RE: Accident Stats - the US Difference

> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:12:17 +0100
> From: Nathan Wajsman <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: Bicycle Accident Stats
> To: touring <[email protected]>
> Message-ID: <243382BA-A1CB-4617-B13E-E8BCE7922F04-+cDRpMZVDdI@public.gmane.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> That's the key. When I was taking my driving lessons in Denmark back in 1978, one of the things that were drilled into our heads was to look over the right shoulder before turning right, to make sure there was no cyclist in the blind angle. This became such a habit that even when I lived in Tampa in the late 80s, when NOBODY cycled there, I still looked over my shoulder before turning right.
> 
> Some Dutch towns are experimenting with a new and radical approach: they have gotten rid of traffic lights, zebra stripes, bike paths etc. Everyone is simply expected to share the road. Guess what? In many of those towns accidents went DOWN. In fairness, these tend to be smaller towns, we are not talking Amsterdam or Utrecht or Rotterdam here.
> 
> 
> Nathan Wajsman
> [email protected]
> 
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
> 
> YNWA
> 
> On Feb 11, 2011, at 3:59 PM, David Whitmon wrote:
> 
> > The thing about the Netherlands is that motorists know how to drive, are far better trained to drive with the idea that there are other road users who have the right of way.
> > 
> 

 
I would believe this. During my TransAm last summer I rode for about 3 weeks with two guys from the Netherlands. They often commented on both the poor driving skills and poor condition of many of the cars in the US. As we rode through the Appalachians one my favorite lines - " I don't understand every other store we pass sells car parts but all the cars are pieces of junk."
 
I think what you said here illustrates why the "stats" discussed recently appear confusing or conflicting. We have a problem one symptom of which is cyclists getting into accidents with automobiles. We're treating this symptom by adding bike lanes, creating separate bike-ways, painting right-of-ways, lane dieting, etc. There is something to be said for this. However, at some point unless you are just riding a recreational bike path you will need to cross busy intersections and ride on streets that don't have protected bike lanes. The separate bicycling infrastructure reinforces the idea that bikes have thier own place and I (as a car driver) don't have to worry about them- a sort of "out of sight out of mind".  If the same lanes, signage, signals, etc. were both universally adopted and con
 sistently implemented across the country (or even just from city to city in the same states) it would have a very positive impact. Rigth now I suspect that areas with well conceieved and con
 structed cycling infrastructure are safer than areas that don't have this but places that have only partially implemented this stuff (some streets have bike lanes, many don't or the lanes come and go, or some areas of town are much more bicycle friendly than others) have done little to increase cycling safety.
 
The real problem in the US is that drivers neither expect or respect cyclist on the roads.      Your statement "one of the things that were drilled into our heads was to look over the right shoulder before turning right, to make sure there was no cyclist in the blind angle" explains the difference. You were trained to EXPECT cyclists on the road and in doing this the country (in making sure you were trained) was showing a certain RESPECT for cyclists. The mind set in most of the US is that roads are for cars and bicycles have no business being on them.
 
The real issue is the lack of consideration by motorists which we are doing little to change- especially when you see cases like that farce a few months back in Aspen were the big-money Mercedes driving banker pretty much ran over a cyclist and got off with nothing but a slap on the wrist. I don't expect this to change in the US. Eventually (many years from now) cycling will become safer in America not because American drivers will become more skilled, aware, or considerate but because automobiles will become "smarter". The technology and imaging systems now being installed on very high-end cars will improve and eventually trickle down. The drivers will still be distracted and stupid enough to run down cyclists and pedestrians but hopefully the cars will be too smart to let them do it in m
 ost cases.