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A lot of people say these kinds of things, as if they are constantly dodging homicidal bicyclists, but the statistics of bicyclist-pedestrian violence show that

A lot of people say these kinds of things, as if they are constantly dodging homicidal bicyclists, but the statistics of bicyclist-pedestrian violence show that it is quite rare, and not particularly violent when it does happen. If you had a choice, you'd be much better off with the world's most aggressive, negligent bicyclists than in a city full of average motorists.

grandalf 11y ago
I've nearly been hit by cyclists going at least 30 miles per hour running through red lights. They careen past looking dazed. In many cases I've had to jump out of the way at the last second to avoid a collision.
- ZeroGravitas 11y ago
  I've been actually hit by a car as a pedestrian. I believe the recorded statistics on injuries are very much in support of the comment you replied to.
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  OK, you were _nearly_ hit by someone on a bicycle, and you lived to tell everybody about it on the Internet. Meanwhile, 2.4 million Americans are injured in car collisions every year, and tens of thousands of them die.
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    I'll just leave this data here to back up my assertions for future readers. This, from Streetsblog today: "From 2000 to 2013 (the most recent year for which official bike crash data are available), cyclists killed eight New York City pedestrians, according to DOT. During that time frame, drivers killed 2,291 people walking. There were two reported incidents in which people on bikes struck and killed pedestrians in 2014, when DMV data show drivers killed 127 pedestrians. All told, cyclists fatally struck 10 people in NYC in 14 years, compared to 2,418 pedestrians killed by drivers, making cyclists accountable for .4 percent of pedestrian deaths."
    - grandalf 11y ago
      Considering that in NYC cars transport hundreds of thousands of times the number of people that bicycles do, the pedestrian death toll for bicycles per useful unit of transit is far higher than that of motor vehicles. And of course accidents will happen. I am referring to being nearly hit at high speed several times by cyclists who were blatantly disregarding the traffic signal. It's just needlessly reckless. Also, you have not addressed the issue of why someone who is allegedly healthy enough to cycle would be so lazy as to want to avoid having to stop at a signal and pedal to get up to speed again.
      - thrownaway2424 11y ago
        It's not about saving energy. It is much more dangerous for bicyclists to stop at stop signs. By the way, transportation mode share in NYC is only about 10:1 in favor of cars over bicycles, not 100000:1

grandalf 11y ago

I've nearly been hit by cyclists going at least 30 miles per hour running through red lights. They careen past looking dazed. In many cases I've had to jump out of the way at the last second to avoid a collision.

ZeroGravitas 11y ago
I've been actually hit by a car as a pedestrian. I believe the recorded statistics on injuries are very much in support of the comment you replied to.
thrownaway2424 11y ago
OK, you were _nearly_ hit by someone on a bicycle, and you lived to tell everybody about it on the Internet. Meanwhile, 2.4 million Americans are injured in car collisions every year, and tens of thousands of them die.
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  I'll just leave this data here to back up my assertions for future readers. This, from Streetsblog today: "From 2000 to 2013 (the most recent year for which official bike crash data are available), cyclists killed eight New York City pedestrians, according to DOT. During that time frame, drivers killed 2,291 people walking. There were two reported incidents in which people on bikes struck and killed pedestrians in 2014, when DMV data show drivers killed 127 pedestrians. All told, cyclists fatally struck 10 people in NYC in 14 years, compared to 2,418 pedestrians killed by drivers, making cyclists accountable for .4 percent of pedestrian deaths."
  - grandalf 11y ago
    Considering that in NYC cars transport hundreds of thousands of times the number of people that bicycles do, the pedestrian death toll for bicycles per useful unit of transit is far higher than that of motor vehicles. And of course accidents will happen. I am referring to being nearly hit at high speed several times by cyclists who were blatantly disregarding the traffic signal. It's just needlessly reckless. Also, you have not addressed the issue of why someone who is allegedly healthy enough to cycle would be so lazy as to want to avoid having to stop at a signal and pedal to get up to speed again.
    - thrownaway2424 11y ago
      It's not about saving energy. It is much more dangerous for bicyclists to stop at stop signs. By the way, transportation mode share in NYC is only about 10:1 in favor of cars over bicycles, not 100000:1