Cyclists Are Better Drivers Than Motorists

[Veloo]

Many years ago I was riding with my girlfriend and after the ride, I got her to drive my car back home to get some more practice driving in. I noticed that she was a lot more aware and confident on that drive. Much more than drives in the past. I attributed it to the bike ride just before where we were on city roads that required us to be on the defensive.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlton.../#181d3b686f6c

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Veloo

Many years ago I was riding with my girlfriend and after the ride, I got her to drive my car back home to get some more practice driving in. I noticed that she was a lot more aware and confident on that drive. Much more than drives in the past. I attributed it to the bike ride just before where we were on city roads that required us to be on the defensive.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlton.../#181d3b686f6c

I drive like I cycle - defensively. I'm always looking to see where the threat is coming from. My insurance premiums reflect that

[speedevil]

Motorcyclists are generally good drivers too, aware of what's happening around them and allowing for the unexpected.

Just as on a bicycle, anticipating the (occasionally reckless) behavior of others will help you to enjoy riding more.

As I used to tell my flight students "Superior pilots use their superior judgement to avoid situations that might require the use of their superior skills."

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by speedevil

As I used to tell my flight students "Superior pilots use their superior judgement to avoid situations that might require the use of their superior skills."

There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.

Doctors bury their mistakes. Pilots are buried with them.

Greg

[johnmdesigner]

I can't really agree with this wide sweeping generalization.
I live in a place where there are bad cyclists and bad drivers.
I don't believe that a reckless cyclist will change their behavior behind the wheel.
Likewise a motorist who is not a cyclist will never understand or achnowledge the dangers a cyclist will face. And because they are rarely punished for their bad behavior it becomes accepted.
I drive a car and I ride a bike and try to be considerate when I encounter cyclists and other motorists, even bad ones.

[SteveFrench]

Originally Posted by johnmdesigner

I can't really agree with this wide sweeping generalization.
I live in a place where there are bad cyclists and bad drivers.
I don't believe that a reckless cyclist will change their behavior behind the wheel.
Likewise a motorist who is not a cyclist will never understand or achnowledge the dangers a cyclist will face. And because they are rarely punished for their bad behavior it becomes accepted.
I drive a car and I ride a bike and try to be considerate when I encounter cyclists and other motorists, even bad ones.

I'm with you.

[Blue Jays]

I have a laser-like appreciation for pothole avoidance when behind the wheel of a car.

[commonguy001]

Riding bicycles or motorcycles requires you to be much more aware of things going on around you and you actually need to pay attention. Those that carry that over to how they drive will be much more involved with the process of driving a car and that can’t be a bad thing.
I’ve always ridden bikes and motos like everyone is trying to kill me and I tend to drive the same way. If I were to get into an accident it wouldn’t be because I was on my phone or not paying attention.

[pobrien]

I think Commonguy101 summarized what I was going to say really well. I used to ride off-road motorcycles and then street bikes and then cars.

To survive on each of these machines in a sporting manner, you have to be paying full attention to what is going on. I think it really helps to have this background when driving an automobile.

One thing I am really concerned about is the infotainment systems all the new cars come with. They provide so much distraction to drivers in addition to their phones and their kids and their friends. Cars should be car, not amusement rides.

I predict, he says, that these infotainment systems will be banned at some point and I think that day is not far away. People are people and come with all sorts of abilities and with limitations.

I am happy to see a speedo and a tach and basic gauges in my 05 Matrix and no distractions for me or anyone else who drives my car.

[93KgBike]

Originally Posted by speedevil

motorcyclists are generally good drivers too, aware of what's happening around them and allowing for the unexpected.

Just as on a bicycle, anticipating the (occasionally reckless) behavior of others will help you to enjoy riding more.

+1

[charliedid]

Yeah that study lends me to believe that the less you drive the fewer accidents and incidents you encounter in a given period.

These guys both prove and blow holes in the study depending on your definition of what a good driver is. Reaction time, sure. Poor decision making and putting lives at risk, you bet. I'd never get in a car with any of them. I have friends like them. No chance.

I tend to believe bad drivers make bad cyclists and vice versa.

https://youtu.be/_N-I8fpBx-4

[BobO]

People gather and process information differently based upon their talents and experience along with their willingness to learn. Cyclists can become better drivers because they have exposed themselves to a different set of experiences. Obviously that's not always the case, but opening ones self up to different experiences will always allow for the opportunity of a learning experience.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by BobO

People gather and process information differently based upon their talents and experience along with their willingness to learn. Cyclists can become better drivers because they have exposed themselves to a different set of experiences. Obviously that's not always the case, but opening ones self up to different experiences will always allow for the opportunity of a learning experience.

Sure,

But what about the millions of excellent drivers who have not really ridden a bike since childhood?

it's still just pitting one group against another for no good reason.

Anyone can be on or the other and both.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Sure,

But what about the millions of excellent drivers who have not really ridden a bike since childhood?

it's still just pitting one group against another for no good reason.

As you suggest, being a cyclist is not a guarantee that someone is a good driver, not is not being a cycling a guarantee that someone is a bad driver. But that's not what the study being discussed is about. The study was done by an insurance company, and is very useful for their purposes. Insurance companies study past data in order to find predictors for future behavior. This allows them to assess risks, and to set rates based on those risks. And they are very good at both identifying and quantifying predictors like this.

It is true that there are cyclists who are bad drivers and non-cyclists who are very good drivers. But the data shows that if you assembled a large group of cyclist drivers and a similar size group of non-cyclist drivers. the cyclist drivers will have fewer accidents and fewer claims. In fact, the study shows that the non-cyclist drivers will have about half as many claims. If we can equate lack of insurance claims with driver competence, then we can say that on average, cyclists are better drivers. But within the populations of drivers, there is still room for plenty of bad cyclist drivers and plenty of good non cyclist drivers.

So, what the study shows is that being a cyclist is in fact a predictor for drivers getting into insurance claimable auto accidents. It is not the only predictor, and may not even be a strong predictor, but it is still a valid predictor. We may not know why this is (and the insurance companies may not even care), but it is a really and measurable factor.