I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919.
What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
"C" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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In article <[email hidden]>,
Bill H. said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919.
What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
And that tiny subset includes a lot of knuckleheads. Regular riders fare much better.
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
And that tiny subset includes a lot of knuckleheads. Regular riders fare much better.
Joseph
I think a more insteresting statistic would be how many bike riders die, as out of the 200 million+ people in the U.S., many of them aren't bike riders.
"C" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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In article <[email hidden]>,
Bill H. said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919.
What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
"Fred" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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"C" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>,
Bill H. said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919.
What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
Per death.
this is not making sense anymore. Are you joking around. /life /death
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
In in every 84 will die in a car accident? Don't think so. (Maybe one out of ever 84 car crashes is fatal?)
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
In in every 84 will die in a car accident? Don't think so. (Maybe one out of ever 84 car crashes is fatal?)
Guess they meant one out of every 84 deaths will be from a car wreck. One out of 626 a pedestrian. And one out of every 4,919 will be from cycling (all causes?).
It's probably important to point out that this data is only from one year, and probably doesn't reflect historically accurate statistics. It also, obviously, doesn't factor in which of those bicyclists are being killed - the newbies out riding against traffic somewhere, or the ones that, though they may not be hard-core cyclists or racers, at least know the basics of being safe.
Bill Sornson said:
Leo Lichtman said:
"trino" wrote: I would guess per accident/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had the same question, but I am guessing it is per lifetime--IOW, per person. That would mean that one person in seven has died or is going to die of cancer. and one in five of heart disease. Those numbers seem fairly reasonable. That would mean that .02% of the total population die in bicycle accidents.
In in every 84 will die in a car accident? Don't think so. (Maybe one out of ever 84 car crashes is fatal?)
Fred wrote: Per death. Trino wrote: this is not making sense anymore. Are you joking around. /life /death ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It makes perfect sense to me--it's the same as I posted above, per lifetime, or per person.
As an aside, it would be interesting to compare the death rate from heart disease and other fitness related causes for cyclists and the general population. I'm willing to bet that the extra years you add to life by being fit more than offsets the occasional tradgedy.
"Fred" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
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What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
Per death.
this is not making sense anymore. Are you joking around. /life /death
The number of lives and deaths will equal in the long run, I believe. It must be the percentages of lives/deaths that are calculated. But it is difficult to interpret: People who never bicycle have a zero risk of dying in a bicycle accident, but a much higher than average risk of dying from heart failure.
It IS dangerous to bicycle, but maybe even more dangerous not to! ;-(
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919.
What does this number mean? Is it per mile? Per hour? Per year? Per person? Per accident?
This reminds me of a line from the two man stage play "Greater Tuna" where one of the actors is supposedly reading copy for a radio program. He picks up a card and reads "Peace talks fail. Attack is imminent." Then he calmly puts it down and goes on to the next item.
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
(Source: National Safety Council, 2003 Data)
If I never go swimming or go near the water, the chances of my dying by drowning are never. If I never bike, ditto. If I drive 100,000 miles per year, then my chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident are much higher. If I take good care of my heart, then it is much better than 1 in 5.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person<<
and I agree It is interesting that motorcycles accidents are less fatal than pedestrian accidents. So that means I might get hit by a bus today crossing the street. lol I still think you are looking at the figures a little off the mark. Guess it is open to interpretation You have to have cancer to die from it. It is not like 1/7 of 6 billion of us are going to die of cancer. Just because we all carry the potential to get it is no reason that we will. How many people die of Mad Cow Disease? 1 in 1 That does not mean everyone is going to die on this planet. Agree?
"Colorado Bicycler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Bill H. said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
(Source: National Safety Council, 2003 Data)
If I never go swimming or go near the water, the chances of my dying by drowning are never. If I never bike, ditto. If I drive 100,000 miles per year, then my chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident are much higher. If I take good care of my heart, then it is much better than 1 in 5.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person.
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
(Source: National Safety Council, 2003 Data)
If I never go swimming or go near the water, the chances of my dying by drowning are never. If I never bike, ditto. If I drive 100,000 miles per year, then my chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident are much higher. If I take good care of my heart, then it is much better than 1 in 5.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person.
So, According to this, sky diving is safe? Some facts seem to be missing. Bill Baka
"Bill H." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
(Source: National Safety Council, 2003 Data)
Getting caught in bed with a Linebackers wife: 1 in 1
If I never go swimming or go near the water, the chances of my dying by drowning are never. If I never bike, ditto. If I drive 100,000 miles per year, then my chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident are much higher. If I take good care of my heart, then it is much better than 1 in 5.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person.
Exactly correct. They are a reflection of the number of people in the U.S. population who die in a particular manner for a given year.
I think the best way of thinking of this study is to think in terms of "overall statistics". Obviously, if you never fly by plane you can't die in a plane crash (unless you're extremely unlucky). People say things like "flying is statistically safer" than driving a car, which is probably true. Naturally, it might not apply to everyone, but stats are stats.
Bill said:
Colorado Bicycler said:
Bill H. said:
I was looking through the August issue of National Geographic and came across some interesting statistics on the odds of dying through various ways. The odds of dying in a bicycle accident are about 1 in 4,919. For comparison, here are some other big (and not so big) killers.
Cancer: 1 in 7 Heart disease: 1 in 5 Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020 Drowning 1 in 1,008 Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789 Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626 Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
(Source: National Safety Council, 2003 Data)
If I never go swimming or go near the water, the chances of my dying by drowning are never. If I never bike, ditto. If I drive 100,000 miles per year, then my chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident are much higher. If I take good care of my heart, then it is much better than 1 in 5.
These figures mean absolutely nothing for any particular person.
So, According to this, sky diving is safe? Some facts seem to be missing. Bill Baka
