the_truth said:Hey guys,
im new to this forum.But my problem is that my parents won't let me get a bike or ride a bike.They just think it is dangerous and i might get hit by a car.I am 13 and hadnt had a bike since i was 7.Sometimes when my parents drive me to places like to a friends or to the basketball court i wouldnt want to ride a bike there.But i dont have a bike.Do you agree with my parents?If you don't please post links or ideas i can convince them to letting me ride when im 14!in february.Thanks
THE_TRUTH
Your parents not wholly wrong - cycling has associated dangers. This is excerpted from US News and World Report on cycle commuting:
"Yes, there’s real risk associated with bicycling. Bikers do crash and get hit by cars. But how dangerous is biking in comparison with other forms of transportation and with our perception of the risk? A lot less than you might think. Consider the calculations of a company that performs safety and failure testing, previously called the Failure Group and now known as Exponent. The company looked at a variety of activities and determined that the number of fatalities per million hours of exposure was 0.26 for biking, 0.47 for driving, 1.53 for living (all causes of death), and 8.80 for motorcycling. In other words, they found that the risks of biking were about half that associated with driving and a sixth of that associated simply with being alive.
Now, there is some debate about these findongs, so, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that the Failure Associates study is an underestimation.Lets consider another thorough report that measures the risks using a slightly different yardstick—the number of fatalities per billions of kilometers traveled rather than per hour of exposure.
The Rutgers University researchers who completed this study concluded that, per kilometer traveled, bicycling fatalities are 11 times as high as car occupant fatalities. Seems pretty grim for biking until you look at what the same study found about walking. Pedestrian fatalities per kilometer traveled were 36 times as high as driving fatalities, suggesting that walking is more than three times as dangerous as biking.
That said, there’s still more that we bikers can do to take responsibility for our safety. A disturbing 24 percent of fatal bike accidents involve an intoxicated rider, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis. And fatalities aside, research shows that bikers get into many minor accidents that could be prevented.
Numerous studies have shown that the failure to wear lights at night or a helmetcars, we can’t ignore the rules of the road. Finally, newer riders have to be especially careful about drivers opening doors (you’ll get clipped) and making turns (they can’t always see you), and about riding on the sidewalks (you’ll get hit by cars exiting or entering driveways). significantly increases a biker’s risk. And, until more bike infrastructure is built (and it should be as it improves biker safety, too) bikers have to behave like cars when we’re in heavy traffic.
The bottom line: It’s not that biking is without risk, but some perspective is in order, especially when you start to factor in the many health benefits that biking provides.
When I was a kid we started riding bikes at the age of 4 or 5. It was our sole mode of transportation... our parents in those days didnt squire us all over town.
Im thinking your parents are just being parents and so are being protective of you. Maybe a little too protective, IMHO.
Sooner or later, though, they have to let you go - having raised two kids of my own, I can recommend a bike over a car for teens.
