CliffordK

So, when does the 2018 data get posted. We're now mid year, and still waiting.

https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
In recent times, the auto related deaths peaked around 2005, and then plummeted, perhaps due to ABS and Airbags. Unfortunately, they've been slowly creeping up again in the last few years.

2016 was one of the worst years for bikes in a very long time.

Yet, 2017 fell back down to perhaps slightly above average over the last 10 years or so, but close, and certainly not the highest.

Cycling deaths do appear to be up slightly, but it is not very far beyond a statistical anomaly, even reporting issues.

Still, it is a minor component of the vehicle CAR-nage.

Leisesturm

If all it takes to blow credulity with you is to be wrong about something unknowable ... oh well. Maybe it was a lack of ... maturity in the writing that I mistook for youth. As for the rest ... well the whole credulity thing cuts both ways. If you can imagine that I never make left turns or 'take the lane' for any reason because of my slavish devotion to FRAP culture ... well I'm just saying, I don't think that reflects badly on me. You just saw a 'very young driver swing left on a red while illegally talking on her phone this morning'. Wow .. I saw the very same thing! Well, I'm not sure if the driver was on their phone or not. Or whether they were young or old ... male or female ... my limited powers of sight allow me to register the presence of vehicles, their sizes, rates of speed (or not) etc. The important stuff. You know, when all is said and done, we should all be on the same side. I don't get the personal attacks. Incoherent nonsense indeed. But, not to worry, my shoulders are wide enough to handle the load of insult. Just don't pile insincerity on top by wishing me a good weekend.

livedarklions

OK, suit yourself, don't have a good weekend.

I don't know what FRAP culture is--that's like saying "hand signal culture" or "Idaho stop culture", so I can't make head or tail out of what you think you're saying here.

Her phone was on her left ear and I was looking at her left window as she illegally crossed my lane, I would have had to avert my eyes to miss it. Point is I have no idea what point you think you're making with the whole age stuff.


I'm going to stop talking to you now. That post was gibberish.

greatscott

I think the rash of accidents is simply due to distracted driving, and with cyclists when a car hits one most of the time the motorist will flee because, A: the cyclist is unable to catch them and get a plate number at the very least; and B: there is usually very little evidence of contact except maybe a few scratches on the car which the owner can explain away be caused by something else.

Having said that, I had an accident on my almost new condition 1985 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe touring bike 2 weeks ago. A motorist side swiped me causing my bike to twist and smack into a curb at around 18 mph which caused me flip over the handlebars sending my 66 year old body crashing onto a concrete barrier and over that onto a cement sidewalk. All I had time to do was let go of the handlebars before impact with the curb so I could flip over the wall. I was however quite surprised that all that happened to me was both knees were bleeding, and my left shoulder was bleeding, all from scrapes, and my helmet got destroyed which left a rub mark on my head. I say for being 66 year old taking a landing like that I was very blessed. The bike did not get a blessing, the fork got bent back about an inch, the front wheel wheel somehow survived unscathed as did the rest of the bike. Now with modern times and their damn lawsuits that come at a drop of a hat, no bike shop wants to bend the fork back. So debating to find another fork, or just forget it and get another touring bike. The guy took off by the way.

The government needs to mandate that all phones to shut off automatically all texting and phone call usage once the car speed exceeds 20 mph and resume over 200 mph and only allow 911 calls with no way for the phone user to over ride it. This can be done very easily because all phones have a GPS systems built in so all they need to do is program the shut off and turn on speeds. This has actually been done already in testing. I also don't like self driving cars, the makers of these products say that the driver needs to be alert and paying attention, how's that going to be possible? Once a person thinks the car is fully autonomous their mind is completely off the driving, this has already been proven the case in several accidents involving this crap technology. And all this crap technology does is make cars more expensive to buy, so remove this crap, make cars easier to operate various controls so many of the crap found is cars today that causes distracted driving will be virtually eliminated. People for years had cars that you didn't have to scroll through a list of functions looking for something like the AC and temp control when all we use to have was levers and they worked just fine, in fact they worked so well that todays electronics stuff keeps breaking which costs a ton of money to fixed while the old levers usually lasted the life of the car!

I'm sure what I said will make some of you mad.

rydabent

We need a law that says cell phones will shut down if moving faster than 10 mph.

livedarklions

The more I think about the automatic shutoff of cell service at x mph, the worse the idea seems. It won't be effective at stopping the miscreant driver, and it will inconvenience a lot of people who aren't doing anything wrong.

There is no good reason to prohibit the use of cell phones and texting by passengers, whether they're in cars or on public transit, but this speed trigger would deprive them of service. That's literally millions of people who are going to be annoyed every single day by such a mechanism. That alone would probably kill any such initiative.

But, and this is even worse, it's going to be easy to work around, so that drivers will still be able to phone and text. There are too many real-time apps, especially GPS, that require constant connection to the internet, so it's clear that the automatic cut-off at X mph would not include wireless internet service. How many days do you think it would take to figure out which apps allow you to make phone calls and text through THAT connection?

CliffordK

That will be the end of STRAVA

I-Like-To-Bike

Oh No! That would be the end of all Serious Cycling™.

Maelochs

Maybe it is drivers on cell phones ... or maybe the spike in deaths is the increasing poverty among lower-income workers are real wages continue to shrink, forcing many to ride bicycles because they cannot afford cars. or maybe ... people who get into accidents caused by texting while driving, are losing their licenses, buying bikes, and texting while biking.

No information here whatsoever, so Let's All Speculate!

And then since this is the intarwebz, let's attack and insult one another for advancing different speculative theories ... or just for posting ... that actually seems to be enough to spark a fight on most sites.

This whole "Take the lane" vs "Frap" thing is too funny .... Why not just ride wherever and however it is safe?

People who stay right say taking the lane is inevitably fatal ... people who take the lane say staying right is literally asking to be hit. Both "sides" are full of bodily waste ... There is no single strategy which assures safety beyond possibly, being aware of the situation and riding sensibly ... but please, don't let me interrupt anyone's slap fights.

livedarklions

I agree with all that, but feel a need to point out that the supposed "spike" in cyclist death just appears to be a one year statistical fluctuation, so "explaining" it really is a great ink-blot test.

Maelochs

I am sorry I did not make this part of my rant clearer.

Yes ... absolutely. This is a tiny statistical variance which most likely has 700 or 800 different "causes."

gear64

Not sure about Google maps, but absolutely Waze does this. Also Waze has social media aspect for circumventing police etc, which also leads to more distracted driving. There's a gaming aspect of getting points for flagging stuff. I believe Google bought Waze.

gear64

What about distracted pedestrians? They're as prevalent and as guilty of distracted walking into unsafe scenarios.

Notso_fastLane

What about them? Would you rather get run into by a guy walking, or a multi-ton vehicle at 40 mph?

Tough question, I know. Take your time.

livedarklions

Depends. Is the guy going to lecture me on the benefits of CrossFit?

gear64

I m not talking about me the subject of the post is motorists hitting pedestrians. The first bullet why in what I quoted is more pedestrians. I would argue more DISTRACTED pedestrians. I'm not giving motorists a free pass, but everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions.