Comments on: Perceived Danger or Actual Danger?

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 10:45:29 +0000

I do find that us cyclists are expected to just deal with the motorists out there, and that we are fighting the safety issue the wrong way with helmets, hi-visibility items, etc. Not only are they a false sense of security, they also discourage cycling to fashion-conscious people or those who prefer to be comfortable when riding.
However, I completely disagree that motorists or “cagers” are always to blame. More often than not I have observed completely unfocused cyclists who “fall asleep” at the bars, thinking that their hi-visibility jacket and flashing lights will prevent an accident. The safest way to ride a bike is to stay alert, don’t expect ANY car to be nice to you, or observant of you, and read the traffic patterns, such as T-Intersections, pay attention to the cars approaching said intersection, and perhaps give yourself a foot or two more space than you would otherwise, just in case he pulls out too far, or pulls out too suddenly.
I’ve been riding in black clothing (my preferred colour choice) for well over 10 years, completely unscathed by motorists. I don’t even own a set of lights… It’s just a matter of being comfortable, confident, and alert, and knowing just how to react when something does go pear-shaped, or at least becomes a little bit difficult to judge.
In the very worst of situations, find an alternate route, sift through the between-streets of the city, remember that you don’t need traffic lights to meet your destination quickly, you can’t get stuck in a 40-car waiting list at each intersection… and should you find a road too difficult to cross, jump off your steed and walk it.
And remember, you can react much faster on a bicycle than a fellow motorist can, if a situation is to go sour, you can easily pull out of it, or at the very least lower the accident’s severity.

By: lincdon

lincdon — Tue, 20 May 2014 08:36:32 +0000

I have a feeling that safety is the excuse used by people that have other reasons for not cycling. If someone says they do not cycle because it is unsafe it stops the conversation. If they said they run the kids to school because they can’t be bothered getting up early enough to get them ready they would lose face. It also fills up their day so they can tell their friends how busy they are.
The degree of the safety barrier should be very easy to research in Christchurch. We have a number of schools with quite safe cycling access, most of them border the dedicated trail beside the railway corridor from Riccarton to Papanui. If safety is the main barrier the numbers travelling to school by bike should be significantly higher at those schools.
Does anyone have any figures on this?

By: Cyclomaniac

Cyclomaniac — Sun, 18 May 2014 08:15:04 +0000

The chances of a fatal accident while cycling might be very small and the stats certainly do not deter me from cycling on safe roads but for me the point is that many fatal accidents are preventable. Too often saving a few bucks takes priority over cycling safety. Johns rd is a classic example. We spent millions and millions of money upgrading a motorway but can not find the money to keep cyclists safe.

By: Mark Grams

Mark Grams — Sun, 18 May 2014 05:38:47 +0000

In reply to Charles. Bike promotion is the topic of my Master's Thesis, so I'd like to think I'm doing something to promote cycling, and yes I do provide constructive criticism to the occasional blog :-). I imagine everyone else commenting here provides there own contribution to the cycling world in some way or form...

By: Charles

Charles — Sun, 18 May 2014 03:08:54 +0000

Always good to see advocates ripping each other apart. Isn’t it annoying when someone does something about an issue, rather than just posting on the internet…

Has anyone looked at the ways other countries became “bike cities”. Did the Netherlands, Vancouver or other cities get there through silent advocacy and lobby meetings?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o

Build it and the cyclists will come.

By: LennyBoy

LennyBoy — Sat, 17 May 2014 10:34:14 +0000

In reply to Mark Grams. The biggest problem with the "official" MoT stats is that they aggregate everyone's experiences together, but you're not comparing the same groups of people or scenarios. So, for example, the inexperienced 10-year-old riding their bike in a busy street environment is compared with the mature 40-year-old driving their car on a fully-protected motorway. If you look at particular sub-groups, the stats are not always so stark. For example, 15-19-year-olds are safer biking than driving in NZ.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sat, 17 May 2014 02:08:06 +0000

Here’s another interesting link on the subject….

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to-wear-bike-helmets

By: Mark Grams

Mark Grams — Fri, 16 May 2014 23:37:25 +0000

Good points, though you should put this in perspective of cycling risk compared to other modes. MoT data from 2009 shows that in terms of per 100 million km traveled, cyclists rate of serious injuries/fatalities is 10 times that of a car driver. You can also compare modes using time (accounts for the fact that cycling is a generally slower mode), where cyclists rates of serious injuries/fatalities per million hours traveled are 2-3 times that of a car driver. I would argue that although the actual risk rate is still small, the disparity in risk between modes is significant and a serious cause for concern, and likely linked to negative perceptions of cycling as a safe mode of travel.
Sadly, rates of injury/death for motorcyclists are far worse (~25 times the risk in comparison to car drivers). New Zealand has a long way to go to improve accident risks for all users.

By: Alastair

Alastair — Fri, 16 May 2014 21:50:21 +0000

Excellent points, “Lennyboy”. An additional point in relation to peoples assessment of risk: cycling is less safe than car travel by about the same factor (10) that car travel is less safe than Public transport. But few people take accident risk into account in deciding whether to travel by car or bus.

By: Luke C

Luke C — Fri, 16 May 2014 11:19:18 +0000

The Auckland protest was done by a quite random group of activists. The Generation Zero campaigns I’m involved have deliberately stayed away from raising these issues so blatantly, as we have done our homework, and come to same conclusions as you. Not great to focus on the safety aspect, really need to get better infrastructure so people feel much safer cycling.