Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I'm going out on a limb here, but does anyone else think that some of this relates to the campaigns of so-called "safety advocates" hyping up the riskiness of cycling?
If I was a parent with low information about cycling, I don't know that I'd encourage my kid to go riding in the face of ghost bikes and people incessantly talking about cell phone distracted drivers running rampant. If you keep sending out bicycling=death messages, you discourage riding more than you encourage safe driving.
Sure, some of this could be due to the hype of cycling being a risk is embedded in the minds of even cycling supporters. Even if some of this is due to that, it would be completely absurd to dismiss the reality that drivers are more distracted now than 15 years ago or 30 years ago. I have seen people watching video(tv/movie/whatever) on their phones while in moving traffic. And that isnt isolated- i have seen it around me and when visiting family elsewhere. This doesnt even begin to address texting/googling/emailing while driving.
I am on the leadership board of a youth cycling program that mentors at risk teens 3x/week for 5 months while training to ride across the state. We are constantly looking at ride routes thru the year due to closures(flooding), avoiding local event congestion, and creating variety for enjoyment. This region is fortunate to have hundreds of miles of paved paths so we can create safe routes until the kids are ready to ride out on county highways. Even still, we have permanently altered a couple routes to take out roads that we used to view as safe. I am not going to wait until a kid is hit before adjusting a route because that would simply be dumb, so there is no actual proof of it being more dangerous, yet I fully accept that those routes are more dangerous and hence the switch.
I work with both my kids to ride in the street when I think it is safe. Its always on side roads and even still, I dont fight it if they perceive the situation to be safer if they ride on the sidewalk.
Cycling in the city/suburbs is simply not as safe as walking or running in the same locations. It isnt as safe as playing tag with friends in a park. It isnt as safe as playing organized sports like tennis, soccer, golf, volleyball, etc. The point I am making with listing what is safer than cycling is that safety absolutely is something parents consider and instead of little Timmy ride freely around his city for hours on end, if they put him in an organized sport, Timmy will get the exercise while not being at risk to be hit by a car. When viewed how I phrased it, thats a pretty easy decision for many to make.
I am clearly all for kids riding- i help run a program for kids to ride. But even I am aware the risk is higher than what I remember as a kid when riding in populated areas. Little secret- solo rides for me are almost always gravel for a few reasons...one being safety.