Comments on: Bike Locally http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/04/27/bike-locally/ Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:31:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Grant Johnson, PE, PTOE http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/04/27/bike-locally/#comment-7219 Grant Johnson, PE, PTOE Thu, 07 May 2009 10:13:39 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=829#comment-7219 I used to ride a bike to work, rode along busy four lane boulevards that had a 4' bike lane. But there were many hazards, and I recall the worst feeling of all was going 10-15 mph, and getting "buzzed" by a huge semi truck that is 60 feet long and passing you at 45 mph only 1-2' away. It's very unsettling. The thought of just how vulnerable you are is difficult to get out of your mind. In the end, I felt riding a motorcycle at the speed of traffic was much safer than the vulnerability of riding a bike and getting passed all the time, with only a foot or two of room for error for driver after driver. The risk was more than I could bear. It's just dangerous! And I'm not sure if I ever got hit that a helmut would matter much, given the broken back, femurs, and neck. I used to ride a bike to work, rode along busy four lane boulevards that had a 4′ bike lane. But there were many hazards, and I recall the worst feeling of all was going 10-15 mph, and getting “buzzed” by a huge semi truck that is 60 feet long and passing you at 45 mph only 1-2′ away. It’s very unsettling. The thought of just how vulnerable you are is difficult to get out of your mind. In the end, I felt riding a motorcycle at the speed of traffic was much safer than the vulnerability of riding a bike and getting passed all the time, with only a foot or two of room for error for driver after driver. The risk was more than I could bear. It’s just dangerous! And I’m not sure if I ever got hit that a helmut would matter much, given the broken back, femurs, and neck.

]]> By: David Hembrow http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/04/27/bike-locally/#comment-7127 David Hembrow Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:03:44 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=829#comment-7127 It's the principle of <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/09/three-types-of-safety.html" rel="nofollow">subjective safety</a> being demonstrated once again. I used to live in the UK and know exactly why people there wear helmets. Here in the Netherlands people do not. If you want people to feel that cycling is safe enough that they want to take part, it has to feel safe enough that they will do so without safety equipment. That's how it is here, and the result is that more than four in ten journeys in this city are made by bike (rather more than are made by car). It’s the principle of subjective safety being demonstrated once again. I used to live in the UK and know exactly why people there wear helmets. Here in the Netherlands people do not.

If you want people to feel that cycling is safe enough that they want to take part, it has to feel safe enough that they will do so without safety equipment. That’s how it is here, and the result is that more than four in ten journeys in this city are made by bike (rather more than are made by car).

]]> By: Dave http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/04/27/bike-locally/#comment-7110 Dave Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:06:56 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=829#comment-7110 Exactly! Short trip up a residential street to run an errand: No helmet. Commute into Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge: Helmet. Exactly!

Short trip up a residential street to run an errand: No helmet.

Commute into Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge: Helmet.

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