Is road cycling dangerous these days?

[Velosport]

Checkout this group of road cyclists in Asia:

http://youtu.be/kW5_8HYeqz0

 

[stainlessguy1]

Checkout this group of road cyclists in Asia:

http://youtu.be/kW5_8HYeqz0

LOL .
Just another early Sunday morning ride . Too bad the footage has been sped up . The little guy with the junior gear restrictions getting a push from his dad or club mate was cool.
WE will see them all at the next Olympics . They have all the bike courier skills needed in New York .

 

[Afrank]

Yes, road cycling has and will always have a certain degree of risk and danger too it. That danger is even more so when you ride like the riders in that video. If you ride smart (i.e. not like those in the video), follow the rules of the road, and are conscientious of other cyclists, drivers, pedestrians, etc. then you likely won't have a ton of problems.

Also depends on your area, some places in the world are much more dangerous for road cycling; while other places are much safer for it. I'm very glad that I live in a area that's generally pretty safe for cyclists.

 

[Boeing]

danger in cycling does not discriminate. however if a rider or group of riders knowingly take risks and assume entitlement to the road, said group will increase those odds negatively.

My initial thought watching this was not the danger from motorists, it is the danger these riders pose each other...

Any weekend morning on the coast of Southern California from Malibu to Scripps Ranch you will see this type of behavior by a few riders.

Ironically the last group I witnessed in what I call problematic approach to the sport was a group here n the OC called Viet Velo. you dont want a group with this assumption rolling up behind you as you brake for a yellow light of make a right turn let me say that....

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Checkout this group of road cyclists in Asia:

http://youtu.be/kW5_8HYeqz0

Don't think this looks too bad. Gotta remember this is Hong Kong, an area operating in the fast lane always. Besides its clearly early in the day, very possible during the weekend.

 

[Le breton]

..... Gotta remember this is Hong Kong, an area operating in the fast lane always......

Where 90% of the people are near-sighted

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Where 90% of the people are near-sighted

and?

akaknksnks

 

[Boeing]

Where 90% of the people are near-sighted

that is just wrong

 

[Michele]

Don't think this looks too bad. Gotta remember this is Hong Kong, an area operating in the fast lane always. Besides its clearly early in the day, very possible during the weekend.

That's a 100k group ride they do every year on 1st January with 100+ riders or so, and yeah if I recall correctly they organize this pretty early in the morning.

Riding in China mainland is way more dangerous than this.

 

[krebs303]

This gentleman sure thinks so

Thomas.Barraga@suffolkcountyny.gov

 

[purcell]

This gentleman sure thinks so

Thomas.Barraga@suffolkcountyny.gov

just wow ........

 

[usedtobefast]

that is just wrong

you mean wong?

 

[Arnout]

This gentleman sure thinks so

Thomas.Barraga@suffolkcountyny.gov

Honest response.

 

[zlev11]

yep, I live in Suffolk County and he's right. I try to go out on rides when there is the least amount of traffic (middle of a weekday) whenever I can, but people drive like friggin' idiots and are always on their cell phones.

 

[Arnout]

If I may be serious for a minute then. The answer is not get drivers to accept cyclists. Even if you get to the point where drivers respect and understand cyclists 100%, a cyclist is still a small object on a big road. The answer is separation: bike paths painted on roads are a suboptimal solution at best. If you want cycling to become safer, stop annoying motorists with funny antics and stop behaving like a cyclist has equal rights on a road as a car (a cyclist doesn't, he/she is too slow for that) and focus on real improvements: separate bike paths and better solutions for crossings and what not.

 

[frenchfry]

The other day I followed a car of which the driver was typing a text message while driving through 2 lights (at least they were green) and an urban zone where there are many pedestrians. I tapped on the car to get the driver's attention and tell him to stop, of course I was met by aggression. These people just don't realise how their actions are putting the lives of cyclists and pedestrians at risk. I saw the same guy in the evening of the same day as I was leaving the movie theatre and I thought he was going to physically attack me, luckily he restrained himself and only gave me a push and yelled a bunch of obscenities.

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

If I may be serious for a minute then. The answer is not get drivers to accept cyclists. Even if you get to the point where drivers respect and understand cyclists 100%, a cyclist is still a small object on a big road. The answer is separation: bike paths painted on roads are a suboptimal solution at best. If you want cycling to become safer, stop annoying motorists with funny antics and stop behaving like a cyclist has equal rights on a road as a car (a cyclist doesn't, he/she is too slow for that) and focus on real improvements: separate bike paths and better solutions for crossings and what not.

Great idea. Except it has two problems.

#1, who pays? Do you expect the general highway fund to pay for construction done for the benefit of a tiny (everywhere outside of the Netherlands) special interest group? Or will your require bike paths be toll roads? Or impose a road tax on cyclists?

#2, Pedestrians. How to keep them off of "our" bike paths? If law enforcement does not take seriously the need to protect the cyclists' right to exclusive use of the dedicated bike paths, in short order we undoubtedly will be sharing them with joggers and mums pushing prams and the handicapped in motorised wheelchairs.

Which brings us full circle, back to the uncaused first cause of the problem: the failure of law enforcement to provide cyclists equal protection.

 

[Arnout]

Great idea. Except it has two problems.

#1, who pays? Do you expect the general highway fund to pay for construction done for the benefit of a tiny (everywhere outside of the Netherlands) special interest group? Or will your require bike paths be toll roads? Or impose a road tax on cyclists?

#2, Pedestrians. How to keep them off of "our" bike paths? If law enforcement does not take seriously the need to protect the cyclists' right to exclusive use of the dedicated bike paths, in short order we undoubtedly will be sharing them with joggers and mums pushing prams and the handicapped in motorised wheelchairs.

Which brings us full circle, back to the uncaused first cause of the problem: the failure of law enforcement to provide cyclists equal protection.

#1, that would be general tax. You have to remember that a lot of roads, especially in unpopulated areas, are payed by taxpayers but only to the benefit of the few. Also, I would start with bike paths in key areas, Bogota style (not Netherlands style where nearly every road has a bike path next to it). This means corridor-like bike paths in important areas coupled with prohibition of cycling on major roads near that route: you help cyclist and motorist alike. Road tax for cyclists might be a good idea, although I suspect most cyclists pay road tax for their cars too and I'm opposed to tax raising in general.

#2, please realize what you're saying here: you don't want bike paths or are worried about them because pedestrians may use them. Can you now understand how motorists feel about cyclists using "their" roads? If law enforcement doesn't crack down on cyclists using roads improperly, motorists will be rightfully annoyed too.
Secondly, with dedicated bike routes, I would make sure there is a footh path next to it (or near it). Also realize there is limited space in most areas. In the Netherlands, bike paths are often used by many people at once, meaning the quickest guys will be obstructed once in a while. Everyone who can't deal with that shouldn't try to live in a city full stop so I don't care about them.

You're pointing to law enforcement. I call bull**** on that. Cyclists don't have equal protection, because they are not equally protected. Cars have a metal structure, airbags, crumple zones etc. Cyclists don't have that, laws won't change that. As it's your choice to cycle, you should deal with that. I do that on a nearly daily basis. That doesn't mean that cars shouldn't obey traffic rules and give way to cyclists when required. However, you would probably surprised to read that in the Netherlands, apart from roundabouts in urban areas, most of the time cars have right of way in situations where roads and bike paths cross, simply because that's the safest option.