In New York City, everyone is at fault.
Yes, everyone is at fault. However, the rules of the road (and common sense) state that the bigger and more dangerous you are, the more you have to yield. And while cars are annoying and dangerous, this video demonstrates why I think bicyclists are more aggressive overall.* Just about every single person on a bike in this video displayed a complete disregard for anyone else on the road.
Don’t get me wrong, I love bikes. And am planning on getting one myself soon. But bicyclists need to be considerate and conscientious as well. And that’s something I just don’t see a lot of in NYC.
* Yes, maybe cars are more “dangerous” because of the greater potential for death or dismemberment if you are involved in an accident with one. However, I bet there’s a greater number of incidents involving bicycles (per capita) than cars, and probably by a lot.
According to Bicycle Almanac:
45,000 cyclists vs. 2.4 M motorists were injured in 2005, from traveling 6.2 billion milies and 1.6 M-M miles respectively, yielding 7.3 injuries per million miles for cyclists and 1.5 injuries per million miles traveled for motorists, making cyclists 4.9 times more likely to be injured per mile of travel. NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts 2005
So, yeah, there are more cyclist injuries per capita. That said, cars are the big killer.
Motorists usually at fault. The NYC group Right of Way says: “After NYC cycling fatalities increased twofold in 1999, police rushed to cover their, er, reputation by claiming (without analysis or supporting data) that cyclists are to blame in 75% of cycling deaths. Right of Way took a closer look. Surprise! The truth is just the reverse, as listed in our report, The Only Good Cyclist (PDF).” According to Right of Way, over 90% of pedestrian deaths in NYC are the fault of drivers. And research from Toronto shows the same thing for car-bike crashes.
Most at-fault motorists who kill cyclists and pedestrians get off the hook. A study by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition shows that three out of four at fault drivers were never even cited for hitting and killing pedestrians. 22% of fatal pedestrian crashes involved hit and run drivers, yet, none of the runaway motorists were found or charged. In New York, 70-92% of drivers were at-fault in killing pedestrians and cyclists, but 74% didn’t even get a ticket. (RightOfWay.org, 1999) The story in Austin is similar.
First Car Crash killed a cyclist. The first automobile crash in the United States occurred in New York City in 1896, when a motor vehicle collided with a bicyclist. [Traffic Safety Facts 1996: Pedalcyclists (PDF)]
Stop driving. Ride a bike. Behave.
I wasn’t referring to cyclist injuries, rather cyclist offenders. And the people that I believe should get the most respect are the pedestrians. Watch the video again, the bicyclists are the ones aggressively weaving between pedestrians (and cars for that matter*). In my experience, cars are more deferential to pedestrians than cyclists, by a long shot.
Sure, I’m unlikely to get killed by a bike, whereas the danger is greater with a car. But overall, there are many more accidents (and just the feeling of insecurity) than there are deaths. Again, I’m all for bikes on the street; I hope to own one myself very soon. I’m just saying that on a day-to-day basis, bikes are a greater danger/nuisance to me as a pedestrian than automobiles.**
* I would say there are more examples of cyclists not respecting cars in this video than vice versa. Weaving through automobile traffic the wrong way is not cool. It’s then your fault if you get into an accident idiots.
** Also, I’m not sure injuries per million miles is a good statistic, but I really don’t know. I would think injuries per capita is better, but again, I don’t know.
