Is road cycling dangerous?

[Catsyo]

Driving a car is the 4th leading cause of death in the US, right after cancer and heart disease. It is considerably higher than the stats even for violent crime. If you drive, you have a 1 in 3 chance of being involved in a car accident at some point. 1 in 20 will be involved in a serious injury-accident.

Your chances of being involved in an injury-accident with a car at some point are only 1 in 100, and 80% of these are due to unsafe riding. And of these, less than 20% involve serious injury or fatality. (Statistics from the U.S. Dept of Transportation, 2013).

You can tell your mother that the odds are definitely in your favor......

I have been riding for over 50 years, and have yet to have a single accident involving a moving car. The only incidents I have had with cars is when the idiots open their car doors after parking ​without checking the rearview mirror first, causing me to smack into them. Embarrassing, but hardly life-threatening.

I think this post is spot on. There's definitely risks to anything. Statistically, cycling isn't more dangerous than driving a car, especially if you take precautions. The more I ride, the more I've learned lots of little things I can do to make myself safer. I think cycling gets perceived as dangerous because it's not the mainstream form of transportation. People tend to assign a higher level of dangerousness to things that seem different than their lifestyle. If you take care of yourself and are aware, I definitely believe someone could go 50+ years riding and not be in an accident like you're claiming.

I mean, I've been hit by a car walking across the street in a crosswalk. Does that mean walking is dangerous? Should people just stay indoors?

 

[jhuskey]

Obamacare should cover hookers. WTF.

 

[harmonygreer1]

In my opinion, I think that road cycling is very dangerous and have consequences. All of the things you name are likely. Getting hit by a drunk driver is the most likely to happen. A bike goes at a certain pace, which is slow and a car is way faster. You might find that cars will try to get ahead of you or try to rush you off the road. At the end of the day, your safety is what comes first!

 

[jhuskey]

You are actually more likely to be hit by a distracted driver than a drunk driver.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Are hookers coded as therapy, rehab, occupational re-training or orthopedic aids?

 

[kylerlittle]

It can be quite dangerous. I think you would have to be careful road cycling because of cars and everything around you. You would need a professional fast bike for that, I would also say mirrors.

 

[mpre53]

What's a "professional fast bike"?

A professional can go fast on your bike, or mine, as well as his own. I can't go as fast as he (or even she) can regardless of whether I'm on his bike or mine.

 

[jhuskey]

What's a "professional fast bike"?

A professional can go fast on your bike, or mine, as well as his own. I can't go as fast as he (or even she) can regardless of whether I'm on his bike or mine.

I guess one with a mirror preferably a magic mirror.

 

[Corzhens]

There was a time when my siblings urged me to quit road cycling. You see, Metro Manila roads are not fit for cycling and a danger zone for 2-wheeled vehicles. And since my siblings know that I was only biking for health reasons, they emphasized the risk that I had to face from time to time. What if a wayward truck hits me? There were so many instances like that.

I now have mellowed a bit and cycling is now just biking inside the village for me. Getting old has its perk sometimes, that is to have an alibi instead of saying you are scared.

 

[jhuskey]

Are hookers coded as therapy, rehab, occupational re-training or orthopedic aids?

I think they are coded as professional services in general.

 

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

Driving a car is the 4th leading cause of death in the US, right after cancer and heart disease. It is considerably higher than the stats even for violent crime. If you drive, you have a 1 in 3 chance of being involved in a car accident at some point. 1 in 20 will be involved in a serious injury-accident.

Your chances of being involved in an injury-accident with a car at some point are only 1 in 100, and 80% of these are due to unsafe riding. And of these, less than 20% involve serious injury or fatality. (Statistics from the U.S. Dept of Transportation, 2013).

You can tell your mother that the odds are definitely in your favor......

I have been riding for over 50 years, and have yet to have a single accident involving a moving car. The only incidents I have had with cars is when the idiots open their car doors after parking ​without checking the rearview mirror first, causing me to smack into them. Embarrassing, but hardly life-threatening.

You will be happy to know (here in Ontario at least) a new law would see drivers face a $300 to $1000 fine if caught opening their doors when a bike is passing by!

 

[arghyadeep]

No, road cycling is not at all dangerous if we not riding on high speed highways. We should always note the fact that careless riding is dangerous not road riding.

Sometimes people witness accidents not because of their mistake, these things occur in our society but we shouldn't think of these kind of things and concentrate on our work.

 

[bsthebenster]

I live in a city and half of the accedents I see downtown are bike related. It also slows down other traffic so I stick to the suburbs and I'm fine. Just make sure there's a bike path and that you know the area well if it's a busy area. If it's not busy then go for it!

 

[Catsyo]

Like most other things, you can do a lot to mitigate how dangerous riding can be. I try to stay off major roads. My city is laid out like a grid so there are plenty of side streets to take. I generally feel pretty safe. I know several people who ride bikes constantly and only one of them has had a major accident. That's a better percentage than people I know who drive cars. You're always taking a risk, but I think biking just looks more dangerous than it actually is because cyclists aren't surrounded by a ton of metal. I hardly ever think about the danger when I'm riding.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Cars:
Airbags. Tons of airbags.
Restraint Systems.
Crumple Zones.
2 to 5 tons of protection wrapped around you.
Side impact protection beams.
Modern forward radar systems with vehicle collision avoidance / automatic braking.

Bicycle:
A Styrofoam brain bucket and lycra underwear.

Car vs. any other object and Bicycle vs. any other object...moveable or stationary.

I'll take my chances belted into the motor vehicle every time.



Quote by BBBB:
"You will be happy to know (here in Ontario at least)..."

Hey, is the Zanzibar still open? Any good bike shops still up on North Bloor Street? I used to import Gardin bikes out of Mississauga.

 

[Corzhens]

Like most other things, you can do a lot to mitigate how dangerous riding can be. I try to stay off major roads. My city is laid out like a grid so there are plenty of side streets to take. I generally feel pretty safe. I know several people who ride bikes constantly and only one of them has had a major accident. That's a better percentage than people I know who drive cars. You're always taking a risk, but I think biking just looks more dangerous than it actually is because cyclists aren't surrounded by a ton of metal. I hardly ever think about the danger when I'm riding.

The main reason why I only bike inside our village lately is the accident prone area - all roads are like that. Motorcycles are the primary enemy of bike riders followed by those big trucks with drivers like speed maniacs. If you are not careful enough, surely you will figure in an accident. That is why biker groups are proliferating because it is safer to ride in droves than riding solo.

 

[kylerlittle]

What's a "professional fast bike"?

A professional can go fast on your bike, or mine, as well as his own. I can't go as fast as he (or even she) can regardless of whether I'm on his bike or mine.

Some bikes are not capable of handling too much speed or the tyres just break off.

 

[jhuskey]

Yes, those darn breakaway tires.

 

[mpre53]

Damn, maybe I should use cheap wire bead clinchers instead of good folding bead ones. :lol:

 

[Catsyo]

The main reason why I only bike inside our village lately is the accident prone area - all roads are like that. Motorcycles are the primary enemy of bike riders followed by those big trucks with drivers like speed maniacs. If you are not careful enough, surely you will figure in an accident. That is why biker groups are proliferating because it is safer to ride in droves than riding solo.

Oh yeah, big trucks can definitely be scary. There's a company down the road from me that sends lots of delivery trucks out constantly. Our road is pretty narrow, so those trucks definitely are hard to deal with. One of my friends works there and says they get paid a set amount daily so the faster they get done with all their deliveries, the faster they get to go home. This makes the drivers go crazy all over that road. I've almost been hit a few times, but I tend to try and stay out of the road during the main times they're out.

Like anything, I guess the dangerousness of road cycling depends on where you live. We don't have many problems where I live so I don't think it's dangerous but I could see how it would be in other places.