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Aside...but, why do you ride a bike on road? Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung is

by brador 15y ago

Aside...but, why do you ride a bike on road? Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung issues and reasonably high likelihood of injury or death compared to other forms of transport. As the risk of injury/death rises along with driver carelessness, is there a point at which you would reduce or stop your on road bike usage?

ck2 15y ago
To get from point A to B? Gas is nearly $4 a gallon. My town has bike lanes, why shouldn't I be able to use them? Unfortunately they are not the kind of bike lanes with the "wake up" bump strip between the car and bike. I also walk on sidewalks instead of a treadmill in a gym. Seems more practical and purposeful to me. If using a cellphone while driving is proven to be almost as bad as being drunk - why isn't it as illegal nationwide?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- brador 15y ago
  So technically, you value your life at $4 per (distance a gallon gets you) less cost of bike mainenance over that distance?
  - dangrossman 15y ago
    That would be the value of his life if the expected chance of death while biking were 100%.
    - brador 15y ago
      Over a lifetime, I'd say it gets pretty close.
      - CJefferson 15y ago
        You think that most people who bike all their lives, end up getting killed that way? When I was a student there were over 100 cycles in common use, and in the 4 years I was there there was only one broken leg from a cycle accident. While that is a tiny sample, that certainly looks like a lot lower than you predict.
        brador 15y ago
        Relative to other forms of transport, yes. People coming from, say, the netherlands just don't realise how dangerous it is to ride bikes on roads in non-biking countries (uk, us, etc.). Car drivers just don't bother looking or just don't care. "King of the road" mentality.
        sjs 15y ago
        You don't know where ck2 lives. I live in Victoria, BC and there are bikes on the road all the time here. A good portion of the roads have bike lanes and people are used to driving motor vehicles in tandem with bikes on the road. For all you know he does live in the Netherlands. Maybe even on Vlieland (ok I know this is extremely unlikely, but we don't know).
        jrockway 15y ago
        I don't know how you drive your bike, but if this is what you think, you're doing it wrong. If you drive your bike like it's a car, motorists will notice you and pass you with a wide margin. If you ride on the wrong side of the road and turn left from the right lane, then yeah, it's scary because you're driving like a maniac. Don't do that. Get this book and read it: http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp/0262560704 http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp...
        dhugiaskmak 15y ago
        If you drive your bike like it's a car, motorists will notice you and pass you with a wide margin. Where do you live that this is true?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- lpolovets 15y ago
  Using a cell phone while driving is illegal in some places (like California, Maryland, and probably other states). However, this might make things worse. I've noticed several disturbing trends in places where using cell phones while driving is illegal: 1) People keep the cell phone closer to their lap where it's harder to get caught by a policeman, instead of between their eyes and the road (which at least keeps the road in their peripheral vision). 2) When people look up from their cell phone, they are now spending some of their time looking around for cops instead of looking at the road. 3) Fines are often low (e.g. $25 or $50 for first offense), and thus not a huge incentive to stop.
mootothemax 15y ago
Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung issues and reasonably high likelihood of injury or death compared to other forms of transport. Do you have anything to back that statement up with? Sounds like FUD to me.
- brador 15y ago
  Which part? seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving...not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice.
  - mootothemax 15y ago
    Which part? seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving...not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice. This part: the negatives are pollution/lung issues This part: reasonably high likelihood of injury or death And this part: compared to other forms of transport From your latest comment, this part: seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving And this part: simple physics And also in the context of: not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice That would cover it for now.
    - matwood 15y ago
      Most of the answers boil down to depends where you live. When I lived in Denver there were tons of bike only trails, the air was usually great, and lots of people biked. Biking there was a way of life for many people. Where I live now, the air is great, but there are few if any bike lanes. Yet, I still see cyclists going down 2 lane roads with traffic going by them at 50MPH. An accident is bound to happen, and over the summer a cyclist was hit on one of the bridges. He flew off the bridge, and fell to his death. It is common sense that cycling on busy roads is more dangerous than driving a car on the same road.
      - cstross 15y ago
Symmetry 15y ago
Its certainly dangerous, but the benefit of the exercise is enough that bikers still live several years longer, on average, than people who take cars to work.

by brador 15y ago

ck2 15y ago

To get from point A to B? Gas is nearly $4 a gallon. My town has bike lanes, why shouldn't I be able to use them? Unfortunately they are not the kind of bike lanes with the "wake up" bump strip between the car and bike. I also walk on sidewalks instead of a treadmill in a gym. Seems more practical and purposeful to me. If using a cellphone while driving is proven to be almost as bad as being drunk - why isn't it as illegal nationwide?

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
brador 15y ago
So technically, you value your life at $4 per (distance a gallon gets you) less cost of bike mainenance over that distance?
- dangrossman 15y ago
  That would be the value of his life if the expected chance of death while biking were 100%.
  - brador 15y ago
    Over a lifetime, I'd say it gets pretty close.
    - CJefferson 15y ago
      You think that most people who bike all their lives, end up getting killed that way? When I was a student there were over 100 cycles in common use, and in the 4 years I was there there was only one broken leg from a cycle accident. While that is a tiny sample, that certainly looks like a lot lower than you predict.
      - brador 15y ago
        Relative to other forms of transport, yes. People coming from, say, the netherlands just don't realise how dangerous it is to ride bikes on roads in non-biking countries (uk, us, etc.). Car drivers just don't bother looking or just don't care. "King of the road" mentality.
        sjs 15y ago
        You don't know where ck2 lives. I live in Victoria, BC and there are bikes on the road all the time here. A good portion of the roads have bike lanes and people are used to driving motor vehicles in tandem with bikes on the road. For all you know he does live in the Netherlands. Maybe even on Vlieland (ok I know this is extremely unlikely, but we don't know).
        jrockway 15y ago
        I don't know how you drive your bike, but if this is what you think, you're doing it wrong. If you drive your bike like it's a car, motorists will notice you and pass you with a wide margin. If you ride on the wrong side of the road and turn left from the right lane, then yeah, it's scary because you're driving like a maniac. Don't do that. Get this book and read it: http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp/0262560704 http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp...
        dhugiaskmak 15y ago
        If you drive your bike like it's a car, motorists will notice you and pass you with a wide margin. Where do you live that this is true?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
lpolovets 15y ago
Using a cell phone while driving is illegal in some places (like California, Maryland, and probably other states). However, this might make things worse. I've noticed several disturbing trends in places where using cell phones while driving is illegal: 1) People keep the cell phone closer to their lap where it's harder to get caught by a policeman, instead of between their eyes and the road (which at least keeps the road in their peripheral vision). 2) When people look up from their cell phone, they are now spending some of their time looking around for cops instead of looking at the road. 3) Fines are often low (e.g. $25 or $50 for first offense), and thus not a huge incentive to stop.

mootothemax 15y ago

Yes, there are health benifits from the exercise and joy of riding a bike, but the negatives are pollution/lung issues and reasonably high likelihood of injury or death compared to other forms of transport. Do you have anything to back that statement up with? Sounds like FUD to me.

brador 15y ago
Which part? seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving...not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice.
- mootothemax 15y ago
  Which part? seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving...not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice. This part: the negatives are pollution/lung issues This part: reasonably high likelihood of injury or death And this part: compared to other forms of transport From your latest comment, this part: seems commonsense that bike riding would be more dangerous than car driving And this part: simple physics And also in the context of: not everything needs a dataset when simple physics would suffice That would cover it for now.
  - matwood 15y ago
    Most of the answers boil down to depends where you live. When I lived in Denver there were tons of bike only trails, the air was usually great, and lots of people biked. Biking there was a way of life for many people. Where I live now, the air is great, but there are few if any bike lanes. Yet, I still see cyclists going down 2 lane roads with traffic going by them at 50MPH. An accident is bound to happen, and over the summer a cyclist was hit on one of the bridges. He flew off the bridge, and fell to his death. It is common sense that cycling on busy roads is more dangerous than driving a car on the same road.
    - cstross 15y ago

Symmetry 15y ago

Its certainly dangerous, but the benefit of the exercise is enough that bikers still live several years longer, on average, than people who take cars to work.