Is road cycling dangerous?

[CAMPYBOB]

18 hours ago • Arizona Daily Star
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A 59-year-old man riding in El Tour de Tucson was struck by a vehicle and fatally injured late Saturday afternoon, authorities say.
The bicyclist, John Henderson of Tucson, was struck from behind by a car in the area of the Interstate 10 frontage road and West Sunset Road. Paramedics performed advanced life support but he was pronounced dead of his injuries at the scene, said Northwest Fire District Capt. Adam Goldberg.
Henderson was riding properly in the bike lane, which was marked by cones, said Department of Public Safety Officer Raul Molina. The car was in the bike line when it struck him, Molina said.
The 78-year-old driver of the Nissan Leaf stayed at the scene, but he has since been taken to a hospital for treatment and evaluation for undisclosed reasons.
Investigators do not suspect drugs or alcohol had anything to do with the crash, said Molina.
Authorities are not yet releasing information about the circumstances of the crash, which was reported at about 5:20 p.m. It was not raining at the time, Goldberg said.
Saturday's fatality appears to be the second in the 31-year history of El Tour de Tucson. A bicyclist, 28-year-old David vonKersburg of California, was struck and killed in the pre-dawn dark on his way to the start of the race in 1996.
In 2008, a 91-year-old hit-and-run driver struck a group of 10 El Tour bicyclists when he turned in front of the race on East Ina near Westward Look Resort. Five bicyclists were injured, including one who was left with a life-altering brain injury.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/car-strikes-kills-el-tour-bicyclist-from-behind-in-bike/article_a39e91ea-54a3-11e3-83da-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Death in Brooklyn:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9329869

BROOKLYN (WABC) -- Authorities are looking for a vehicle that struck and killed a 32 year old bicyclist in Brooklyn.

The victim was found next to his bicycle just before 4:00 a.m. on Meeker Avenue between Frost Street and Manhattan Avenue.

He had suffered trauma to the head, authorities said. He was taken to Bellevue hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened and do not have a description of the vehicle yet.

The identity of the victim has not been released, pending proper family notification.

 

[dalerb]

Received "Hornet Horn" today, and I blew it off my patio. Received neither startled negative reply from Swampy or stampeding herd of Buffalo. It is loud (sounds rather like an amplified version of a raptor chick squeaking for food) but not louder than a typical car horn. I'm going to put it on my town commuter style bike, more appropriate for those circumstances.

 

[dalerb]

Campy,
I'm not sure what the purpose of all the "bloody news" is, but you're starting to freak me out already!

 

[alienator]

Campy,  I'm not sure what the purpose of all the "bloody news" is, but you're starting to freak me out already!

Shock value is the reason.

 

[maturner]

Yeah its too bad its dangerous because it's so fun.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"I'm not sure what the purpose of all the "bloody news" is, but you're starting to freak me out already!"

Reality bites.

"Shock value is the reason."

Are you shocked? I'm not. Although I'm guessing the cyclist described below might have went into shock. You're an EMT...whaddya think? Meh. Nothing good ever happens on MLK Drive. In any city.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9307954

FAIRMOUNT PARK - October 31, 2013 (WPVI) -- A bicyclist was seriously injured after being struck by a car on Martin Luther King Drive Thursday morning.

It happened just before 9:00 a.m. near the Sweet Briar intersection.

According to police, the 63-year-old bicyclist entered the crosswalk from the running path side along the Schuylkill River going toward Sweet Briar. While in the crosswalk, he was struck by a Ford Focus driven by a 31-year-old woman, who was traveling westbound on Martin Luther King Drive.

The impact sent the bicyclist into the path of a second vehicle and was hit again.
According to the mayor's office, a staffer was on the way to work and passed the accident. Knowing that's the way the mayor takes, the staffer then called the Mayor Nutter to tell him to be aware that there was a crash that just happened, and that a man was lying in the street.

A short time later, the mayor came upon the crash.Witnesses tell Action News that the mayor was among the first on the scene, called for help, and stayed with the injured victim until paramedics arrived.

The bicyclist was transported to Hahnemann University Hospital with a broken hip and two broken legs.

The driver who struck the cyclist remained at the scene.

The accident is under investigation.



Read the comments section. It's better than the blurb about the cyclists used as a speed bump.

 

[dalerb]

Tour de Tucson stats:

Assuming 250 riders at an average of 75 miles for 31 years with two fatalities = 1 death/every 290,625 miles.

Before this year: 250 x 75 x 30 = 1 death every 562,000 miles

Average the two = 1 fatality about every 426,000 miles

OK, now we have a mathematical calculation of your statistical chances of getting killed on a bike for every mile ridden (hypothetical case of course). What would it be for driving, flying, every cigarette smoked, skydiving, diving, base jumping, dancing….Oh screw it, I'm going for a ride. Later….maybe.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"Assuming..."

Assuming we ignore every other injury occurring during not only the TdT, but also all the other injuries sustained during the last 31 years by all those cyclists...it 'looks' unsafe.

The guy in the report above did not die. But I'm pretty sure after they got done pinning his hip back together and setting/immobilizing his two broken legs that he would be the first to tell us that cycling is a very dangerous activity.

I would ride this afternoon, but it's been snowing all day.

 

[maydog]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB

According to the mayor's office, a staffer was on the way to work and passed the accident. Knowing that's the way the mayor takes, the staffer then called the Mayor Nutter to tell him to be aware that there was a crash that just happened, and that a man was lying in the street.

A short time later, the mayor came upon the crash.Witnesses tell Action News that the mayor was among the first on the scene, called for help, and stayed with the injured victim until paramedics arrived.

Wow, that article makes the staffer sound awful. Were they calling out of concern for the cyclist or just to inform the mayor to take another route as there may be a delay.

Did they call 911, why did the witness not stop? According the the news, the mayor was among the first at the scene - so I assume there was not alot of people assisting at the time the driver passed by.

Stellar reporting.

 

[jhuskey]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
"Assuming..."

Assuming we ignore every other injury occurring during not only the TdT, but also all the other injuries sustained during the last 31 years by all those cyclists...it 'looks' unsafe.

The guy in the report above did not die. But I'm pretty sure after they got done pinning his hip back together and setting/immobilizing his two broken legs that he would be the first to tell us that cycling is a very dangerous activity.

I would ride this afternoon, but it's been snowing all day.

Sissy boy.

 

[maydog]

The above report does not delve into the cause of the accident. Was the driver inattentive, or did the cyclist enter the crosswalk without checking the signal or for traffic?

One's actions greatly influence the probability for injury. When, where and how you ride are going to determine your risk factor; the x deaths per y miles is useful for comparison but doesn't paint the whole picture. In the total number of deaths, you need to include the riders which ignore the most basic and obvious safety recommendations, such as:

- Riding on the wrong side of the road
- No lights at night
- Disregard traffic controls
- Riding on the sidewalk
- Don't look before crossing the street
- Wearing headphones with music too loud
- All of the above

These behaviors are unfortunately too common and I know have resulted in some fatalities in my area. My risk, however, is not their risk.

Citing examples of accidents and injury are illustrative of possible outcomes, but are anecdotal and do not help determine a riders individual risk.

I will concede that among my daily activities, cycling is relatively the most dangerous. I am more likely to be struck by a car, than have a piano fall on me as I walk into the office. The risk, however, is still low and I consider it safe.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"Stellar reporting"

Yeah. Another out-of-work, underemployed scientist turning to 'journalism' to keep Happy Meals on the table. Definitely the product of a public education. Thus, the "see comment section" advice.

Hilarity followed every word of that story!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"The above report does not delve into the cause of the accident."
The mayor caused it. Or was it the mayor's staffer on the phone to the mayor that caused it?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"I will concede that among my daily activities, cycling is relatively the most dangerous."

Bingo.

Unless you are employed on a security detail that protects alienator from the masses, you have to list road cycling as the most dangerous part of your day.

Not even getting caught trying to smuggle a new assault rifle into the gun safe under the wife's nose is as dangerous as riding most state routes in Ohio!

 

[dalerb]

Well…when things go political these days I leave blogs for good…period…see ya.

 

[jhuskey]

I revel in my sissydom. I am not gettin out on this ****. The trainer is home now.

 

[alienator]

The above report does not delve into the cause of the accident. Was the driver inattentive, or did the cyclist enter the crosswalk without checking the signal or for traffic? One's actions greatly influence the probability for injury. When, where and how you ride are going to determine your risk factor; the x deaths per y miles is useful for comparison but doesn't paint the whole picture. In the total number of deaths, you need to include the riders which ignore the most basic and obvious safety recommendations, such as: - Riding on the wrong side of the road - No lights at night - Disregard traffic controls - Riding on the sidewalk - Don't look before crossing the street - Wearing headphones with music too loud - All of the above These behaviors are unfortunately too common and I know have resulted in some fatalities in my area. My risk, however, is not their risk.

Parachutist is a skydving mag that reports skydiving fatalities, but rather than just reporting that someone died, they also report the results of the fatality investigation, analyze if and what the skydiver did wrong, and relevant reminders to skydivers about the appropriate safety and training practices. It allows people to learn something and possible improve. I find that newspaper and other periodical reports don't report much detail at all and that there's not a lot to learn from those tidbits, aside from the fact that another cyclist died or was injured.

I will concede that among my daily activities, cycling is relatively the most dangerous. I am more likely to be struck by a car, than have a piano fall on me as I walk into the office. The risk, however, is still low and I consider it safe.

Yup. The statistics on cycling fatalities would be more interesting and I think actually relevant if the number of deaths were normalized by mileage and grouped according to yearly mileage, so cyclists would be categorized by the number of miles per year they rode. That group's deaths would be normalized by total miles pedaled. You could do the same thing with years of cycling experience and miles per year pedaled and so on.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"The trainer is home now."

Still only about 4" down, but it's still snowing and the only vehicle that's went up the road lately was an ATV kicking up a white rooster tail. I looked at the rollers...and ordered a spare drive belt! No sense in rushing into the roller season.

I could fall and get hurt! Then some "Rollerist" magazine would have to do an in-depth article on the analysis of what went horribly wrong ("It would appear that this rollerist went to sleep while training and was dreaming of a threesome with the girls from Krewella.) and then offer educational safety advice (always wear a fall harness when riding rollers, wear your helmet, move the monitor from in front of the rollers to prevent electrocution hazard, always use a front fork support...) and issue a somewhat relevant reminder to other rollerists to not train on such a dangerous device and go buy a new Tacx I-Trainer with 2 T-byte hard drive and EPO injector upgrade package.

This guy is still waiting for the in-depth analysis of his untimely demise:


Wednesday, November 6th, 2013 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities.

Update: Cyclist killed in Newport Beach collision; 7th cycling death in city since 2010 It’s happened again.
For the second time this year, and the 7th in the last four years, a bike rider has been killed in Newport Beach.

Unfortunately, details are still extremely limited.

However, Corona del Mar Today and Newport Beach Patch both report that the victim, identified publicly only as a man in his 30s, was hit by a passenger vehicle at the intersection of San Joaquin Hills Road and Marguerite Ave at 7:42 Wednesday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No word on which street the victim or the car that hit him were traveling on, or how the collision occurred.

The rider died just half a mile away, and on the same street, from where triathlete Amine Britel was killed by Danae Miller while riding his bike in 2011.

This is the 76th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Orange County. It also matches the total of two cycling deaths in Newport Beach in 2010 and 2012.
Far too many for a city of just 87,000.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

• In 1931 a piano was being hoisted up to a second-story window when a cornice broke free from the building, falling and killing a mover below.
• In 1955 a man ironically surnamed Keys was crushed under a piano being delivered to his home. However, the piano hadn’t been hoisted up and dropped; it and the victim just fell out the back of the truck.
• Virtually every other reported case of death by piano resulted from the instrument simply tipping over. Commonly the victims were kids playing near an old upright; perhaps some misguided practical joke was involved, but if so it fell flat.
• The exception was the case of strip-club bouncer Jimmy Ferrozzo. In 1983 Jimmy and his dancer girlfriend were having sex on top of a piano that was rigged so it could be raised or lowered for performances. Apparently in the heat of passion the couple accidentally hit the up switch, whereupon the piano rose and crushed Jimmy to death against the ceiling. The girlfriend was pinned underneath him for hours but survived. I acknowledge this isn’t a scenario you want depicted in detail on the Saturday morning cartoons; my point is that death due to vertical piano movement has a basis in fact.

Pianos are not the once popular parlor entertainment that the 'big screen' TV is today. Can you imagine...

I don’t want to give the impression that getting killed by falling objects is uncommon. On the contrary, the advent of large-screen and more recently wall-mounted televisions has created an entirely new category of real-world danger: death by falling TV. The Consumer Products Safety Commission found that from 2000 to 2011 an incredible 215 people were killed by their own televisions, 29 in 2011 alone.

I say...ban televisions! Do it for the children!

Now...if only "Televisionist" magazine would do an in-depth study of Death By Large Screen Gravity and offer training advice...