Cycling deaths...

[wooly]

Is it me or does it seem like there have been many more cycling related deaths lately. It's probably increased exposure in the media and subsequent posts in forums like ours.

There was an article / commentary in my local paper (Orange County Register) that discussed cycling and car driver opinions (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cyclists-331121-one-road.html (http://http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cyclists-331121-one-road.html)). Startlingly, it stated that one cyclist dies a month in the county alone. I was blown away (and also questioning if that was correct).

I happened to be reading the article during my recuperation time from a crash. I was off the bike for 2 weeks. Since reading the article and re-realizing my vulnerability on the road I bought a Road ID and my first hi-viz jacket. Never thought I'd get one. And I also rethink wearing any of my black jerseys with the hazard of blending in to driver's view.

Nonetheless, just wanted to get your sense if cyclist deaths are on the rise.

Happy and safe riding out there friends.

[AngryScientist]

i dont have any data to back up this assumption, but it seems to me that there are more and more cars on the road every year. certainly my commute to work gets more traffic every year. couple that with the fact that pretty much anyone who drives an automobile also owns a smart phone, bluetooth, navigation system and a car that parallel parks itself; this is leading to a lot more volume and distraction on the road. it would not surprise me that accidents in general, and cycling related auto accidents are on the rise.

there is no doubt about the fact that it's dangerous out there on the road. there should be much much stricter punishment for distracted drivers, and accidents caused by distracted drivers.

let's all stay safe and try not to become a statistic out there.

[Ahneida Ride]

Until there is a public outcry (similar to the campaign against drunk driving) ... this madness will continue

http://www.davidtryan.com/intro.htm

[Ahneida Ride]

there should be much much stricter punishment for distracted drivers, and accidents caused by distracted drivers.


Dr. Ryan's executioner had a track record of reckless driving and racing
on the road ..

His executioner served about 1/2 of a 3 year sentence.

Dr. Ryan is not longer with us.

[veloduffer]

I think cyclist is a broad category - it could include kid on bike, commuter, etc. The data could be more revealing if segmented into occasional vs commuter vs enthusiast/racer. Many occasional cyclists ride their bikes on the wrong side of the street, no helmet, dark/low visability clothes, etc.

That statistic seems a bit high but the number of cars and cyclists on the road has been increasing. I'm surprised not to hear more accidents in my home state of NJ. I see a number of workers riding on cheap mtbs along the shoulders of heavily trafficked roads - no lights, dark clothes. For many, they have to travel this way due to their work hours (night for restaurant workers), distance from home, work location and inefficient public transportation.

Also, punishment for bad driving behavior is fairly lenient. Texting and cellphone talking, amongst other distractions, have relatively small fines and some are only secondary offenses (you can't be pulled over for this offense alone). If texting and the like were punishable with a $500 fine and license suspension, it would go quite a bit toward better driving.

[Matt-H]

It is very sad, but our community recently lost a huge safe-cycling advocate after he was run down on a bridge in my town. Tomorrow night, a large response is anticipated for a "ride of respect" which will be escorted by local bike police and in which participants will hold a moment of silence at the crash scene and also gather at our city hall for a remembrance/tribute service.

http://www.mcall.com/photos/mc-pictures-todays-photo-journal-tuesday-decem-056,0,599298.photo

[wooly]

I think cyclist is a broad category - it could include kid on bike, commuter, etc. The data could be more revealing if segmented into occasional vs commuter vs enthusiast/racer.

I agree - there are a lot of non-"cyclist" folks that ride there bikes on the road without a helmet at night with very little lighting. Freaks me out when I see it. That's probably a large driving reason for the 1 a month stat.

[benb]

Most recent # I can find is for 2009, there were 630 "people riding bicycles" killed in the US in 2009.

That would make a county that killed 12 in a year more dangerous then the average I think.

For that same year:

~24,000 motor vehicle occupants died
~4,400 motorcyclists died
~4,000 pedestrians died

[Mark McM]

Most recent # I can find is for 2009, there were 630 "people riding bicycles" killed in the US in 2009.

That would make a county that killed 12 in a year more dangerous then the average I think.

For that same year:

~24,000 motor vehicle occupants died
~4,400 motorcyclists died
~4,000 pedestrians died

Fatality statistics for the 34 year period between 1975 and 2009 can be found at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety web site:

http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2009/general.html

The total roadway fatalities have been decreasing over the past few decades for most modes of transportation, including passenger vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and large trucks. Between 1975 to 2009, total roady fatalies decreased by 23%, whereas bicycle fatalities decreased 37%. The only exception is for motorcycles, where the numbers have been increasing for the past decade - between 1999 and 2009 motorcycle fatalities increased by 77%.

Bicycle fatalities for bicycles tracks very closely with pedestrian deaths. This should not be surprising, as other statistics show that the majority of both bicycle and pedestrian deaths involve collisions with motor vehicles.

[Ahneida Ride]

I agree - there are a lot of non-"cyclist" folks that ride there bikes on the road without a helmet at night with very little lighting. Freaks me out when I see it. That's probably a large driving reason for the 1 a month stat.


yea !!! I was afraid to post this ....l

But I too get freaked out .... really freaked out ...

It's dusk ..... on a bike .... dark clothes .... no lights ....

what can I say .... how can I plead ?

you can purchase a decent tail light for 25 frn.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . there are more deaths. We just hear about more of them because of forums like this and attention paid by the media in order to drum up a story.

Reckless pedestrians and cyclists are an increasing problem here in the Capital Region. Riders going the wrong way or against lights or traffic on beaters with no helmets, dark clothing, at night, etc. Pedestrians at night in dark coats, dark hats, dark pants, crossing the street--or even walking down the middle of it!--when there ar sidewalks or crossing signals right there for the using.

Case in point . . . other night I was waiting at the left turn at Balltown Road and State Street--a busy 3 way intersection here right next to a shopping center. Heavy traffic at evening rush hour after dark. This guy apparently wants to get to the bus stop, so he just strolls diagonally right cross the intersection. Cars stopping, cars swerving. Unbelievable.

So many people in our society today, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, roam around like its everybody else's responsibility to get out of their way. Then when some poor Joe is driving at night, doesn't see one of these pedestrians, and runs them down, the letters to the editor are full of outrage about how the driver should be punished for not yielding the right of way--even though it's pedestrian who apparently couldn't use crosswalk, crossing signals, or even cross with the traffic light. I just don't get it . . .

BBD

[redir]

i dont have any data to back up this assumption, but it seems to me that there are more and more cars on the road every year. certainly my commute to work gets more traffic every year. couple that with the fact that pretty much anyone who drives an automobile also owns a smart phone, bluetooth, navigation system and a car that parallel parks itself; this is leading to a lot more volume and distraction on the road. it would not surprise me that accidents in general, and cycling related auto accidents are on the rise.

there is no doubt about the fact that it's dangerous out there on the road. there should be much much stricter punishment for distracted drivers, and accidents caused by distracted drivers.

let's all stay safe and try not to become a statistic out there.
I totally agree and have been predicting for a while that accidents will be going up because of distracted drivers texting or what ever. There's probably more bikes on the road too so it makes sense.

[gemship]

Until there is a public outcry (similar to the campaign against drunk driving) ... this madness will continue

http://www.davidtryan.com/intro.htm


that's a shame he died this way and not to take away from his passing but it has been a while, if one googles cycling related deaths it's simply amazing to see the more recent fatalities reported.

[gemship]

yea !!! I was afraid to post this ....l

But I too get freaked out .... really freaked out ...

It's dusk ..... on a bike .... dark clothes .... no lights ....

what can I say .... how can I plead ?

you can purchase a decent tail light for 25 frn.


I had to replace my thirty dollar led light that uses a rubber strap to the handlebars. It was five years old and the buckle for the strap was partially broken, used it as a tail light after my planet bike light with springy clip unclipped itself to the milk crate on the rear rack. Replaced with a led mini flash light from the dollar store for a frn :banana: Taped to my helmet I believe this will be the ticket. My problem with bike specific lights is they are expensive to replace when they are so easy to lose or the switches break. I know our lives are worth so much more but it's nice to find cheaper yet comparable stuff out there. My goal is simply to be seen at night not looking to light up the road.

[toaster]

It's really easy to just drive around like it's your right to do so and all other users of the road who seem to get in your way somehow either must be doing something wrong or don't belong there.

Then it's ok to drive and multi-task whether that means eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the wheel or even do a little light reading of some paper or book and then answer telephone calls and text back while you operate a fast moving 2,000+ lbs of steel and glass.

Also, some folks must drive an SUV or truck because it makes THEM safer if they nail a smaller vehicle or they hit you. The big vehicle takes away the sense of speed and distance (the bigger and taller vehicle makes high speeds seem slower and objects outside not as close as they really are.)

Because you are moving fast and there is no real human interaction, you then get to have conflicts you yourself create (road rage) where there are almost never any consequences for your actions. The tiniest female and the biggest 300 lb football player have a level playing field when their weapons are the same rolling mass of machine. You can be a bully and a coward at the same time by intimidating others on foot, on a bicycle, motorcycle or smaller car.

Then, worst of all, should you miscalculate and screw up a small margin of error when passing others in your superior or angered fashion and you accidently hit and murder someone you can blame them for moving into your path at the last moment leaving you no where to go except over them. The police will believe you and so will the press.

There was a recent accident in Orange County, CA where in my estimation it looked like the deceased cyclist was clipped, not hit broadside as the driver claimed in a report where the cyclist appeared to make a U-turn as she approached the cyclist at over 50mph. Besides, how many drivers at 50 mph and more are only looking ahead maybe two car lengths or less? They are so conditioned to traffic they fail to look up the road more than in the 5 second forward zone. There are safety programs I have seen where the training involves re-learning to drive and see ahead at least 15 to 30 seconds in front of you out to the horizon and driving with 6 or more seconds distance to the car in front of you. You realize how rare even the 6 second rule of following is practiced?

So, are cyclist deaths happening more often? I believe so. People (motorists, mostly) need to look at their own behavior and understand that there are serious consequences to driving distracted or with a chip on their shoulder or just reacting to others actions with your own prejudices and biased beliefs. I cannot imagine how much suffering even the perpetrators must have after lying about how the accident really happened (due to their own lack of care) and then living with the enormous guilt that must follow. That pales, I'm sure, of the suffering to the victims family but I cannot even know that for sure.

[Kontact]

I was looking at stats once and noticed that annual cycling deaths and accidental gun deaths were about the same (1300ish). Depending on your myopia, that's either a lot of deaths, or very few.

But 40,000 people are accidentally poisoned a year and car accidents are right up there, too. Even when you take the 90% of poisonings that are drug related out, that's still 4000 people of year being poisoned. Even falls are like 20,000. Compared to that, bike accidents seem pretty small.

Texting auto deaths have recently caused a huge spike, which raises all car related deaths, bikers included.


We are vulnerable on the road - there is just so much defensive driving a guy in lycra can do. We live or die based on the attention and judgement of the drivers that pass us. I am very much in favor of occupying the road in very conspicuous and not entirely predictable way. Drivers should not "trust" that we are going to stay on a line - I want to be avoided by a lot more than just the minimum legal distance.