"Wheels of Misfortune" in the NYT

@Crickey7 164088 wrote:

That is an untested hypothesis but also one unlikely to be true. There is very little real, good data on cyclist lawbreaking. The only study here that I’m aware of was for the Pennsylvania Avenue cycletrack, which showed a 42% rate of cyclists running reds.

That’s pretty good data that is similar to my anecdotal observation. Based on your information, I will revise my previous statement to:

If 42% of car drivers ran red lights which is the same rate that cyclists ran red lights in a study conducted on the Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack in Washingston DC, I believe that there is an increased likelihood that I would have been seriously injured or killed during the prior two year time period that i have bike commuted. Based on a personal assessment conducted on the morning of 8/11/17, I evaluated a 42% red light running rate as being a 5 for the likelihood that a car would run a red light in an intersection in which I had the right of way and evaluated the impact of such occurrence as a 5. I have chosen avoidance as the proper risk management strategy in a scenario where 42% of cars would run a red light. I have anecdotally observed that multiple cyclists run red lights in other parts of DC. I have also frequently observed cyclists breaking other traffic laws which could result in injury or death to others or themselves, particularly failing to yield to pedestrians in the 15th Street Cycletrack near the White House. I am unaware of any comprehensive studies of how many cyclists fail to yield pedestrians in the 15th St cycletrack near the White House and whether such study would confirm my unscientific and anecdotal observations.

@Judd 164095 wrote:

I’ve actually taken to checking out some of the places that I bike frequently by car, just to get the motorist perspective of intersections and trail crossings. I think it’s helpful, particularly in understanding that some “bad” driver behavior is a influenced by the infrastructure, particularly bad sight lines.

THIS. There were 2 intersections in Alexandria I used to struggle with on a bike–I used to have a ton of close calls on them. I drove through them once or twice while running errands and realized it wasn’t that the drivers were TRYING to hit me, it was that they really had terrible sight lines, and couldn’t see bikes coming until much too close for comfort. Checking this out by car got me to slow wayyy down at those intersections, and gave me a better ability to predict what drivers approaching the intersection would do, and why.

On the other end of the spectrum was when a driver who almost hit me and swore it was because he had no sight lines and couldn’t see me. I went back and drove through the intersection going his route. You could see a few hundred yards in either direction, even from my tiny little Focus. 😡

@Emm 164097 wrote:

THIS. There were 2 intersections in Alexandria I used to struggle with on a bike–I used to have a ton of close calls on them. I drove through them once or twice while running errands and realized it wasn’t that the drivers were TRYING to hit me, it was that they really had terrible sight lines, and couldn’t see bikes coming until much too close for comfort. Checking this out by car got me to slow wayyy down at those intersections, and gave me a better ability to predict what drivers approaching the intersection would do, and why.

The most eye-opening intersection for me to drive through was the W&OD and Shreve Road out in Falls Church. I biked through intersection a hundred times and had never driven it until like maybe 18 months ago. If you’re driving west, the trail crossing really sneaks up on you and there’s kind of a lot going on for drivers right there. So after driving it, I’m much more conscientious about how I approach that intersection on a bike.

@TwoWheelsDC 164099 wrote:

The most eye-opening intersection for me to drive through was the W&OD and Shreve Road out in Falls Church. I biked through intersection a hundred times and had never driven it until like maybe 18 months ago. If you’re driving west, the trail crossing really sneaks up on you and there’s kind of a lot going on for drivers right there. So after driving it, I’m much more conscientious about how I approach that intersection on a bike.

The sight lines for bikes aren’t good either. They changed the “angle of attack” for bikes a few years ago, but IMHO that didn’t improve it significantly. I regard it as the most dangerous intersection on the entire W&OD which does not have a traffic light. I wonder how expensive it would be to build a bike bridge there.

@Brett L. 164102 wrote:

I believe it is irresponsible to say that “cars are still worse, so we’re choosing the lesser of two evils”, and then to just ignore the problem of scofflaws. I read this article as to say that “this problem should not be ignored”, not so much as “it’s the only problem we should focus on”.

I think you’ve pretty succinctly described how I see the world. I’d also add that the piece is an op-ed from the daughter of someone who was recently murdered by another person that negligently operated a bicycle. When I read it in that context, the opinion expressed is rather mild. I imagine that I would be incredibly angry if something similar happened to one of my relatives or friends.

@Brett L. 164102 wrote:

After reading the article, I generally have to agree with the point that she is making. While I feel it is too generalized, and too markedly stating that cyclists are scofflaws, there is no denying that it is a serious issue that will only grow in the short term as more people make the switch (more cyclists means more potential scofflaws, assuming the same percentage of scofflaw cyclists don’t change). Fortunately, I feel that there will be a critical mass at some point, where enough people have made the switch to cycling, that cycling truly becomes an acceptable culture in the US, that the infrastructure will eventually be there to both travel and educate. In effect, this will result in a reduced percentage of scofflaws. I believe it is irresponsible to say that “cars are still worse, so we’re choosing the lesser of two evils”, and then to just ignore the problem of scofflaws. I read this article as to say that “this problem should not be ignored”, not so much as “it’s the only problem we should focus on”.

Perhaps, but since it’s about 1000 times more likely a pedestrian will be killed by a person driving a car than a person riding a bike, there should probably be a similar ratio of attention paid to that. I’d be surprised to see 1000 opinion articles show up in the NY Times regarding a pedestrian being killed by a car driver before the next one about a pedestrian being killed by a bicyclist. In fact, I can’t recall any op-eds discussing the former. 2-3 pedestrians are killed every week, on average, in the DC area by drivers. They barely blip on the inside of the Metro section. A significant percentage of these are because drivers are “running” red lights (turning right on red without stopping, sometimes barely slowing down).

Not in the slightest to diminish the tragedy of this woman’s death, but if she had been wearing a helmet, she would likely still be alive.

I just spent the last 10 minutes trying to find my previous posts referencing an article that everyone should read specifically addressing this perception that bicycles are so dangerous while normalizing the magnitudes’ greater danger of automobiles. I think it was in Bicycling Magazine, but a search there turns up nothing. Can anyone find it?