Biking is SAFEST

[americancyclo]

Dude has quite a few contentious views. My brother in law digs his ideas.

[hozn]

There was a whole cult following at my work; it was getting insane. I am generally in favor of frugality, but I am not interested in that level of obsession over it. But certainly he has some good points. I kept cable (I like the Tour and BBC America) but did decide to learn to cut my own hair. That was liberating, saves money, and continues to improve

But, yeah, that article has a bad-math (or just lacking-stats) smell to it. The comments are entertaining. Wow, his fans are … well … fanatic.

[KLizotte]

As any honest statistician will tell you correlation is not causation. But putting his unproven numbers aside, I’m gonna propose that the accident differential is not as big as he says. Think of this bike forum. Look at how many people have had to go to the hospital over the past couple of years for broken bones never mind road rash, concussions, bad falls, etc. Then there is the frequency of car-bike accidents (birddog just had one) which fortunately hasn’t resulted in any deaths. Now how many of us on the forum have been in a car accident over the past two years that has necessitated going to the hospital/doctor? I could be wrong but I think I hear crickets.

I know far more people who have been badly injured by biking than I do driving (including myself) and I know far more drivers than bikers. It is still a dangerous sport and pretending that it isn’t does a disservice to everyone.

[Tim Kelley]

False. Elevator travel is the safest form of transportation.

[eminva]

@KLizotte 59053 wrote:

Now how many of us on the forum have been in a car accident that has necessitated going to the hospital/doctor? I could be wrong but I think I hear crickets.

Maybe because it’s not the type of thing that comes up on a cycling forum? But yes, I was in a motor vehicle accident as a child that resulted in serious injury.

@KLizotte 59053 wrote:

I know far more people who have been badly injured by biking than I do driving (including myself) and I know far more drivers than bikers.

How fortunate you are. I knew several people, including a close relative, killed in motor vehicle accidents, and numerous others badly injured.

But — none of this matters — it’s all anecdote, which, as you note, has its limitations. However, I believe there may be studies on this topic (number of people per capita injured/killed in bike accidents vs. motor vehicle accidents) with a little more academic rigor than the one cited above. I don’t remember the specifics but I remember being surprised that cycling was realtively safe comparatively.

Liz

[lordofthemark]

My understanding is that based on the data available, biking is A. Safer than driving per hour B. More dangerous than driving per mile. Cause, despite elite riders, and bad traffic, driving is still on average much faster than biking

So if the choice is to go from point A to point B by bike or car, you are safer going by car. If OTOH, the choice is to design a lifestyle where your typical trip is a car trip that takes you half an hour, vs one where where your typical trip is a bike trip that takes you half an hour, the latter is safer. Perhaps its no wonder that places with good walkable/bikeable infrastructure, and close to major employment/activity centers, sell at a premium. To the point that major metro papers write articles about some such places as examples of a “new gilded age”.

And note, its well known that bike/ped exposure data (how many miles/hours people travel by those modes) is inadequate, and efforts are being made to remediate that.

edit: clicking on the link, he said just what I said. Good.

Plus the health effect, which is important. I know a family that lost two members (grandfather/grandson) to an auto accident. But I also lost my own dad to cardiovascular disease, at 72. And then there are the mental health benefits as well.

[Author]

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