Is road cycling dangerous?



Many years ago, I was a nervous cyclist who mainly stuck to cycle paths but stuck with an inaccessible workplace I cycled to work. And one evening, got knocked into oncoming traffic by a driver who was paying more attention to [his]kids in the backseat than the traffic on the road.

Then when my son was off school age, the only viable way to get him to school and myself to work [on time] was to cycle. Started off by cycling through parks and on canal tracks to the point where I developed confidence.

IS road cycling dangerous?

If you think it is - it is - so stay off the roads and build your confidence.

If you think it isn't - it isn't. It's just a healthy and convenient way to travel and like all forms of travel - people will be injured and sadly killed during travel.
 
Well, when it arrives I'll give it a blast…and you can let me know if you hear it.
 
What is safety to you? Are the only safe activities ones that eliminate any chance of injury or death?

Safety is relative. It only has meaning when comparing one activity to another.

Bad things happen all the time - you can injure yourself or die sneezing, taking a dump, watching TV, walking down the stairs or driving to work. I would not characterize bicycling as unsafe. To me, unsafe activities have a risk too high justify the benefit of performing said activity.

If it were unsafe, I would not do it, nor would I let my children do it.

I like Mike Rowe's take on safety culture:

http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2009/03/safety-first-or-just-in-the-top-3/
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2012/06/mike-rowe-third-times-the-charm-or-so-we-believe/

A life without risk is a life without reward.
 
Compared to anything short of Russian Roulette...

Simply crossing the street can and sometimes will get you deaded. AFAIC the streets/roads are the most dangerous places on the planet outside of a war zone.

Police idenitify cyclist killed after being struck by car Thursday night

Rescue crews work to free a cyclist trapped under a car. (Joy Tipping/Staff Writer)

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/cyclist-killed-after-being-struck-by-car.html/


Updated at 6:17 a.m. by Tasha Tsiaperas: A cyclists killed late Thursday night in Oak Lawn has been identified.

Alexander Ryan Jones, 19, didn’t see an oncoming SUV when attempted to cross Weldon Street on his bicycle, police said.
Neither Jones nor the driver of the SUV could clearly see each other because of a four-foot wall along the Weldon Street median and rainy weather at the time of the accident, according to police reports.

Jones was pinned under the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One mistake...just ONE...can result in death. One moment of being distracted or making one wrong decision can change a life or end it.

I shoot guns. Lots of guns. I build things. Tall things. Using power tools that can maim. I farm. And operate all kinds of dangerous heavy machinery. I drive on freeways full of morons. I operate in dangerous industrial environments. And I ride motorcycles and have raced both 2 and 4-wheeled vehicles. Relatively speaking, there is nothing I do that is dangerous as cycling. Like Mike, I can only speak for myself and talk about how how I got my scars and titanium/stainless hardware. YMMV.

As Mike (and my old scout troop) would say, "Safety ALWAYS".
 
Originally Posted by maydog

Safety is relative. It only has meaning when comparing one activity to another.

Bad things happen all the time - you can injure yourself or die sneezing, taking a dump, watching TV, walking down the stairs or driving to work. I would not characterize bicycling as unsafe. To me, unsafe activities have a risk too high justify the benefit of performing said activity.
You might compare how many times you have injured yourself on your bicycle along with their cost to similar considerations in the activities you listed. I suspect you will find bicycling is less safe.

---

A better way to determine if an activity is worth doing or not is to consider if you are willing to accept the consequences.

I surived being the bicyclist in a bicycle/car accident. With hindsight I realize that the consequences were not worth it.

I used to be able to hike 25 miles a day with a pack. Now anything over 6 miles hurts.

I used to enjoy bicycling. Now I need to bicycle to keep my joints from getting stiff.

I used to be able to climb on my roof or work on my knees. Both very difficult now.

Even sitting around relaxing makes my knees ache.

If you can accept similar consequences, by all means bicycle.
 
This data puts courier and messengers ( which must include bicycle messengers) at a fairly low mortality rate, compare that to farming.

http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfoi_rates_2012hb.pdf
 
Here is a older, but good study of bicycling fatalities in NYC.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bicyclefatalities.pdf
 
Originally Posted by An old Guy

You might compare how many times you have injured yourself on your bicycle along with their cost to similar considerations in the activities you listed. I suspect you will find bicycling is less safe.

---

A better way to determine if an activity is worth doing or not is to consider if you are willing to accept the consequences.

I surived being the bicyclist in a bicycle/car accident. With hindsight I realize that the consequences were not worth it.

I used to be able to hike 25 miles a day with a pack. Now anything over 6 miles hurts.

I used to enjoy bicycling. Now I need to bicycle to keep my joints from getting stiff.

I used to be able to climb on my roof or work on my knees. Both very difficult now.

Even sitting around relaxing makes my knees ache.

If you can accept similar consequences, by all means bicycle.
You would be surprized at how many injuries and deaths come from mundane activities. Bicycling may carry higher acute risk, but has a larger reward as well.

Rarely are there any benefits to being struck by a car, I try to avoid it.

By your reasoning, if you are young and/or healthy don't ride a bike? I am sorry that you find no joy in cycling, perhaps you should quit.

There are so many studies to review that you can always find one to back your argument:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10847255 <- finds that all cause mortality is inversly related to activity, including cycling
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/

http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx <-some fun fatality data

This is some data that suggests those with a history of injury / accidents are more prone to future accidents.

Some data does hint that the fatality rate for bicycling is greater than driving when measured by deaths per mile, but the numbers are close. Also those statistics do not compare the relative health benefits of bicycling vs. driving. The health benefits offset the acute risk by increasing overall longevity and quality of life; the mortality of healthy active people is less than an inactive population.

How many of the people who survive their commute by driving every day will just end up dying at their desk? Compare that to the number who bicycle at least a few times a week?
 
maydog said:
You would be surprized at how many injuries and deaths come from mundane activities. Bicycling may carry higher acute risk, but has a larger reward as well. Rarely are there any benefits to being struck by a car, I try to avoid it. By your reasoning, if you are young and/or healthy don't ride a bike? I am sorry that you find no joy in cycling, perhaps you should quit. There are so many studies to review that you can always find one to back your argument: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10847255
 
"Did you know that between 1997 and 2006 seven people died playing ping pong in Germany?"

Ja, but zee Chermans...zey take ze ping-pong very seriously! You haf not played zee table tennis until you used Mausers for ze paddles!

I got to ask...just how does one injure oneself or die playing table tennis? Kill shot to the forehead causes immediate brain death? Slam shot inhaled and causes suffocation? Limb amputations? Or just fat, old folks that haven't been off the couch in years going all thrombosis and stroking out?

It is true that swimming pools kill more people than firearms...and thus my global fight to ban swimming pools from suburbia! Join my crusade today to end the suicidal wave that is the deadly swimming pool! And we'll ban Speedo's while we're at it! Let's make the world a bit less risky, shall we?

Well...as dangerous as ping-pong may be in Germany, at least this world-class squash player didn't get likked two days ago by...playing squash! No, he got deaded on his bicycle. On a street. In one of the most pedestrian and cycling friendly cities on the continent...not to mention a city with some really, really hot strippers!



http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/21/adrian_dudzicki_elite_squash_player_named_as_cyclist_killed_by_car.html

Adrian Dudzicki, elite squash player, named as cyclist killed by car Man, 20, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death of Dudzicki, who was on his way to training

A young man struck and killed by a car in Toronto Wednesday is being remembered as an exceptional squash player with a bright future.

Adrian Dudzicki, 23, was biking to the National Squash Academy around 9:30 a.m. when he was hit by a BMW at Yukon Lane and Sheppard Ave. W. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His death is Toronto’s 54th traffic fatality this year.

Dudzicki, known as “Dudz” to his friends, moved here from Ottawa about three years ago and had been training at the National Squash Academy ever since, said Danny Dacosta, executive director of Squash Canada.

“He was a squash nut,” Dacosta said. “He loved to play with anyone. And he’d be on the court 10, 12 hours a day if he could.”

Canada’s squash community is devastated by the loss, Dacosta said.

“He’s a family member. . . . We’re taking it pretty hard because he was a bright light for the future for us.”
Last year Dudzicki achieved a career-high ninth place ranking in Canadian men’s open singles, and ranked 136th in the Professional Squash Association’s world rankings. He won the Ontario Squash Singles Championship in 2012 and was the Canadian University and College Champion in 2010. Then a political science student at the University of Ottawa, Dudzicki represented Canada at the 2010 World University Games in Melbourne, Australia.

“He was a warrior on the court,” Dacosta said. “He gave it everything he had every time he went on the court.”
Born in Latina, Italy, Dudzicki moved to Ottawa when he was a child. His passion for squash was stoked at the Ottawa Athletic Club where, at 12, he started playing with professional Johnny Wilson.

“He was my student, my friend and in many ways my teacher,” Wilson said in a release. “He was a true free spirit who lived his life the way he wanted. He was admired.”
Squash Canada performance director Jamie Hickox said in the release that Wilson found Dudzicki to be “a bit of a lost soul” when the two first met. Over time, however, the young man’s journey led him to become a “hard working and gritty squash pro who was ready to take on the world,” Hickox said.

Dudzicki recently returned to squash after taking some time off from the sport to work and save enough to fund his run at the Professional Squash Association.
He was scheduled to play in an exhibition in Orangeville next month.

“A gentle and intelligent man, the community has lost a bright light and a kid who had every chance to make his mark on the world squash scene,” Hickox said.
Aleksey Aleksev, 20, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death. He was expected to appear in court Thursday morning.
Six people who tried to help Dudzicki at the scene are asked to contact police.

His death was just one of a rash of traffic fatalities in the GTA this week.

A 4-year-old Mississauga boy was killed crossing an intersection near his school Wednesday morning. The boy, a kindergarten student, was walking with one of his parents at the time.
A 36-year-old man died after being struck by a Dodge Neon in Oshawa around 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Police say they believe alcohol was a factor in that collision.
 
A call for all concerned to ban downhills, trees and powerful owls...not necessarily in that order. Because while a fast descent can kill you and hitting a tree in your way at any speed above about 20 MPH will kill you, adding a powerful owl into the mix is like being attacked by a ninja army. You just ain't got a chance, mate!

Cyclist killed after crashing into tree on Mt Coot-tha track

A CYCLIST has died after crashing into a tree on a popular bushwalking track on Brisbane's Mt Coot-tha.

Initial reports indicate emergency services received a Triple-0 call about 6.50am, alerting them to an unconscious bike rider about 500m into the Powerful Owl Circuit at Mt Coo-tha.
Paramedics and fire crews rushed to the scene near Channel 9’s studios, but efforts to revive the cyclist were unsuccessful.

The Powerful owl track is very steep in parts.

One mountain biker who has tackled the track many times said it was steep and "dangerous in parts".

"I've almost come to grief there," the rider told couriermail.com.au.

"You can hit high speeds coming down and there are a series of jumps. If you miscalculate, it can be nasty."

See video of the track below. The Powerful Owl track begins from 47 seconds into the video.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/cyclist-killed-after-crashing-into-tree-on-mt-coot-tha-track/story-fnihsrf2-1226765788809


One miscalculation...one moment of indecision...one second late on the brakes...
 
I always love it when some describes a course as being dangerous. It's not the bit of track that's dangerous it's trying to go fast and not having the ability to control the bike that's the problem. I've ridden into things that move less than trees but thankfully I survived. I was being a **** and descending way to fast for the conditions and paid the piper in big bags of hurt. It wasn't the rain, the cowshit and diesel that the local farmer thought the lane needed for beautification purposes and the 12 to 20 percent gradients that were dangerous - it was my riding that was.
 
This topic/thread seems to raise the most passionate response and have a lot of activity. I wonder if it is the one with the most posts?
 
Originally Posted by jaygeephoto
This topic/thread seems to raise the most passionate response and have a lot of activity. I wonder if it is the one with the most posts?
It's killing me but... 6000+ posts.
 
It's killing me... has nowhere near the most posts. The Thread About Nothing takes that paper party crown.
 
hehe I haven't been to that neck of the cycling forum woods in awhile.
 
Just had a look at "About Nothing". Whew! Well, after all, this is a web forum. So mindless dribble and self absorbed prattle would be de riguer, I guess. I do like some of the avatars though. Just got back from the Y and an hour on an Expresso Fitness stationary bike. I still feel I'd still rather be riding in the rubble and trash strewn shoulder, dodging motorists.
 
Self absorbed prattle? Looks like someone is a little stuck up... Maybe Mr Camera guy should bathe in some developer in the hope that other things grow to the same level as his narcissism. ;)
 
I have no doubt this system:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/10/hands-on-with-revolights-system.html

employed on a night commuters bike would constitute a major safety advance. I've also seen online DIY instructions for copies costing far less. Some solutions are technological.
 
Tour of Tucson rider killed yesterday:

EL TOUR DE TUCSON CYCLIST KILLED IN CRASH November 23, 2013 • Posted by: Michael McKisson
A 59-year-old El tour de Tucson cyclist has died after being hit by a motorist on the route.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that the Tucson cyclist, John Henderson, was riding in the bike lane marked off by cones when a driver struck him from behind.

The crash occurred on the Frontage Road between Sunset Road and Camino del Cerro.

Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists president Zach MacDonald was heading south on I-10 when he saw the crash. He said it looked like medical professionals were administering CPR as he went by.

We will add more information as we get it.