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RE: SBNP publishes pro-bike letter
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David M
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Oct 02, 2006 21:31 PDT
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Ralph,
Congratulations on a great letter. I know there were problems with it,
but I still think it is notable that the Newspress ran a front page
story on bicycle safety. I still think some of us have been too hard on
the Newspress and they do a fairly good job of covering bicycle issues.
They also had a short piece and picture about Critical Mass.
What bothered me most about the bike safety article was that they
featured a picture of a kid on the front page wearing the all too
typical helmet with straps un-buckled and hanging- yet failed to take
notice. He also was riding in heavy traffic with "no hands". If I saw
any of my boys riding like, that they would be walking for the next
month!
It should be pointed out that bicycling is even safer, if one rides
defensively. Bike riding is safer per hour that a car, but riding
defensively is safer yet. Most bike accidents are the fault of the
rider.
Last week at 5pm I was stopped at a red light on Hollister along with
another cyclist. He spontaneously decided to run straight through the
intersection (and no he was not trying to avoid my lecture about not
wearing a helmet because I didn't have time to initiate it). A woman
driver, who had a green arrow was about to make a left turn right into
him when she noticed him. She was forced to swerve to the point of
almost hitting me and probably would have if she didn't make the split
second decision to drop her cell phone!
Anyway, it could have wrecked my 100,000 miles of bike riding in traffic
without being hit by a car. Ironically, it would have been the fault of
a brother cyclist...
Ralph Fertig wrote:
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Well, the SB News-Press actually published a letter of mine. It was in
response to one printed on 9/27/06 saying that bicycling is dangerous.
Here is what they put in this morning's edition:
~~ Ralph Fertig, President
~~ Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition
===============
A recent letter to the News-Press fosters a misunderstanding of
bicycling
safety.
The writer says that "riding a bicycle, even on bike lanes, is extremely
dangerous." Bicycling is not extremely dangerous. It is safer per hour
of
exposure than many other activities, like soccer, football, swimming,
squash, motorcycling or basketball. We're also more likely to die per
hour in a car than on a bicycle.
As for bike lanes, they're the safest place to bicycle. In terms of
accidents per mile, bike lanes are safer than sidewalks, bike paths, or
streets without bike lanes. Bike lanes encourage good behavior by
decreasing illegal wrong-way and sidewalk biking. They additionally make
driving conditions safer because motorists are less likely to swerve
into
oncoming traffic when bike lanes are present than when they are absent.
Rather than being harmful, bicycling is overall healthful. Increased
longevity among people who bicycle far outweighs potential loss of life
by 20 to 1. The health benefits of bicycling include reduction of heart
disease, strokes, lung disease, and diabetes.
Finally, I agree with the writer that we need safer conditions and more
education for children. We have an opportunity to do exactly that by
funding the safe routes to school program that is part of Measure D up
for a vote this November. If we pass Measure D, it will provide $1.5
million a year countywide for sidewalks, crossings, bike paths away from
traffic, and education to improve the safety of all children.
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