Study: Cyclists Cause Less Than Ten Percent of All Car And Bike Accidents

Treehugger:

Whenever we write about bike/car "interactions" we get a lot of complaints that cyclists bring much of this upon themselves by blowing through red lights and stop signs, and generally cycling aggressively. [...] The study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents.

Read the whole story: Treehugger

Comments

[loki]

Im a long time cyclist. I ride as much as I can. To work, to the store, and just for the enjoyment of it. But I respect the traffic laws, Including stopping at stop signs and stop lights. I am apparently a rarity because of this. Many cyclist I know say that they dont stop unless they have to. Reason for not stopping they almost always give is that its harder for them to get started than a car.. This is just,, Stupid! I can not stand arrogant stupid cyclist who ignore traffic laws, and then whine when a car driver does the same. I have no respect for someone on a bike who can stop when the law requires it. If they get hit by a car,
On a side note, as I get older, riding gets a little harder. especially in the hillside out where i live. So I started using motor assisted bikes. You pedal when you want, and when you dont, you just flick a leaver and a small 49cc gas motor starts up and takes over for you. about 150 mpg, around 30-35 mph top speed and your cruising. Put a trailer on the back and you can hall groceries or just about anything else you want. I love them and have built 2 of them now. The motor and kit cost around $120 and take about a day to install and set up. They Look like an old time motorcycle too.

[DRaymond]

Part of the study has to do with the way the insurance companies assign blame. First of all it is the vehicle which initiates the collision that is usually assigned the blame, not the one that created the situation. Since the car is the faster moving object it is nearly allways the one iniating the collision. In other words if the cyclist does not adaquately look before swinging from the right shoulder to the left turn lane it is usually the car that is blamed for not stopping fast enough. In addition blame frequently lands on the insured party. What ability does the uninsured cyclist have to pay for the costs of the accident?

Then there appears to be the bias of the study authors. It is the car's fault for not avoiding hitting the cyclist who is going 10 mph halfway into the lane on a 50 mph road, but also the car's fault when the cyclist cannot get out of the way of an opening door.

[spikeykitten]

Same Road - Same Rules

[tck29]

I ride all the time.

I would never take my life in my hands by competing with automobiles, however. I stay on the trails.

Bike riders could help if they were more willing (in my area) to ride single-file. It's just smart to follow the rules of the road, make yourself visible, and get out of the way.

[Gover]

"compliance for observed left turns on multi-lane surface streets was 3%."

3% even surprises me. I hate them so much.

They never stop, they never signal, they never allow cars to pass, they never wear appropriately bright clothing, they never yield to pedestrians and they certainly never ever get a ticket for failing to do these things. I have NEVER seen a bicycle get pulled over and I lived nearly my entire life on one of the most densely traveled bike routes in the city.

Never.

Something needs to be done to convince cyclists to follow the rules. I have to say that stiffer penalties for traffic infractions are necessary since the compliance rate for bikes is beyond a shadow of a doubt far, far inferior to that of cars.

I would recommend a $1000 fine for any infraction and that cops get to take home $50 of it as a bonus for every ticket they write to a bike that gets paid.

[JohnSawyer]

In Berkeley, CA, some bicyclists get tickets for going through stoplights and stopsigns--I've seen it happen, and others have told me it happened to them. That hasn't happened to me, since while riding my bike, I nearly always stop at stopsigns, and wait at stoplights until they turn green, even when there's no cross-traffic (even though I sometimes feel silly as other bicyclists whizz past me). My only exception to this is when I'm making a right turn--I always slow down almost to a stop, instead of stopping altogether, look both ways, then make my turn if it's safe. One time I did this in Berkeley, I was pulled over by a cop and chewed out, because I hadn't fully stopped at the intersection before turning. At the same time I reached the intersection, the cop had come to a stop in her police car, to my left, on the street I was turning onto. I turned a little faster than usual, but not too fast. The cop was very upset that I wasn't following the same rules of the road as a motor vehicle--stopping fully before turning--probably because she was about to drive through the intersection herself, and she didn't like the fact that I hadn't waited for her to go through. I was actually following the rule of the road that says the driver on the right (me) has the right of way, but she seemed to feel differently.

[tailgateshirts]

dont forget the ones where the cyclist rides half into your lane or you are trying to prevent hitting them with your rear view mirror and makes you swerve around them because they are going 10mph on a 35 mph road.

[marianproletarian]

It's their lane, too.

[keren2]

this is a perfect example of all drivers (and cyclists) needed more education. cyclists should all know that they are supposed to ride in the lane, with traffic and use hand signals and obey traffic laws. Drivers should know that bikers are supposed to ride in the lane with the flow of traffic and they should actually understand what hand signals mean. They should also understand that they should treat bikes like other cars...i.e. yield to them when you are trying to merge. Then we wouldn't have half the problems we have. A mutual understanding would go along way.

Maybe this needs to be part of basic drivers ed.

[JackNasty]

Seattle cyclists run stop signs and red lights all the time. They ride the wrong way on one-way streets. Having thirty, forty or more cars back-up behind them on a narrow road at rush hour causes Seattle's cyclists no concern. (The rule for cars in Washington State requires a slow moving car to pull over if there are five cars behind it.)

Given the wide spread arrogance among cyclists in refusing to comply with the rules of the road, its surprising that more of them haven't been killed.

The details and methodology of this so-called study remain undisclosed, but the results certainly defy experience..

[marianproletarian]

It seems to me you complainers did not read the article or even the headline, less than 10% of car/bike accidents are caused by the cyclists!

[JackNasty]

There's a world of difference between reading an article and accepting its contents on face value. The article cites "a study" but fails to name who funded it, the author's qualifications, or the methodology used to find facts and reach its conclusion.

A little critical thinking goes a long way in this world.

The article describable this so-called study is also linked to another story that asks in its title, "Should Cyclists be Allowed to Blow Go Through Stop Signs?" The bias is telling. Not a bit of science is offered, only an opinion. Everyone has one of those.

[HairFarmer]

Seattle cyclists run stop signs and red lights all the time. They ride the wrong way on one-way streets. Having thirty, forty or more cars back-up behind them on a narrow road at rush hour

SO DO CARS !!!!!!

[joelaf]

In Atlanta I've seen cyclists riding 4,5, and 6 abreast. They sometimes lap over into the oncoming lane. This often occurs in an area with a dedicated , offroad bike path just a few yards away. When a bike and a car tangle, you know who wins. Too few bikers (the one's with the multi- thousand dollar bikes) seem to understand that.

[Michael Baumann]

enquiring mind...it's the TOTAL % of ANY/ALL accidents. It doesn't matter what the ratio of car/bicycle is. It wouldn't mtter if it was a million to one car/bikes. It's the fault % that matters...hope this helps...

[enquiringmind]

So cyclists cause slighly fewer than 10% of the accidents..What is the ratio of cars to bikes on the roads.

I would think much more than 10 to one..making me think that bikes cause more accidents than the percentages suggest. More information needed writer..

[marianproletarian]

More math classes needed, commenter.

[Yves Papa]

Learn how to read:

"...cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents."

Not of all the accidents, but only those where a bike AND a car are involved. In these, the bike rider caused less than 10% of these accidents, the rest (90%) have been caused by the car driver.

[tinrobot]

Drivers hate cyclists because they ride on "their" roads and slow down traffic.

Cyclists get bent out of shape because they're forced to ride on roads with 2 ton SUVs driven by people who hate them.

Instead of getting mad at each other, work towards building bike paths that keep both sides as far away from each other as possible. It really is the only solution.

[rigormrtis]

Stereotype much?


Does a cyclist with an SUV have a major case of self-loathing?

[MerlinJames]

Hmmm, let's do the math here.

Car @ 30 mph, weight 2500-6000+ lbs. Inertia measured in the TONS.

Bike and rider @ 10 mph, weight 150-300 lbs. Inertia: not so much.

Yup, just like I thought. Bike and rider lose EVERY time regardless of rider's thought process that they are in the right of way. Like motorcycle riders, if you are not thinking that you could be killed at any moment while mixed with motor vehicles, and ride like everyone is out to get you....you're just naive.

[Olampean]

Although, you have a hard-line position on this issue, you are 100% correct. With such an attitude, you and anyone who is smart enough to abide by that rule as they ride, whether on a bike or motorcycle, just may live to ride another day.

Even the best intended, most diligent automobile driver will have great difficulty seeing a small, usually very quickly moving, bike or motorcycle. It is incumbent on the biker to drive in an absolutely defensive manner - literally as if their life depended on. Anyone who disagrees has failed to accept an appropriate level of personal responsibility, given the circumstances.

Happy riding,

-a lifelong rider of bicycles, scooters and motorcycles

[shthar]

gee, maybe that's because bikes are only 10% of the stuff on the road?

[marianproletarian]

It's 10% of bike/car accidents! So many posters seem to have reading/comprehension issues today.

[research]

Duh. That's why I only ride on the sidewalk and opposing traffic, so I can see the problem coming. But this is being regulating into crime. 90% of all car bike accidents could probably have been prevent if the cyclist was facing traffic.

[amdezurik]

so you crowd people walking on sidewalks...

[tinrobot]

Riding on the sidewalk actually makes you more than twice as likely to get hit by a car. Cars will not see you and are not looking for you, so they're more likely to hit you (such as when they enter/leave driveways, and every time you leave the sidewalk to cross the street.) If you're riding against traffic, it's even more dangerous, some studies indicate that riding on the sidewalk against traffic is as much as four times more dangerous.

Ride on the street with traffic and make yourself visible to drivers. It may seem counterintuitive, but it really is safer. If drivers can see you, they may curse you, but they will not hit you.

[research]

I agree, bikes on the sidewalk are a ral hassle with lots of pedestrians. The only way to make cycling practical is to have separate bike lanes designed to carry cyclist between all the traffic spots in town. Like Holland, and most of Europe. I of course stop at the intersections, and have ALWAYS assumed that the drivers can;t see you or are trying to hit you. I biked in Boston in the winter, in Sweden, Holland, for 40 years. less and less places are safe for cycling anymore. Bike lanes on the streets are an invitation to die.

[MajorKong]

It's illegal in most cities to ride on the sidewalk.

[research]

some not most. Not Portland for instance. As I said.....

[jackpinesavage]

Under the theory of treating others as you would like to be treated, it behooves drivers to give bikers plenty of room. Drivers should also remember that bikers are not ensconced in several thousands pounds of steel and safety equipment.

On the other hand, bikers might want to recognize that "share the road" implies both give and take. If a biker wants to use the road as a vehicle, he should be obeying the same rules as drivers.

I live on a popular biking route, at a stop sign that sits at the bottom of a hill. A certain group of bikers blows through it on their weekly, communal ride (20-30 bikes that don't even slow down). One day, an old gentlemen following the rules of the road nearly hit them, and the bikers not only cursed him, but the near accident did not stop the rest of the group from blowing the sign nor get them to stop on other trips. My pointing out that "share the road" gives bikers some responsibility only got me 20 middle fingers. I still threaten to stand in my yard with the hose and high pressure nozzle aimed at head height, turning it on when the first narcissitically-self-entitled biker rolls through the stop.

[keren2]

just making the problem worse. not better.

[MilesLong]

OK, a couple of things jump out at me: the first is that there's no methodology included to show how the 10% figure was arrived at.

During a 48 hour study of four bicycle lane equipped streets for a private advocacy organization, the compliance rate for cyclists in stopping and yielding at stop signs, stop lights and signal compliance for observed left turns on multi-lane surface streets was 3%.

When presented with the observed statistical non-compliance, along with representative video samples from eight locations on each of the four streets the advocacy group thanked us, paid us and then sent us on our way.

There's enough blame for the continued nuclear-fueled debate over who's at fault. What advocates for both sides do not come to grips with is the ubiquity of the dumbing down of America combined with the absolute entitlement of bikers and drivers in claiming dominion over the roads. Good luck finding a cure...

Miles "Defensive Biker/Driver" Long

[MilesLong]

I forgot to include the fact that this study was done in Chicago, a fairly cycling town.

The observations were done in June of 2008.

Miles "Methodology" Long

[amdezurik]

I was going to post myself that while this is a fine interview about some "research" the "research" does not seem to be available to review.

[tinrobot]

The "cure" is give cyclists their own roads. Only them will everyone be happy.

[rigormrtis]

Sure....how will the cyclists fund this?