Why Is America Such a Deadly Place?

I recall playing Froggert between the railroad tracks after stupidly doubling down with the strongest mushrooms they had because the first dose hadn't kicked in yet. I don't think I was ever actually in danger, but the hallucinations didn't help.

 

Perhaps. I’ve been there too. I recall they all spoke 5 languages.
Nice looking women.

 

Don't you have a choice to not increase that danger or be a menace to others?

Roads are dangerous for drivers too, but they're their for all of us.

 

Auto accidents are way up there on leading unnatural causes of death & injury

 

So you don't have a choice? That's odd.

 

I drive a car. I choose not to ride my bike on a rural highway. This isn’t that hard.
There is an amazing bike trail for….bikes. The back roads are a death wish for stupid bikers.

 

I'm talking about having a choice not to be belligerent to vulnerable cyclists by getting angry at them because they ride on roads. BTW, I grew up part of my life in NYC and when my parents moved us to the country as a young teen--call it Green Acres bc it was a big area for dairy farms in the 1970s--there was a clause in their housing documents about roads being used by farmers--tractors and livestock and the county wanted to make sure that people understood this. Always thought that was funny but the point was that cars might dominate roads yet they are not just for drivers (in fact, before cars, it was cyclists who spearheaded the push for paved roads) and we need to live with these inconveniences. Anyway, driving and cycling both have increased danger, but over two-thirds of cyclists accidents and deaths on the road each year occur on urban streets, not back roads. Makes sense for obvious reasons.

 

I think the point Bluke is trying to make is that a large portion of bicyclist that drive their bikes on the road fail to follow the rules of the road and put not only themselves, but other drivers in danger. I agree with Bluke. I also live in central Florida, and have a large wide bike trail parallel to the primary Road near my home, and on a daily basis there are people driving their bikes on the road where the speed limit is 55 miles an hour and there is literally an ultra wide bike trail less than 10 feet on the right of them, away from traffic, separated by a Grass median. These same bikers, drive right through red lights and stop signs on this particular road as if they don’t even exist. So many bad wrecks. I’m not a physicist, but I’m pretty sure that when a bicycle with a human being on it hits a 2000 pound piece of steel, the bicycle always loses.

 

A lot to agree with, but I don't think that cyclists doing something wrong was his driving point. It's that he didn't like that they were on the roads and not on paths. Maybe he meant bad cyclists, but he didn't say that. Anyway, we share roads & streets (but not highways) and the risk for drivers and cyclists is elevated due to the nature of 2k or more lb cans of metal & plastic moving at high speeds and worse when operators do so recklessly.

Speaking of which, there are good reasons why cyclists run stop signs. It's mainly not wanting to stop and start, which drains energy, and because on a bike you can navigate easier and see things better and thus it can be done safely. I roll through a lot of stop signs and even some lights on my bike when it's safe to do so. Though I would not in my car. That said, yeah, there are some cyclists who are dangerous and blow through lights...and deserve criticism but you gotta know there are far more dangerous drivers on the roads by a long shot.

 

Bikers put everyone’s life at risk on the backroads where I live. They do not seem to value life or common sense. It infuriates me as I’ve said.
They opt for the dangerous road curves where the traffic has seriously increased over the past 5 years.
The 34 mile bike trail is well known and very much the safer and better option.
West Orange Trail - Downtown Winter Garden

 

I hear you. However, if bicyclist are using the roadways for travel they are required to follow the same traffic laws as an automobile. You have no greater right to run a stop sign on a bicycle as you do in an automobile.

 

Of course not. Some riders probably don't care. For me, it's a conscious decision to do so when there is faiap no risk involved for me and/or others because it is safe to do so in countless situations. It's a bike at low speed after all.

I don't mean this as a whataboutism but everyone who drives a car breaks numerous traffic laws with many like it's their biz. No one here can honestly claim not to--often regularly and deliberately. No?

 

When a biker has several cars backed up going 25 in a 55 mph, you don’t think that’s a bone head decision on the biker?
It’s ridiculous!

 

So 7 pages and we’ve decided that the reason America is such a deadly place is because too few bike lanes ?

 

Automobiles put everyone's life at risk on the backroads where you live too, and on highways...and streets...and everywhere a car can go. You, in a car, are far more at risk of death by other car drivers or from your own driving than you are from someone pedaling on a 20 pound bicycle on the road.

My comment you responded to was about not stopping at lights/stop signs and why cyclists don't in many situations.

Riding on the road boneheaded? Yes and No. In the same way boneheadedness could be applied to everyone who drives a ton-plus car at high speeds with thousands of others doing the same.

Increased risk of death for the cyclist in choosing a road over a path? Yes.

Inconvenience for those in cars? Sometimes. But again, we all get to share the roads and streets.

 

This exchange is changing the way I view you.
Did wgb hijack your handle?
Honestly, in no universe should bikers be allowed to ride at 20 mph in a 55 mph zone around hills and curves.
I am going to get involved with local govt to stop the madness. It makes absolutely no sense.

 

Go for it! Report back to us your success

Slow Down Winter Garden!

 

I don’t live in WG. I do slow down when I visit. But this is the area I suggest they stick to…bike trail and all.
I live nearby where bikers are playing a dangerous game.