Sounds like a boring blog already, doesn't it? But I promise you two cool videos.
As a health and safety professional, I have done many risk assessments over my career. So naturally, I was curious about the real and perceived risks of biking. A real risk is not using a helmet and riding without your hands on the handlebars (saw that yesterday on a road I wouldn't even choose to cycle on b/c of its nonexistent shoulders!). A perceived risk is the odds of being mowed down by a gazelle in the African tundra. Link to video #1.
Scanning websites, there seems to be about an equal numbers of sites that portray the low risks of cycling and those that attempt to scare you into never cycling. Frequently reported risks include dogs, potholes, people opening car doors without looking, not being seen, road rage and erectile dysfunction. Personally, I rank that last one pretty remote. But the road rage risk is where video #2 comes in. Have a look at this bus passing a biker and then plinking him off the front corner of his bus intentionally. Astonishing.
The perceived risks of an activity are not as bad when you choose the activity voluntarily. I choose to bike ride; no-one is forcing me. If you were forcing me to bike against my will, I bet I could come up with a huge list of reasons and facts to demonstrate how risky bike riding is (and then I would pelt you with them until you drop your silly idea). Instead, I take precautions to prevent the worst risks, do things to minimize the impacts of the possible ones and just accept other risks, while hoping against them nonetheless. Enough about the risks...what about all the fun I'm having? Wouldn't give that up.
As a health and safety professional, I have done many risk assessments over my career. So naturally, I was curious about the real and perceived risks of biking. A real risk is not using a helmet and riding without your hands on the handlebars (saw that yesterday on a road I wouldn't even choose to cycle on b/c of its nonexistent shoulders!). A perceived risk is the odds of being mowed down by a gazelle in the African tundra. Link to video #1.
Scanning websites, there seems to be about an equal numbers of sites that portray the low risks of cycling and those that attempt to scare you into never cycling. Frequently reported risks include dogs, potholes, people opening car doors without looking, not being seen, road rage and erectile dysfunction. Personally, I rank that last one pretty remote. But the road rage risk is where video #2 comes in. Have a look at this bus passing a biker and then plinking him off the front corner of his bus intentionally. Astonishing.
The perceived risks of an activity are not as bad when you choose the activity voluntarily. I choose to bike ride; no-one is forcing me. If you were forcing me to bike against my will, I bet I could come up with a huge list of reasons and facts to demonstrate how risky bike riding is (and then I would pelt you with them until you drop your silly idea). Instead, I take precautions to prevent the worst risks, do things to minimize the impacts of the possible ones and just accept other risks, while hoping against them nonetheless. Enough about the risks...what about all the fun I'm having? Wouldn't give that up.