Helmets are your friend

Theo166

HeliumIsNoble wrote: »

@cwolfman13, you would win that bet.

Six most Frequent Sources of Injury Percent
Hit by car 29
Fell 17
Roadway/walkway not in good repair 13
Rider error/not paying attention 13
Crashed/collision 7
Dog ran out 4

Whomever wrote that survey was useless is selecting their categories. Maybe you could conclude 1/3 caused by car and 2/3 were under the riders control?

HeliumIsNoble

Theo166 wrote: »

HeliumIsNoble wrote: »

@cwolfman13, you would win that bet.

Six most Frequent Sources of Injury Percent
Hit by car 29
Fell 17
Roadway/walkway not in good repair 13
Rider error/not paying attention 13
Crashed/collision 7
Dog ran out 4

Whomever wrote that survey was useless is selecting their categories. Maybe you could conclude 1/3 caused by car and 2/3 were under the riders control?

Perhaps. Here's the first report on the survey's results and second report, if you're interested.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

If a cyclist is on the far outside edge of the road, a car overtakes the cyclist and cuts in too soon or too close to the cyclist, the only place to go is to leave the roadway... which can be very dangerous in some instances and impossible in others. If a cyclist is in the center or inside (left in the U.S.) side of the lane, then at least there is room for the cyclist to move further right when/if an automobile cuts off the cyclists or passes so closely as to cause a side-swipe.

This has been awhile ago, but my driver's ed. instructor successfully petitioned my state to change the DOT recommendations for motorcycle lane position for this very reason. Riding a motorcycle in the right tire track leaves nowhere to go if a passing vehicle comes too close. Riding in the middle means driving over a majority of the slick spots from leaking vehicles (oil deposits on roadways), and riding in the left wheel track puts the motorcycle in the correct lane with space to move further right when/if getting cut-off by a passing vehicle merging back into the right lane too early.

HeliumIsNoble

@midwesterner85 Entirely agreed, 100%. Unfortunately, the cyclist also has to balance the increased safety from using one's legal entitlement to prime position with the increased risk of aggression from some motorists.

kcjchang

Only truly needed the helmet in one fall. I was more or less at a standstill and my front wheel got caught between railroad ties (not paying attention and was looking around how to get around a stupid train parked on trail out of town). My left side of my head landed on the rails after the fall as I decided to rest my head against it but drop faster than anticipated (more like banging your head with you palm for doing something stupid and misjudging your strength). All other falls, >10, my helmet(s) weren't even scratched (spanning many years since 1985 although not contiguous). I wear it for insurance not because of it's inherently safer; there's an art to falling but one cannot always control the outcome. One of the best training to supplement cycling is Judo, just the basics, as it teaches you how to protect your body (head) in a fall.

NorthCascades

Sharon_C wrote: »

5 years ago my husband went on a bicycle ride with our dog. He held the leash and the dog ran beside him.

This is incredibly dangerous, and for everybody reading this thread, please exercise more caution than this. Dogs sometimes make sudden and unpredictable moves, like when they see another dog, or a cat, or when they're startled. Riding a bike while tethered to a dog drastically increases your risk of being pulled off balance and crashing. Your husband probably thought he'd be able to drop the leash in time if anything happened, but, clearly, this isn't how it went down.

BrianSharpe

NorthCascades wrote: »

Reading this entire thread, I get the idea that wearing helmets isn't what we really need here. Instead, we need cars to stop hitting us.

That would be ideal but until courts start aggressively prosecuting distracted / oblivious drivers who maim and kill cyclists we can only ride defensively (I ride with a very bright flashing LED front & back during the day & still have too many close encounters) and wear our helmets.

MeanderingMammal

3rdof7sisters wrote: »

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Theo166 wrote: »

Perhaps you can elaborate?

My helmets don't interfere with my visibility or hearing, and they improve my visibility

3rdof7sisters wrote: »

Just curious tiny_clanger, how does it make you more likely to be in an accident wearing a helmet? I am not trying to be a jerk about this, I would really like to be educated about your reasoning for this. I realize that there may be a vision issue with certain types of helmets, but the design of them has greatly improved over the years so vision is better with a proper fitting helmet.

If you take a look at the article I linked to it references the work to demonstrate the association.

Riders have greater risk appetite, and cagers are less willing to give concessions to those that they see as experienced.

Personally one thing that I've found that makes a huge difference is making eye contact with drivers, something I learned when I was doing high speed driving training. Eye contact generates a personal link that improves the likelihood of being treated reasonably.

Appreciating that it's an N=1 situation, but I've noticed distinctly different driver behaviour depending on what bike I'm on. In cycling kit on a road bike I'll have a very different experience than when I'm wearing a suit on a commuting folding bike. On the folder I've also done the same ride both with and without a helmet, and seen very different approaches from drivers.

I have no issue sharing the roadways with pedestrians, bikers etc. When driving, and there is not oncoming traffic, I will move over to give more room, and I appreciate when pedestrians and bikers do the same. Courtesy is a two way street, and while I do not bike, I do walk, on roads that have a 55 mph speed limit, and I always move as far over as possible when meeting traffic. Frankly I don't notice what a biker is wearing. Frequently, bikers will ride two, or more abreast, and make no effort to move to single file, let alone get over on the shoulder, biking in the traffic lane when there is space to move over. To me, that is sheer lunacy on bikers part. With all the crazy drivers, everyone (bikers and vehicles) need to keep this in mind. I absolutely do not condone road rage, but people have to use common sense, and a motorized vehicle vs: a bicycle or pedestrian, stand very little chance of coming out on the best end of a confrontation between the two. I know that everyone has a right to be on public roads, but, common sense needs to prevail, and every little thing that may help (ie: helmet) shows some smart personal responsibility.

So going back to the point that you asked for clarification on, rider appearance can have an impact on accident risk. Whilst you may not notice what someone is wearing it's clear that people do, and make decisions based on what they see. Those decisions may be conscious or unconscious, but they're made, and as a result incidents occur.

As you're not a cyclists I appreciate that some things that a cyclist is deeply aware of may not be obvious to you. What you think of as common sense may be one of the most dangerous things a cyclist can do. Things that you might think as obvious are more likely to make a cyclist either a target, or extremely vulnerable.

canadianlbs

HeliumIsNoble wrote: »

in the UK anyway, you are supposed to give the cyclist you are overtaking as much room as you would give a car. That means moving into the opposite lane, just like you would a car.

it's the same here, and idek what the legal definition of that is. people are 89% good here, and they give me space. they don't need to move into a whole other lane to do it though. i think that would be overkill, since i'm not as wide as a car.

i will say though, that when i ride around wearing one of those acid-yellow hi-viz mesh shirts with the huge scotchlite X across it, i get markedly more space from drivers. the difference is really dramatic. it's like the shirt scares them or something

jgnatca

Here is how to safely ride with your dog on leash.

https://goo.gl/images/Z7g5Dd