Posted on 09/07/2019 5:09:00 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
In 2019, more and more cities across America are encouraging their residents to commute by bicycle. Cycling, of course, is good for the environment in terms of reducing pollution from car-dominant streets, and it’s a healthier way to travel.
But cities gaining new cyclists are quickly, tragically finding that they do not have the proper infrastructure to keep them safe. Cyclist fatalities have gone up 25 percent across the U.S. since 2010, and up 10 percent in 2018 itself, while all other traffic fatalities have decreased.
And it matters where you live: 75 percent of these cyclist deaths occur in urban areas. New York City became the most dangerous city for cyclists in 2019 with 19 deaths to date—almost double the total in 2018.
(Excerpt) Read more at vice.com ...
Need a picture of China back when everyone biked around. And only the political elite had cars.
Make America What China Was
Here’s my suggestion. Be more Aware of you surroundings and/ or get a car. You still have to be aware of your surroundings only if you don’t the penalties are lighter. OR move to Europe and stop bit*hing. This is America land of the free and home of the car and pickup.
Smug Stupid, Leftist Luddites in spandex are dodging about at 40mph, in traffic, ignoring all traffic laws, and getting converted into strawberry jam. Seems like natural selection, at work.
Thank you former know-it-all Mayor Bloomberg of New York. Your legacy is death and traffic congestion.
Vehicles move 99.99987% of people around cities, so ban cars.
It isn’t safe to bicycle in small towns either. Drivers do no see them.
Cyclists should be licensed and insured.
Let us see if we might discover the reason cyclist death are on the rise.
I would guess the first reason would be the number of people using bicycles could be related to a rise in accidents between bikes and cars.
I would guess a lot of these new bicyclist have not ridden a bike in years and just get on and go. If they ever knew how to ride safe they may have forgotten, but the chances are they never learned. Riding a bike in the suburbs is different then the big city.
It has been my observation that many who ride bikes do not follow the rules of the road. That is they do not stop at stop signs, they will go against a red light (if they think they can make it), they will enter into traffic between cars and so on.
Maybe the solution is to require a license to ride a bike in the city. Take a test that shows you know the rules of the road. And finally begin giving tickets to those on bikes that ignore those rules.
This is not to say drivers don’t have a responsibility as well. Bikes are hard to see at times but it is the drivers responsibility to drive safely.
Not all of us that ride are smug, stupid, leftist luddites in spandex. Those of us that don’t fall into your finger pointing name calling category usually have more sense than to ride in heavy traffic. I’m 64, I ride, I don’t ride in traffic, and I don’t wear spandex.
Amen to that! I’m in a rural area and I wouldn’t bike in my small town. I stick to back country roads if I ride on the road but I mostly ride trails on a mountain bike.
I see it like riding a motorcycle, which I do. One learns driving a motorcycle that in order to survive you have to assume every single driver is out to kill you, personally.
Reducing the excess population is also good for the environment. What’s the beef here?
In China vast throngs of people still bicycle everywhere in big cities in air pollution so bad you wonder how anyone lives beyond age 30.
A good friend of mine was riding his motorcycle in a small town when a car missed the stop sign and hit him head on. His skeletal frame was literally broken in two.
Miraculously he survived without lasting injuries.
Exactly. The ones behind you too. They either don't see you, or if they do (the eye contact thing) it is their mission to hit you.
I carry the same attitide when in a cage (car) or as a pedestrian.
Also, turn signals are used to fool you, not inform you. Opps, changed my mind, going straight. I've avoided at least ten accidents this way.
Exactly the same except that bicycles go slower. We used to ride a motorcycle too. In fact, we went on our honeymoon on one. It finally got so bad trying to dodge cars to keep from getting killed that we quit. I enjoy my bicycle but I don’t put myself in danger. I prefer Greenways and off-road trails now but will get out on my country road at times but only in daylight. I have a flashing light mounted front and rear and I wear a bright yellow shirt when I ride to make myself more visible. I’m in more danger of being chased by roaming biting dogs than I am being run over by vehicles.
Knowing the danger, WALMART should stop selling BICYLES and TRICYCLES.
If bikes want to share road space with motor vehicles, they should be required to buy licenses, insurance, and have on-board cameras that record in 360 degrees. That way bike riders who cause an accident will share responsibility for their actions.
Ah, yes! More regulation and the mandatory purchase of something you may not want.
Works great for healthcare! Should work for this -- and gun control, too!
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