Even, if you do everything right – follow all the laws of the road and ride perfectly – you still run the risk of being seriously injured or killed riding a bike.
Don’t get me wrong, there are things you can do as a cyclist that help to ensure your safety. Riding with traffic, riding in accordance with laws and most importantly, always riding defensively.
Regardless of how careful you are when taking to the street on a bike, you still are at risk. Tony Kornheiser on his March 11 ESPN radio show recently said the solution to getting cyclists off the road was to run them down! Other people probably share this sentiment but are just more quiet about it.
This isn’t a surprise to cyclists. If you ride a bike and you’ve ridden for very long, you’ve encountered angry and frustrated drivers. Drivers that pass you too closely, drivers that threaten you, drivers that verbally harass you and potentially drivers that actually target you.
Google “cyclist injured” or “cyclist killed” in Google News to see just how dangerous. Every time I have (which isn’t often because it scares the hell out of me and makes me afraid to ride) there have been a minimum of 3 or 4 pages of links.
These accidents rarely list the cyclist at fault. More often then not it is an inattentive driver, a distracted driver or a driver fed up with having to share the road with bikes. To make matters worse, the drivers are rarely fined, ticketed or held accountable in any way.
Currently more than half the states require motorists to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. Many also allow cyclists to take the lane when needed to ensure their safety.
If you are thinking cyclists should ride on the sidewalk (Tony Kornheiser) – think again. Not only is it impractical, in most states it is also illegal.
Give us a break and share the road!
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