James Cracknell has complained that “nobody is safe” on the road after fellow Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins was hit by a van while cycling near his home – as police prepared to speak to the driver of the vehicle.
James Cracknell says no one is safe on the road after Bradley Wiggins hit by van – Telegraph
I never ride on busy roads, because about half of all drivers are complete idiots behind the wheel of a car.
The new Colorado marijuana bill should ensure traffic safety (sarc).
I stick to bike trails and shake my head at the crazies who play in traffic. As a kid I was run off the road, on purpose, more than once and learned my lesson without any serious injury. There are plenty of awesome trails, and no need for me to play chicken with those well outside my weight class.
Pot paranoia and sensory enhancement makes drivers more careful.
And drunks think they are charming and witty.
You then agree with me!
I am a biker myself unfortunately there are plenty of idiots out there on bikes too. I can’t remember the last time I saw one of my fellow bikers stop for a stop sign or signal a turn. There’s plenty of bad behavior on both sides these days.
I’ve never seen a bike/car accident where the cyclist was at fault. I have been hit twice by cars, and both times I had the right of way.
Hi Steve,
Did you hear about the bad bike/car accident at Remington and Stuart a few years ago (I think 2008?). Both the bike and the car (heading eastbound) blew the 4-way stop and it wasn’t pretty. I didn’t see it, but a co-worker of mine biked by there just a few minutes after it happened. From what I understand, both the biker and the driver were ticketed, though clearly only the biker went to the hospital.
I agree with Rob that there are a lot of badly behaved bikers (though fewer in the winter when only the serious bikers are out). But the difference is that if I collide with another bike, I’ll probably just end up with road rash and/or a few broken bones. Whereas if I collide with a car, there’s a much higher chance of paralysis or death… 🙁 I’ve also noticed that both the average bike behavior and the average car awareness takes a dip every August with the influx of students…I’m especially careful the first few weeks of the school year.
Fortunately, I’ve never been hit by a car, though have had numerous close calls. My closest call had a car turning left in front of me at Center and Lake (we were both on Center), me locking up my brakes for a good 10-20 feet, and the car saw me at the last second. When we both were stopped, their bumper was maybe a foot from me and I could reach out and touch their hood…not very fun.
-Scott
That proves it! The car ran the stop sign and hit the bicycle ;^)
On Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 11:24 AM, Real Science
There is a huge database in California where over 10,000 bike/car accidentals are cataloged by the State Highway Patrol. In cases where fault can be assigned the biker was at fault 60% more often than the driver of the car:
http://tinyurl.com/a3pnlxr
As for my anecdotal experience, I run 2-3 times a week and I have nearly been killed by inconsiderate bikers a number of times but have never had a close call with a car.
Unfortunately, there are bicylists around the DC area that are more infuriating than the drivers. They blow stop signs and red lights all the time. Also ride side by side and won’t get over to let cars by.
cycled many Kms this summer and can speak to 4 very close calls, and they were not on very busy roads either…. but drivers in rural areas who do not stop at the stop signs..
UK gun laws fails the cyclist!
about half of all drivers are complete idiots behind the wheel of a car…..
There’s idiot bike riders too. If there’s none in your state come on over to California. You’ll see them ALL DAY.
#1 problem for bicyclists is the same #1 problem for motorcyclists, VISIBILITY period! The statistics overwhelmingly show this for decades now. Indisputable…