true of automobile drivers also.

Pushing the limit, no matter the tool, magnifies the probability of something going wrong.

Sadly, I have a friend who was a very strong and competitive rider. She has had two serious accidents in the last two years. She barely gets around with a walker now and it's doubtful she will ever ride again. Both accidents involved other riders and were clearly her fault.

Live to cycle another day.

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