Prediction: First uni-caused death



D

David_Stone

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Chatting with the wife this evening, I mentioned how I'm going to start
saving up to attend the funeral of the first person to die from a
unicycle accident.

I'd just finished reading about some of the geared-up Cokers and 36"
Nimbuses. I've been saying for years that with all the super-fast (ie:
faster-than-you-can-sprint) riding going on these days, someone's bound
to get into trouble. It's similar to the muni and trials stuff going
on: We're pushing our luck. But I have a hunch it's the geared unis
that could bring about an actual death. Here's my reasoning:

1. No trials or muni deaths thus far. Seems like the worst that can
happen is a bad bruise or a bone-break. We might see some paralysis
down the line, but a death would take a conflagration of really bad
luck. Let's hope it never happens. Same for the paralysis.
2. Some of the people riding gunis don't have as much experience or
leg-strength as they 'should.' These factors could turn a UPD from bad
to wake.
3. People, evolutionarily speaking, were made to withstand falls out of
branches and other heights, like a bad muni or trials fall. But our
ancestors didn't typically fall while moving 25mph on asphalt. That
kind of fall, coupled with some other bad luck (hitting ones head on a
curb, for ex) could be fatal.

Not to sound more morose than usual, but here's my prediction:

First uni-caused death...
Uni: Geared 36"
Road conditions: Pavement
Cause of death: Head trauma
Country: US
Casket: Open
Buried with unicycle: No

Wherever it is, I'll be there for the funeral.

Then again, I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, as I'm always saying.

Ride safely (but start saving now)....


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My next uni is.. no was... no is....

hmmm

going to be a coker.

But I'm seriously going to bed now. :eek:


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Unibugg

Into the blue wrote:
> You should see this fella ride up kerbs. He makes it look annoyingly
> easy.
> Ants make me UPD.
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My next uni is.. no was... no is....

hmmm

going to be a coker.

But I'm seriously going to bed now. :eek:


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Unibugg

Into the blue wrote:
> You should see this fella ride up kerbs. He makes it look annoyingly
> easy.
> Ants make me UPD.
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My prediction is someone riding anything w/o a helmet, but esp. trials
and street. * W a y * too much of that going on IMO.

All it takes is one hit, it doesn't even have to be a big one and you
are a vegetable or
x
...(
x


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skilewis74

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skilewis74 wrote:
> My prediction is someone riding anything w/o a helmet, but esp. trials
> and street. * W a y * too much of that going on IMO.


Ugh. You are so right. However, the dudes and dudettes doing trials and
street are generally the rubbery younguns who don't seem to break as
easily as we fogeys do. They break their falls (but not usually their
skulls). Happily, many of the people riding really fast are wearing
helmets. So I take it that your money is on street or trials. I hope we
are all wrong.


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David_Stone

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When it comes right down to it, geared unicycles really don't move very
fast. People have been crashing while going way faster on bicycles for
over 100 years, and bike fatalities are extremely rare.

Whatever it turns out to be, it will be a freak accident.


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tholub
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David_Stone wrote:
>
> Not to sound more morose than usual, but here's my prediction:
>
> First uni-caused death...
> Uni: Geared 36"
> Road conditions: Pavement
> Cause of death: Head trauma
> Country: US
> Casket: Open
> Buried with unicycle: No
>
>



You're weird. I think the first unicycle related death will be from
someone huffing their uni.


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harper

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Does it count if somebody is feeling down and purposely rides off a
cliff or tall building?


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boo radley

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boo radley wrote:
> Does it count if somebody is feeling down and purposely rides off a
> cliff or tall building?


Maybe a sad clown... All you see at the bottom is a busted uni and a
bunch of colors.


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CoreTechs

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My bets would be on:

1. Road accident involving a motor vehicle. Possibly high speed GUni
UPD in traffic.

2. Falling from height on extreme Trials or MUni.


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UniBrier

Steve

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I think that the first unicycle death will be caused by being hit by a
vehicle.


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Danni

leo wrote:
> Without cocks you wouldn't even have a family forum.



'My Trials Course'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64079)
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If you're playing odds, a traffic collision with a 4 horseless carriage
is more likely to cause the first unicycling fatality. A fatal
accident due to a single unicycle UPD is not as likely, even if riding
a geared up Coker. You crash more gracefully on a unicycle than a bike
(bikes have the handlebars and frame to get tangled in). 30+ mph
accidents happen on road bikes and the riders typically just end up
with abrasions and possibly broken bones (collar bone most likely).

So put your money on some sort of accident involving a car (or truck).
Either a rider caused UPD where you slide into traffic, a collision
where the car hits you, or possibly a dooring that knocks you into
traffic and turns you into a speed bump.

The geared Cokers are just going to result in more road rash injuries,
broken collar bones, and broken wrists.


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john_childs

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i thought someone broke their neck and died from playing w/ a uni on a
trampoline....

anyways, i guess that was joke, but i say jumping over something
big(like a car) without a helmet
or grinding... and somehow catching the pole just right.... there are
many situations....


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skrobo

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sadly as far as I remember such an accident already happened last year
(was it in England?)
the guy didn' hear a tractor coming across the corner ...
so don't wear loudspeakers.

I am frightened like mad by traffic, last year I falled in front of a
car.

I don't approve of extreme trial competition. trial is fun but making
it dangerous is tempting fate.


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wobbling bear

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yeah i heard about the tractor incident but was never sure if it was
really true. I think the next or first unicycle death wll be someone
riding extreme muni and riding off the edge of the cliff by accident.


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PKHodgie
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john_childs wrote:
> You crash more gracefully on a unicycle than a bike (bikes have the
> handlebars and frame to get tangled in).



I think the reverse is the case. You have handlebars to take some of
the impact. You also generally have a more stretched out position and
a front wheel to take a frontal impact. Most falls are to the side and
these end up with skin loss mainly. Going over the bars usually
results in a broken clavicle or two.

On a unicycle crashing at over 30km/hr you have very little protection.


Of course bikes go faster and as a result has the potential to cause
greater injury. But at the same speed, I think a unicycle causes far
worse injuries.


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I think your prediction could sadly be right, but for the wrong reasons.
As others have said, just coming off at geared 36 speed will hurt, a
lot, and possibly leave complications for the rest of your life, but it
won't kill you. Sure, if you hit your head the wrong way it could, but
that would take a lot of bad luck, and could happen just as easily from
any other fall.

I think that traffic would be the biggest factor in ending a
unicyclists life. All it needs is for a driver not to be paying full
attention when a UPD is occurring, and that could be it. I've been
riding many miles each week in Central London for over 2 years now, and
have had 3 UPDs where I met tarmac. In each of those cases the road
was clear behind me, but, honestly, that was down to sheer luck. I've
covered literally hundreds of miles with double decker busses only a
few inches from me, and any one of them could have been driven by the
Grim Reaper. I've seen dozens of cars jump red lights, although I have
(safely) jumped more. I have lost count of the amount of taxis that
have swerved in to cycle lanes or pulled out with no warning.

The streets are a -potentially -fatal place for unicyclist. So far
this is still only a potential though. The streets *have *been proved
to be fatal for drivers, bike riders, pedestrians and motorcyclists
already, but the longer we can hold off of adding a unicyclist to that
list the better.

Oh, and the guy killed by a tractor whilst listening to his iPod -was
-a unicyclist, but he was riding a bike at the time.

STM


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I don't agree with Ken, although being a medical type he may have
reasons for what he said. But anyway, I'd MUCH rather fall off a
unicycle at 16 mph than a bike, even at the same speed. I don't know
about higher speeds because I don't ride faster than that on a
unicycle. Certainly on a bike you tend to fall sideways and skid
along, but I've hit the side of my head hard enough on the ground on
two occasions (both at relatively low speeds) to knock me unconscious,
once for 20 minutes. On a unicycle, when I've fallen off going too
fast to run (or have tripped after a UPD) I've fallen hard on my arms
then skidded along like in a bike crash, so I suppose there might be
more chance of arm/wrist/collarbone damage in a unicycle crash.

Anyway, back on topic, I'd say there was just as much chance of being
involved in a fatal accident on a unicycle in traffic as there is on a
bike. The reason it hasn't happened yet (if indeed it hasn't) is just
down to probability, with the extremely low unicycle use compared with
bikes. It's possibly a bit less likely to be hit on a unicycle because
the "oddness" of it makes people take more notice - people usually give
me far more room when passing me on a unicycle than on a bike - but the
occasional lorry that passes at 50mph a foot away is VERY scary on the
coker. All it takes is one impatient ******** or somebody not paying
attention to wipe one of us out, just as if we were bicyclists. The
sad thing about it (apart from the obvious) is that if/when it happens
there will probably immediately be a campaign to ban unicycles from the
road.

On the other hand, I'm absolutely amazed that nobody has been killed in
stupid stunts like riding along walls of high bridges or balancing on
precipices to have their picture taken, which seems to go on quite
regularly.

Rob


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rob.northcott wrote:
>
>
> On the other hand, I'm absolutely amazed that nobody has been killed in
> stupid stunts like riding along walls of high bridges or balancing on
> precipices to have their picture taken, which seems to go on quite
> regularly.
>
> Rob



I think those stunts look dangerous but generally have a very low risk.


I still think the most dangerous thing most of us do relating to
unicycles is drive to the trail head.


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I'm going to vote for being killed by a car/bus/lorry too.
Statistically, I'm sure it's much more likely.


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