Overstating risk, understating benefits?

Dear readers,
I’d like to begin this column with something of a mea culpa. For the past few weeks this column has focused almost exclusively on the risks of riding a bike out on public roads. I have to admit that my own attention has been directed to those risks, largely because of conversations I’ve had with individual riders who’ve been struck and injured by cars and the families of those who have been killed.

In last week’s column, we considered whether the risk of riding in some “bike-friendly” European countries is lower than it is in the U.S. The numbers do show that it is. Indeed, you will have an easier and safer time riding in cities like Copenhagen than you might in, say, New York or San Francisco. But just how high is that risk, even here in the U.S.?

Unfortunately, one of the problems of focusing only on injuries and fatalities is that you run the risk of portraying cyclists’ time on the road to something akin to a war zone and something we should avoid if we can. That simply is not true. Life itself carries with it any number of risks and, in the grand scheme of things, cycling is a remarkably safe activity.

Overstating risk, understating benefits

Several readers quite accurately pointed out that the fear of cycling – one that rises to the level of total avoidance – carries with it even greater risks. As reader Jonathan Fromkin, from Philadelphia, pointed out:

While you may think you’re raising “awareness” among riders as to the risks associated with taking a bike out on the road, my fear is that the ultimate result is to discourage riders from getting out there and pedaling. Consider, for example, the increased risks of mortality associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Sure, there are 700, or so, riders killed on American roads each year, but there are hundreds of thousands who die each year from heart disease, diabetes and stroke. All of those can, at least in part, be controlled by regular exercise and cycling ranks among the best ways to do that.

Perhaps one of the best resources I’ve run across is a piece rider and writer Ken Kifer did several years ago taking on the sort of “fear mongering” that might discourage riders from hitting the road and that I may have been guilty of in recent weeks.

In “Is Cycling Dangerous?” Kifer pointed out that the numbers actually favor thoughtful and experienced riders who obey traffic rules and ride responsibly and with a modicum of awareness. After sorting through a variety of sources, Kifer concluded that the statistics show that an hour of cycling is 55-percent safer than spending the same amount of time in a car. Last week, I used a per-mile analysis, concluding that riding is actually more dangerous than driving, but I would have to concede that Kifer’s approach may be the more accurate.

Kifer then took the additional step of comparing those risks with those that invariably accompany a sedentary lifestyle. The numbers, as Jonathan pointed out, are staggering. Quoting Henry David Thoreau, Kifer noted that “a man sits as many risks as he runs.”

Those of you familiar with Kifer’s story and his writing will, of course, be quick to point out that he was himself killed by a drunk driver in September of 2003, but that doesn’t detract from his very sound approach to risk analysis. His article is worth a read and should help you as you weigh the risks of riding against the incredible benefits we all derive from spending time on our bikes.

Ride, baby, ride … or maybe walk

I also managed to run across a newer and very interesting report from an organization that I knew as the “Thunderhead Alliance” back when I was a board member of Bicycle Colorado. Now known as the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the group is a coalition of rider and pedestrian advocacy groups from the U.S. and Canada.

The Alliance’s Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2010 Benchmarking Report takes a detailed look at cycling and walking, not only in North America, but around the world. The full report is now available online and the conclusions may not come as a huge surprise to those whose gut-level guess is that we don’t ride or walk enough in this country.

The U.S. and Canada rank near the bottom of countries surveyed when it comes to the percentage of trips to work, school or on errands achieved by human power. In Canada, only about two percent of such trips involve a bicycle. Here in the U.S., the number is 1 percent and we’re tied with Australia for last place. The Netherlands and Denmark are at the top, with 27 and 18 percent respectively. (Having spent a winter in Holland, I can tell you it sure ain’t the weather that’s encouraging folks there to get out and ride.)

When it comes to walking, we’re DFL on that chart, with only 3 percent of such trips accomplished on foot. Canada is at 7 percent and the list is topped out by the United Kingdom (24 percent) and Sweden and Germany (at 23).

The report offers an interesting glimpse into the status of cycling and walking in the U.S. and touches upon some of the possible ways to encourage more people to leave their cars in their driveways and get their legs, lungs and hearts pumping instead.

Give it a read and reach your own conclusions about cycling in your community, around the country and in other parts of the world.

Questions? Comments?

As we shift gears into the racing season, I’d like to get back to the original purpose of this column and – at least for the time being – drift away from the questions of safety and advocacy and start fielding questions about the sport we all love.

Be sure to send me a note if you have a question that could serve as good jumping off point for a column, or just have a comment that points out a flaw in my approach to an issue. Good, bad or indifferent, I’m always happy to hear from readers.

FILED UNDER: Explainer / No Spoil

Charles Pelkey

Charles Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994 after serving as press secretary for former GOP Whip Alan K. Simpson in the U.S. Senate. Pelkey has worked as a journalist since 1985 and held a number of editorial positions at VeloNews including Senior Editor of VeloNews.com. Pelkey earned a JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law and lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with Diana, his wife of 25 years, and their two children, Philip and Annika, whose presence serves as a constant reminder of what really matters. Pelkey left VeloNews in July, 2011, but continues to be a regular contributor. Charles can now be found at liveupdateguy.com

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