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Just meeting anecdote with anecdote, but in my experience the overwhelming majority of accidents and near accidents with bicycles happen because either a driver

Just meeting anecdote with anecdote, but in my experience the overwhelming majority of accidents and near accidents with bicycles happen because either a driver isn't paying attention, or the bicyclist intentionally cuts in front of traffic to get hit or fuck with people (San Francisco). E-bikes make the first case safer because, as described in the article, the faster you go the more time the driver has to notice you and slow down before crushing or swiping you. Similar but slightly different, you also spend less time in intersections when you go faster, lowering your chance of getting hit by turning or cross traffic

chrisfosterelli 5y ago
Oh yeah I don't have any data at all, and I don't doubt that statistic about accidents for a second. > E-bikes make the first case safer because, as described in the article, the faster you go the more time the driver has to notice you and slow down before crushing or swiping you I think this is true in some degree, but has a corresponding elongation in the time required to pass the cyclist (which increases the chance that drivers gun it to do so) and reduction in the time to respond when you're going to be cut off. I would suspect it's mostly a wash.
tonyedgecombe 5y ago
>or the bicyclist intentionally cuts in front of traffic to get hit What?
bryanlarsen 5y ago
The vast majority of accidents happen at intersections. At an intersection the faster you go the less time somebody in the cross direction has to see you, so speed makes you much less safe.
- mgraczyk 5y ago
  I've only seen one good study about this, and it was in Sweden where people drive very differently. That study suggested faster speeds do lead to more collisions or near collisions with cars. But in the absence of more relevant and recent studies, I prefer to trust my own experience. I feel safer on a bike when I go faster because I'm moving at a slower speed relative to the cars more likely to hit me, and I can get out of the way of others more quickly.

chrisfosterelli 5y ago

Oh yeah I don't have any data at all, and I don't doubt that statistic about accidents for a second. > E-bikes make the first case safer because, as described in the article, the faster you go the more time the driver has to notice you and slow down before crushing or swiping you I think this is true in some degree, but has a corresponding elongation in the time required to pass the cyclist (which increases the chance that drivers gun it to do so) and reduction in the time to respond when you're going to be cut off. I would suspect it's mostly a wash.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

>or the bicyclist intentionally cuts in front of traffic to get hit What?

bryanlarsen 5y ago

The vast majority of accidents happen at intersections. At an intersection the faster you go the less time somebody in the cross direction has to see you, so speed makes you much less safe.

mgraczyk 5y ago
I've only seen one good study about this, and it was in Sweden where people drive very differently. That study suggested faster speeds do lead to more collisions or near collisions with cars. But in the absence of more relevant and recent studies, I prefer to trust my own experience. I feel safer on a bike when I go faster because I'm moving at a slower speed relative to the cars more likely to hit me, and I can get out of the way of others more quickly.