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It's not safe for a kid to ride a bike anymore...
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<blockquote data-quote="Saving Hawaii" data-source="post: 58494031" data-attributes="member: 231533"><p>Citing statistics without the least amount of analysis of possible problems with your argument is ignorance at best. Incidence per mile traveled would be a great statistic which unfortunately isn't available because "mile traveled" data isn't readily available or even easily estimable for cyclists (though it is pretty well known for automobile users). There are far, far fewer miles traveled by cyclists than miles traveled by automobile users. It shouldn't be a surprise that total fatalities are higher for the latter, even if the relative risk per mile traveled is higher for the former. Cycling is almost certainly somewhat riskier than driving in our current day in age, if only because reckless drivers are a huge hazard to cyclists. In a way car culture encourages itself: drivers routinely and accidentally inflict tremendous damage on others. Many people buy cars with "safety" in mind. They want protection in case they or somebody else screws up. The car takes most of the damage, the passenger doesn't. Cyclists don't have that luxury and the ever-increasing abundance of cars on the road is an ever-increasing danger to cyclists. This activity isn't nearly as safe as it was half a century ago.</p><p></p><p>My gut judgment is that the officer is probably wrong... even given the (very minor) risks of cycling, the parent is probably right to encourage her child to live a healthy and active lifestyle and that this far outweighs the risks of cycling. Virtually anything you can do to make yourself healthier from running on a treadmill to extreme sports increases your risk of injury, but it's a good idea to do these things (maybe not some extreme sports) anyways because the health benefits improve our quality of life and prevent health problems. The officer is well-intentioned but probably wrong.</p><p></p><p>My real problem here is not with the officer or the mother. My problem is with the fact that we've built towns and cities like Elizabethton where it simply isn't safe for a kid to ride a bicycle anymore. This is one of the simple pleasures I enjoyed when I was growing up and that my parents enjoyed as well. But my children won't be able to enjoy it because the adults of my generation (and my parent's generation) have decided that the world revolves around them, car culture at the expense of all else. That upsets me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Saving Hawaii, post: 58494031, member: 231533"] Citing statistics without the least amount of analysis of possible problems with your argument is ignorance at best. Incidence per mile traveled would be a great statistic which unfortunately isn't available because "mile traveled" data isn't readily available or even easily estimable for cyclists (though it is pretty well known for automobile users). There are far, far fewer miles traveled by cyclists than miles traveled by automobile users. It shouldn't be a surprise that total fatalities are higher for the latter, even if the relative risk per mile traveled is higher for the former. Cycling is almost certainly somewhat riskier than driving in our current day in age, if only because reckless drivers are a huge hazard to cyclists. In a way car culture encourages itself: drivers routinely and accidentally inflict tremendous damage on others. Many people buy cars with "safety" in mind. They want protection in case they or somebody else screws up. The car takes most of the damage, the passenger doesn't. Cyclists don't have that luxury and the ever-increasing abundance of cars on the road is an ever-increasing danger to cyclists. This activity isn't nearly as safe as it was half a century ago. My gut judgment is that the officer is probably wrong... even given the (very minor) risks of cycling, the parent is probably right to encourage her child to live a healthy and active lifestyle and that this far outweighs the risks of cycling. Virtually anything you can do to make yourself healthier from running on a treadmill to extreme sports increases your risk of injury, but it's a good idea to do these things (maybe not some extreme sports) anyways because the health benefits improve our quality of life and prevent health problems. The officer is well-intentioned but probably wrong. My real problem here is not with the officer or the mother. My problem is with the fact that we've built towns and cities like Elizabethton where it simply isn't safe for a kid to ride a bicycle anymore. This is one of the simple pleasures I enjoyed when I was growing up and that my parents enjoyed as well. But my children won't be able to enjoy it because the adults of my generation (and my parent's generation) have decided that the world revolves around them, car culture at the expense of all else. That upsets me. [/QUOTE]
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