Gretchen Reynolds at The New York Times notes a study by surgeons and ER docs at the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center in Denver that concluded a staggering increase in the number and severity of injuries sustained by cyclists may have its roots in an uptick in bicycle commuting.
“What we concluded was that a lot of these people were commuters,” Dr. (Jeffry) Kashuk said, adding, “If we keep promoting cycling without other actions to make it safer, we may face a perfect storm of injuries in the near future.”
The “perfect storm” cliché aside, the piece makes interesting reading. In Europe, Reynolds writes, the “safety in numbers” effect has led to a decline in cyclist injuries, and a California study suggests that “adaptation in motorist behavior” in response to an increase in walking and cycling contributes to a decreased likelihood of injury.
“In other words,” writes Reynolds, “when more cyclists show up on the roads, car drivers become used to them and respond appropriately.”
Reynolds notes the obvious Catch-22: If cycling is perceived as dangerous, then fewer people will take it up, even though more putting cyclists on the road — in time — will mean fewer accidents. While we await that happy day, she urges “individual responsibility,” saying cyclists must obey traffic laws, though I can find no similar admonition for motorists.
So there you have it. Get out there and make the streets safe for cycling. Just don’t expect to see me on a two-wheeler today. It’s 10 a.m. and still below freezing.
Mad Blog Media 
I perceive cycling as dangerous. I did it for a long time. I got hurt by vehicles. I quit for a long time because I didn’t want to get hurt by vehicles. I got back on the bike again because I like to ride. But I gotta admit, I think it’s even more dangerous now than it was in the 80’s.
Oh, and your previous post referring to misplaced, outsized retribution by an offended non-hunter reminded me why I don’t want to be on my bike today. Houston’s too full of offended non-cycling drivers who want to teach cyclists how certain aspects of physics work: mass, acceleration, momentum, two objects not occupying the same space at the same time, gravity, friction… I know these concepts already.
I’ll just put the bike on the trainer.
Saved Baughman’s MTB from Craigs List.
You seen any updates on Peterson’s case?
I’ve been reading a lot of building science articles, and one writer states that there are two kinds of windows; those that leak and those that will leak. Maybe bike commuters are the same. I’ve never been run off the road, although I’ve had drivers take a swing at me and yell things. Has number just not come up yet, or is there something else?
If the typical bike commuter is like I experienced when I lived in Madison, WI, I hope we never get the numbers. The vast majority I saw were incredibly unsafe and disrespectful of other road users.
When I lived in Seattle I pursued and certified as an Effective Cyclist, the John Forester program for teaching cyclists how to ride in traffic. A few years ago I had occasion to organize a week-long tour of Wisconsin for my son’s Scout troop. I started working with them in January, and the bulk of the training was how to ride in traffic and how to ride with other cyclists. By July I think those dozen squirrelly 13 year olds were more capable cyclists than 95% of the riders I know.
Its easy to point at nut jobs like that ER doc in LA on trial right now, but the most effective way to reduce accidents for the least money is to get cyclists educated. Forester may be grossly unpopular for some of his other actions, but he was right on the money with his Effective Cycling program.
O’Neill — Good on you for rescuing that MTB. Nice to know it will remain in our dysfunctional little family. As to the Peterson thing, Patrick Brady has been covering the trial for VeloNews.com; you can read the latest installment here.
Jeff, Jon, I hear you on psychos and cyclists. We’ll never be free of the former, but we can certainly educate the latter. I’ve been trying very, very hard to obey traffic laws on the two-wheeler and as a consequence I notice a slight thaw in my interactions with motorists. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a whack-job waiting for me around the next corner, but hell, it’s dangerous just getting out of bed at my advanced age and state of decrepitude.
Jon,
Good point. I’ve left dozens of group training rides because the cyclists insisted on behaving badly in traffic.
Everytime I’ve been hit by a vehicle, I’ve been where I was supposed to be and abiding by the letter and the spirit of the law. There were no angry exchanges. Sometimes, there was anger from the driver before contact, but I never got into an exchange with any of the drivers. So if there was ever a person who thinks drivers are the ones who need the education, it’s me. However…
From a car, nothing looks cooler to me than a dozen or so cyclists riding in a two-up paceline. Likewise, nothing looks worse than a gaggle of cyclists spread out over 200 meters in occasional groups of three-across, running red-lights and stop signs, and shooting the finger or yelling at motorists. While I’m sure the cyclists have many excellent reasons for being pissed at the car drivers, it’s hard to have sympathy for the cyclists when they look like anarchists in lycra.
To me cycling (anything, really) is like renting: you can’t withhold the rent just because you disagree with the owner. You have to uphold your end of the agreement and find a way to work things out.
While it sucks to ride a bike in Houston, I’ve decided to stop at the stop signs and stop lights. I just don’t roll anything anymore. Therefore I end up riding alone.
Between the distracted drivers and the clueless cyclists, it can be a madhouse out there and if more people cycle, we all better take driving and biking seriously.
I pride myself on ride pretty lawfully and am an LCI but have had a few run-ins with whackjobs out there including one the other day who wanted to teach me a lesson “…I’m a cyclist too, but I’m in my car now and you better watch out for me…”. A quick threat to dial 911 and he was off on his way, probably to go home and beat his wife.
Plenty of ideas out there to transplant European style facilities to the U.S. but that probably also means transplanting European ideas on transportation sharing in cities. I spent a little time in Holland a few decades ago and was pretty impressed with my ability to cycle across Holland from Amsterdam to the coast and then down to Antwerp with a map and panniers on both highway and bikeway without incident. Similarly in the U.K., where I was on highways and byways entirely. Just a different mindset over there.
I think we need six buck a gallon gas permanently, and a lot more people riding so that when you see a cyclist its just a neighbor rather than a stranger. Most people still see a car as making them superior, and the idea of someone on human power transportation is still weird and threatening to ‘Murrcans. Kinda like vegetarianism, I guess…
There’s something about a cyclist, even a law-abiding one, that enrages a certain type of motorist. Is it the ‘Murkin hurry-hurry-hurry mentality? Some leftover Puritan streak that sees cycling during bidness hours as somehow frivolous? A time bomb planted in the fragile psyche by a previous encounter with an asshole cyclist? An elitist concept of armored knight trumps jerkin-clad peasant?
Beats the shit out of me. I know I was delighted by the advent of cell phones with cameras and sound recorders. I carry my iPhone on each and every ride. It’s much lighter than a pistol.
I think the back and forth propaganda and agit-prop has done its work. Everyone on both sides is primed for battle. The Two-Minute Hate and all that jazz.
Hmmm…a cell phone is nice, but in a real bad spot, nothing replaces good old Smith and Wesson iron. I’d like to invent an iPhone with a single shot derringer built in. It would be aligned with the camera lens so you would aim by pointing the camera. 9 mm or 38 Special hollowpoint might do.
“and you thought I was just going to take your picture?”
I’ve been waiting years for a lycra jersey with a big NRA logo on the back, “They’ll take my gun away…” etc. printed below that.
On the other side, one of the local racing teams is fining their members $10 for each offense of running a stop sign and the like. I just wish the cops would ticket anyone and everyone riding a bike on the wrong side of the road.
In all seriousness, I’ve thought for a while that cyclists and the NRA should work together. Both organizations are minorities fighting for the right to do their thing in spite of public pressures towards restricting their activities, often as the result of rationales not well thought through.
My 11 year old daughter and I were riding down the local bike trail Sunday- looking for caterpillars. I was on my Litespeed MTB, as the road bike is geared too high for our leisurely rides. We were riding two abreast on the eight foot trail, greeting joggers and families, and having a nice time. Suddenly I was buzzed by one of my fellow local roadies, at speed, just inches away, with nary a word escaping his lips. I screamed, “It goes ‘on your left’!”
Whatta doofus- I was livid. No wonder they want to rub us out.
Can’t say that I agree with aligning with Heston’s left nut, but then again the 10 cyclists I saw today who were riding a) against traffic, b) without lights, c) on a sidewalk when a posted bike lane was readily available, or d) all of the above. Now, I can’t preach that I am perfect, but the few times I have done any one of these things, it makes me look like the twit. Obeying the traffic laws seems to be the minority, so maybe we should carry some steel to take care of the rest of those miscreants.
The reason I suggested that was the NRA actually seems to be an effective lobbying organization. We could learn something.
Khal,
Part of me says aligning with an organization as big as the NRA would be a pretty effective way to get near the front of the line and be heard. But then I think about what happened to the Republican party when it aligned itself with the religious right. At the time, the Republican party was perceived to be more like the stern, fiscally responsible father-figure and less like the batshit crazy aunt and uncle from the single-wide meth lab at the end of the dirt road down by the river.
As a cyclist and a motorcyclist I see this alliance as having more synergy that the NRA. We both suffer from the inatention of motorist (bikers call them “cagers” and in being in a cage). And both groups have there share of…for lack of a better word…assholes. I for one always give a “bikes salute” to passing motorcyclist and more offten than not, it is returned.
In the US motorists see two basic types of cyclists — a) the OWI/DWI or poor immigrants who ride Sprawl-Mart specials as transportation b) the lycra clad, narrow-assed (not describing myself personally!) folks out on their bikes for what is essentially fun/enjoyment/exercise. Neither of these groups seem important to motorists as they’re either poor folks who don’t deserve any respect in general or they’re people out there clogging up “MY” road for no good reason. Only more people on bicycles (as in European cities) will ever change this situation. But with cheap gas and cash-for-clunkers programs there’s not much incentive to popularize cycling. Italy recently offered a govt incentive to get more folks to purchase bicycles, e-bikes and less polluting motor scooters than the old two-stroke Vespas with great success — but good luck getting any similar incentives in the US of A!
My two theories:
1. Cyclists are like dogs — they tend to misbehave in packs.
2. Drivers who get pissed off at cyclists do so for good reason. They are cooped up in an expensive cage that heightens stress and increases frustration. We, on the other hand, are out having fun.