I have been cycling now for about 17 years, and have cycled across the United States multiple times, and have ridden on almost every road imaginable. This time of the year I ride several times during the week in one of the most active cycling communities in the U.S., Denver Colorado. My wife has the privilege of shepherding cyclists across the U.S. every year since 1995. We have seen or heard about every type of cycling accident you can think of. And you know what? We do it to ourselves.
Yes, there are car/bicycle accidents that are the fault of the driver, those are the ones we hear about on the news, and yes, in too many cases the driver is not held responsible as he or she should in my opinion because we do live in a car centric society. That is a fact of life and I don’t like it, but it is what it is.
What I am talking about are the accidents that occur between cyclists; broken collar bones, road rash and the like. This mostly occurs due to stupidity. Even a number of car/bicycle accidents are initiated by the stupidity of cyclists. This problem is that the stupid cyclist isn’t the one that gets hurt, it’s usually someone else.
When two or more riders get together they seem to lose their collective common sense. They ride two or three abreast, making it hard for motorists to get around them safely. Now admittedly, some motorists for some reason don’t understand that there are two pedals on their car floor, one for "go" and one for "stop" and only use the "go" pedal around cyclists. They don’t get it that they really can just slow down and pass when safe, but will almost always just try to pass no matter what the circumstances are and create a danger to themselves, other vehicles and the cyclists. (And to be clear, there are really good and courtous moterests out there too.) But the cyclists are the root of the problem by not staying as far right as safe and riding multiple abreast like they own the road. The problem gets worse as the driver is now aggravated at cyclists and when they see another cyclist down the road that may be exactly where he/she should be, they don’t give them room in retaliation. Same deal with blowing stop lights or red lights like they don’t apply to cyclists.
Then there is the cyclist is wired for sound and has ZZ Top blaring in their ears and can’t hear a rider come up from behind. The cyclist sees a road hazard in front of them and veers to the left, causing the rider coming up behind them to touch their rear wheel and down he goes.
And the cyclist in a group that slows down or stops suddenly without calling out and warning their fellow riders. We see this on tour all the time. Rider in back touches wheels and goes down, breaking a body part. Probably the number one cause of riders having to abandon tour and going home early.
Or faster riders coming up behind slower riders and not calling out "on your left" to let the slower cyclist know. It’s just common courtesy as well as a safety issue. In this case, it’s the faster rider that is subject to injury (the cyclist in the rear is almost always the one who goes down hard and is injured.)
We cyclists have very little protection when we ride. Most of us wear helmets that offer protection for the one thing that can really help us stay safe, our brain. Those that don’t think they are "cool". Actually we know them for what they really are, "idiots". We ride bikes that weight under 20 pounds. We are wrapped in nothing but a pair of shorts and a jersey. Put that against an auto weighing 3,000 plus pounds and it’s no contest. So why do we act so stupid so often?
So what do we do? Two things; first think courtesy and safety ourselves. Ride in the road where it’s safe for us but also be mindful and courteous of others, including other riders and motorists. Take the slogan "Share the Road" to heart and make it work both ways. Safety includes being aware of your surroundings and using your senses to know what’s occurring about you. That includes constantly looking ahead, behind in a mirror of some sort and listening. Having a conversation with another cyclist on the road is cool, but like cell phones and texting that can be distracting. Second, let other cyclists around you know when they are doing things that put your safety in jeopardy. I am not saying that you should voice your opinion to every cyclist that blows by you without letting you know, but the cyclists you ride with; let them know when they do things that jeopardize you. It may be that they never thought of it from your perspective.
I was in a shop yesterday picking up one of our vehicles we have getting ready for this year’s cross country bicycle tour. On the wall they had a sign that said:
"The 3 Causes of Accidents: I didn’t think, I didn’t see, I didn’t know".
To me, that explains everything.
