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landcruiserbob
Trad climber
PUAKO, BIG ISLAND Kohala Coast
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Jun 19, 2017 - 10:05am PT
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I MTB only now as well.
Texting and cyclist 🚴 wearing earphones a lot more make it deadly.
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Jun 19, 2017 - 10:26am PT
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Seems to be climbing in recent years and is approaching the all-time high of 1000 back in 1975
Hmmm, if by approaching, you mean about 20% less, I guess that's right.
What was the population of the US in 1975 compared to today?
Like I said, this is fake news.
When you stop bicycling, take up shooting as a new activity so you can protect yourself against the current crime wave (remember homicide rates have been "climbing in recent years").
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Splater
climber
Grey Matter
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Jun 19, 2017 - 10:47am PT
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I wouldn't favor a blanket ban on using a moving phone - what if you are a passenger or on a train or a bus?
It needs a way you could have it only apply to a driver - smarter sensors that detect if you are within 30 inches of the driving position.
There is actually technology now in cars that watches your eyeballs to see if you are getting sleepy. Something similar could detect whether your eyes are on the road and if not, sound the car alarm.
When satellite radio came out, a friend of mine had it and spent about 1/3 of total driving time looking at the music choices.
As we move toward automatic driving, cars are going to need such technology anyway. Tesla has had issues with people not knowing that they need to be prepared to instantly take over from the "autopilot" which is not a realistic operational expectation.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 19, 2017 - 11:29am PT
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Sad news....Condolences to Mr Halls family, friends and fellow cyclists.
Riding a bike has become much more dangerous since the arrival of cell phones & texting.
As a life long bike commuter i have experienced, witness and heard of way too many incidents involving distracted drivers. On busy streets i now ride my bike down alleys, side streets, hop on sidewalks where it's legal, and i often plan more time to take longer safer routes to destinations...
I have plenty of cell phone related close call stories i can write about, but what i witness yesterday floored me......
I was riding down a medium busy road, when i passed a slow moving vehicle. The young woman behind the wheel was looking down and i noticed she was painting her fingernails while driving...She made a left hand turn before i could give her a lecture.
Singer songwriter , Rita Hosking wrote a song called, 6 seconds.. that is relevant to this topic.... Wish i knew how to share it from my facebook feed .
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jun 19, 2017 - 11:58am PT
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I commute by bike, and will continue to do so. Yes, there are texters behind the wheel, but then, there have always been drunks, crazies, druggies, rabid bike-haters, and a whole lot of people who are just plain bad drivers.
One thing I've done to prolong my life is to assume that every single driver on the road is going to try to kill me.
Of course, the shoe fits the other foot just as well, and there are a lot of idiots on two wheels. And last week, I saw the ultimate...
...a guy texting while bicycling.
He was on the sidewalk, and weaving all over the place.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Jun 19, 2017 - 02:22pm PT
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Hmmm, if by approaching, you mean about 20% less, I guess that's right.
What was the population of the US in 1975 compared to today?
Like I said, this is fake news.
You should read the page. Childhood deaths on bikes have dropped by 88%, mostly due to helmets. However, the >20 years old death rate is climbing rather steadily.
Read, read for a change.
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Jun 19, 2017 - 02:45pm PT
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You should read the page. Childhood deaths on bikes have dropped by 88%, mostly due to helmets. However, the >20 years old death rate is climbing rather steadily.
Read, read for a change.
Thank you, I read, and saw nothing to support the contention that the number of deaths per mile ridden has risen.
While the data doesn't really support making any firm conclusions, it seems unreasonable to deny that bicycling is now MUCH safer than it used to be (in the 70s).
It may well be that there has been a small rise in fatality rates (i.e., per miles ridden) in the past few years; it's also possible there hasn't been. We just can't tell from the evidence.
But this notion that bicycling is somehow much more dangerous than it used to be is simply wrong, and anecdotes like "I saw a girl putting on lipstick and she almost killed me" doesn't change that (don't you think women have been putting on lipstick while they drive for a long time?).
As I understand it, when the first started putting radios in cars, some people said that should be illegal as it would promote distracted driving. (Those people may have been right; I'm sure there have been many deaths caused by drivers fiddling with their radios.)
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Splater
climber
Grey Matter
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Jun 19, 2017 - 05:27pm PT
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"the contention"
there was no contention about a rising rate per mile ridden,
only an overall total number.
Where is this evidence that bicycling on public roads is much safer than in the 70s?
Maybe it's relative. Car driving has become safer, while bicycling on public roads has not ??
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Jun 19, 2017 - 08:35pm PT
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Roll on Mike Hall . . . you lived and died on the road as a warrior would.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Jun 19, 2017 - 08:56pm PT
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Blah , blah , blah... The roads are more crowded , more cars and more careless drivers...Throw more cyclist into the mix and you have more death... and furthermore...
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Jun 19, 2017 - 09:38pm PT
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"the contention"
there was no contention about a rising rate per mile ridden,
only an overall total number.
Where is this evidence that bicycling on public roads is much safer than in the 70s?
Maybe it's relative. Car driving has become safer, while bicycling on public roads has not ??
The number of bicycle fatalities in the US was significantly higher in the US in the 70s than it is today, and the population was much lower then.
Those are facts.
I think that bicycling is more popular now than it was in the 70s (kids always rode bikes, then and now, but lots more adults ride now). I suppose that's conjecture on my part, but hard to see how people can really disagree. And even if they did, it wouldn't change the facts.
Danger only makes sense in the context of fatalities per miles ridden (or at least some similar metric). Absolute fatalities mean almost nothing when divorced from a population.
Would you say it's safer to live in El Salvador than in the US because there are fewer murders in El Salvador?
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 3, 2017 - 07:48am PT
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I was hit by a distracted texter a couple of years back. Fortunately she was on a bike and I was in my truck.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Condolences to Eric the RAAM rider.
Those are some interesting--if grim--stats from up thread. Overall, cycling IS safer than it was in 1975--even if the number of cyclists killed climbs back to 1,000. The number of cars and cyclists has climbed significantly since then. USA Pop in 1975 = 216 million; pop in 2017 = 325 million. It's hard to find stats on number of riders for those years, but it sure seems to have increased--except among the younger set, which goes a long way in explaining the 88% drop in young rider fatalities. BITD, bike racks at school were PACKED. Now, virtually empty. What will get these kids is the long, slow burn of diabetes and heart disease later on. I had a great ride this morning, so I'm thinking about this a lot ride now.
Ride hard, be safe!
BAd
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