White is not the only high-level cyclist to die in Colorado in recent years. In 2020, Clif Pro Team racer Ben Sonntag was killed by a driver while on a training ride outside Durango. That driver was sentenced to serve jail time in late 2021. In 2021, U.S. masters champion Gwen Inglis was killed by a driver outside Lakewood, Colorado.
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Unfortunately, many of these crashes happen on NOT BUSY roads, like out in farm country and rural roads. Cyclists choose these roads specifically to be away from cars and “dangerous roads”, but drivers who speed or aren’t paying attention will kill you no matter where you ride!
Riding in a large group can help to reduce risks, but it’s not even an option for everyone, especially if you are commuting. And even that can simply result in multiple fatalities or injuries when an inattentive driver is close by.
Without any alternatives, except to ride on a road, what other option would a cyclist have? Not ride?
Build cycling infrastructure and it becomes safer. Remove cars and it’s guaranteed to be safe.
And when you consider that the majority of cycling (and pedestrian) fatalities occur in areas where cyclists and pedestrians are expected to be, including bike lanes or crosswalks, you really can’t keep blaming them for causing their own deaths.
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Cycling is not extremely dangerous. Cars are extremely dangerous to everyone in or around them.
Per capita, car driver fatalities are dozens of times more common than pedestrian or cyclist fatalities.
Pedestrians and cyclists just happen to be killed by cars, not because walking or cycling is dangerous, but because cars are!
Should people just cycling indoors? I don’t understand where you’re going with this logic.
Yes, being near cars is unsafe. Driving a car is also unsafe. Seems like maybe we should simply get rid of cars. But since we can’t, we have to work with what’s available.
Why should any pedestrian or cyclist feel that they can’t move freely in any setting, simply because cars are dangerous?
Kids can’t get off a bus because cars are dangerous; you can’t walk across a crosswalk because cars are dangerous; you can’t bike ride anywhere because cars are dangerous; you can’t even stand at a bus stop because cars are dangerous.
Yes, I agree that personal responsibility is important. That’s why I ride with high-viz clothing, lights, reflectors, a bike radar, use hand signals, ride defensively, ride in bike lanes, and do everything else that I’m supposed to do.
And yet drivers in cars still go out of their way to put me at risk by speeding, not using turn signals, ignoring traffic signs/light, ignoring cycling lanes, passing dangerously, not passing when they have ample space, and by being distracted.
When does my personal responsibility end and a driver’s personal responsibility begin? We both have EQUAL legal access to these roadways, but it seems like there’s a complete imbalance of responsibility for road safety.
Should the person driving a multi-ton weapon not have a greater responsibility for operating that weapon, than the bystanders who happen to be in the same area?
The reality is that people have to get groceries, or pick up their kid at school, or drop a letter off in their local post box, or walk to a friend’s house, or get exercise, or simply to enjoy fresh air. They do this on foot or by bike.
None of these activities should involve dying by car, and it’s unfair to put the blame on victims who are simply doing low-risk activities which happen to be close to cars.
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Ok, let’s do this.
Yes. 100%.
Correct.
No. It IS super dangerous because cars are near.
No, it’s dangerous when cars are around, but the solution isn’t to not cycle.
Standing on a sidewalk is dangerous if there are cars around. Moving cars near anyone can make anything dangerous. The problem is cars (and trucks).
Now, if we can agree that cars are the critical variable that makes these situations dangerous (and not the activity itself), then we can move forward with a solution.
If I were to draw a parallel here, it would be guns and schools. Going to school isn’t dangerous, but someone with a gun in school seems to cause kids to die. A lot.
Shouldn’t the solution have something to do with removing guns from the equation, and not the school, or kids going to school? That’s how you can look at cycling (or walking, or using a wheelchair in public, or riding an e-scooter).
The way you’re describing cycling, it’s as if it’s some extreme sport that only crazy people do. That’s not reality. Kids as young as a few years old and people over 100 ride bikes for all sorts of normal, everyday reasons. They aren’t the problem.
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Your opinion isn’t grounded in fact, though. It’s MORE dangerous to be in a city around cars going much slower than 35mph than a cyclist riding on rural roads where cars go faster than 35mph. Even parking lots, where cars are going super slow, pedestrians are hit because drivers suck.
And it’s even still MORE dangerous to be a driver or passenger in a car, but that doesn’t mean cyclists and pedestrians should continue to be victimized.
Where do you propose people cycle or walk? If not on empty rural roads, and not in suburban areas, and certainly not in the city. Then where?
Yes, there are a LOT of people who are doing this. However, nothing can truly be safe with cars being anywhere near cyclists and pedestrians.
If cycling is a lower risk activity than driving, why not take that option if safety is a concern? Seems extreme to drive when saver options are available.
Again, even NON-BUSY roads carry a risk whenever any car is nearby. Drivers have been known to plow their vehicles through storefronts, putting people INSIDE OF A STORE at risk. Does the responsibility rest with the patrons of that store to have to worry about shopping in a place that’s close to a parking lot for cars?? Seems like more victim blaming.
I’m really curious to know how you get around, or if you get around, to run errands or commute. I’m assuming you don’t drive, since that’s the most dangerous form of transportation, but then it seems like you also don’t walk or ride a bike. What else is left?
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