Comments on: Bad Cycling? Bad Science http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/02/18/bad-cycling-bad-science/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 21 May 2012 18:41:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Barry http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/02/18/bad-cycling-bad-science/#comment-6128 Barry Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:52:25 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=637#comment-6128 Hmm... "...then bicycles would occupy a greater percentage of traffic, without any increase in the usage of bicycles." But for that, you assume that people would not convert from car to bike. I'm not so sure that the car and bike populations are that fixed. There are people who really do dig out the rusty Schwinn and dunk it in WD40. You never forget how to ride a bike. And when gas goes to five bucks a gallon, you'll remember a lot faster. Hmm… “…then bicycles would occupy a greater percentage of traffic, without any increase in the usage of bicycles.”

But for that, you assume that people would not convert from car to bike. I’m not so sure that the car and bike populations are that fixed.
There are people who really do dig out the rusty Schwinn and dunk it in WD40.
You never forget how to ride a bike. And when gas goes to five bucks a gallon, you’ll remember a lot faster.

]]> By: Jack http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/02/18/bad-cycling-bad-science/#comment-6127 Jack Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:40:44 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=637#comment-6127 Auto insurance companies too often part of the problem, not solutions (not "PR-reviewed" commentary). Auto insurance companies too often part of the problem, not solutions (not “PR-reviewed” commentary).

]]> By: Lee Watkins http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/02/18/bad-cycling-bad-science/#comment-6125 Lee Watkins Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:26:59 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=637#comment-6125 Sounds like a dashboard perspective. You could just as easily say that motorists are inexperienced at sharing the road with an increasing percentage of cyclists, or alternatively a reduced percentage of motorists. “resulting in a 29% increase in road accidents involving cyclists in the past six months.” - Couldn't this simply represent a change in the percentage of travelers using cars? If for example a bad economy resulted in a reduction in automobile miles traveled, but not a reduction in bicycle miles traveled, then bicycles would occupy a greater percentage of traffic, without any increase in the usage of bicycles. Car-on-car accidents would decline because there are less cars, and thus bicycles would occupy a larger slice of the remaining pie of car collisions. The revealing statistic of bicycle safety is not the total number of bicycle accidents, but the percentage of cyclists who are injured. By reducing the percentage of traffic that is motorized, the safety would be increased both to the individual cyclist and the individual motorist. What percentage of cyclists are killed by cars? What percentage of motorists are killed by other cars? What percentage of cyclists are killed by other cyclists? Sounds like a dashboard perspective. You could just as easily say that motorists are inexperienced at sharing the road with an increasing percentage of cyclists, or alternatively a reduced percentage of motorists. “resulting in a 29% increase in road accidents involving cyclists in the past six months.” - Couldn’t this simply represent a change in the percentage of travelers using cars? If for example a bad economy resulted in a reduction in automobile miles traveled, but not a reduction in bicycle miles traveled, then bicycles would occupy a greater percentage of traffic, without any increase in the usage of bicycles. Car-on-car accidents would decline because there are less cars, and thus bicycles would occupy a larger slice of the remaining pie of car collisions. The revealing statistic of bicycle safety is not the total number of bicycle accidents, but the percentage of cyclists who are injured. By reducing the percentage of traffic that is motorized, the safety would be increased both to the individual cyclist and the individual motorist. What percentage of cyclists are killed by cars? What percentage of motorists are killed by other cars? What percentage of cyclists are killed by other cyclists?

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