Some Anecdotal Evidence Of Cycling Danger I Hear Today



bigsmile

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Sep 13, 2015
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As I said in my other post, I had a fall and some injury from cycling during weekend. I showed my injury to a friend, who's not a cyclist but told me stories of two accidents, one happened to his friend and one to a "friend of friend". His friend was hit by a cyclist from behind while walking on a trail, which broke both of his lower legs (no specifics as to which bones were broken). The "friend of friend" was a cyclist, who first had a very serious accident in which he was hit by a car and had broken bones all over his body. He kept on cycling after recovery and then had a second crash which killed him.

These kind of scare me, because even though as I stated in title they are anecdotal evidences, they are not just stories I heard online, but from a friend.
 
Bad things happen in the real world. Two cyclists from my community were killed this summer / a man hit from behind by a driver talking on a cell phone on the Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend around 7:30 pm, broad daylight dry weather. A woman from here on vacation was killed about 2 weeks ago while riding on the West Coast of Michigan by a driver who ran a stop sign, mid-morning.

Nothing anecdotal about either one, both were reported in local print and briadcast media.

There is some level of risk in almost everything. Want to carve your Halloween pumpkin? The knife "could" slip and sever an artery and you'd die - but it's pretty unlikely.

Weigh the risks and benefits, take reasonable steps to mitigate the risks, and do what feels right to you.

Me, afraid of riding my bike in a major population center - no, not in the least.
 
Even if an accident is reported in the news, it's still "anecdotal evidence". Anecdotal evidence is less about the accuracy of the source, but about it's significance. It is as against "statistical evidence".

The reason anecdotal evidences are not reliable is not because they may not be true, but because even if they are true, they still don't prove much.

I routinely dismiss anecdotal evidences for this reason, but I place some weight on the cases I mentioned because I heard them from a friend, and they happened to his friend or "friend of friend", instead of some random stranger, and that's the first friend that I showed my injury to, that makes it more significant.

I'm a statistician.
 
Keep in mind that these stories came to you because you were already discussing biking accidents. I'm sure most people could come up with just as many scary anecdotes about being a pedestrian on foot or driving in a car. Also, dramatic accidents always make for a good story. No one is going to sit there telling tales about all their boring, uneventful rides where nothing scary happened.

The reality is, just leaving your house every morning is a risk. There are a lot of things you can do to mitigate these risks though. Brush up on your bike signals and give drivers as much time as possible to see where you're going. Make sure you stay visible with lights, reflectors, or high vis clothing. Avoid listening to music while you ride and stay aware of the traffic around you. And if possible in your area, stick to the bike paths where you can instead of roads.

There's so much you can do to stay safe while riding, don't let the fear of an accident keep you from doing what you love!
 
If you really like whatever sport or hobby you are in and it gives you some type of pay off then go for it no matter what. Everyone knows how to take care of themselves and what and not what to do to keep them safe. We can not control the things that are happening around but we can control our own. I do not let these kind of news or stories get in the way.
 
Oh well, I agree that bad things happen and it can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone. But with riding, there are the so called predicted or expected risks. First is the crash. I was an expert in that when I was learning to ride. My brother even said that I should enter the movies and be an action star, hahahaaa. But that's fine, no serious injury. What I'm scared of is being bumped by a speeding vehicle. Some riders die of that kind of accident here mostly due to those reckless drivers.
 
Ask your friend how many people they know got into a car accident and received serious injury or died?I'd say there probably isn't a single one of us who haven't heard of an acquaintance or even family member sustaining injury in a car crash. I've had a bone snapped in half like a twig after getting hit by a car as a pedestrian...So what..I drive, bike, walk, and run..If I'd let fear stop me, I may as well be dead..Thats how I see it
 
You're a statistician? You have my deepest sympathies
One of the two worst classes I had to take in college / the other was genetics.
 

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