Riding with the flow of traffic
About 50% of all bicycle crashes involve falls, often caused by road surface hazards, like potholes, loose gravel, cattle guards, storm grates, etc. Another 33% involve animals, other bikes or something besides a motor vehicle. Only 17% of bicycle crashes involve motor vehicles.
Yesterday I saw 3 separate bicyclists riding against traffic on Reno’s Mill Street in a 3 minute period. No doubt they chose that side because they felt safer facing traffic or crossing Mill was inconvenient enough to keep them there. Here is a breakdown of the causes of bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, the 17% of all crashes:
|
Who is at fault? |
Action |
% |
| Bicyclist | Wrong-way riding facing traffic |
14% |
| Bicyclist | Left turn from the right side of the road |
11% |
| Bicyclist | Failure to yield from driveway |
9% |
| Bicyclist | Running a stop sign or signal |
8% |
| Bicyclist | Swerving in front of car * |
5% |
| Total Bicyclist |
47% |
|
| Motorist | Left turn in front of the bicyclist |
13% |
| Motorist | Right turn in front of the bicyclist |
11% |
| Motorist | Running a stop sign or signal |
8% |
| Motorist | Opening car door into path of bicyclist |
7% |
| Motorist | Failure to yield from driveway |
6% |
| Motorist | Didn’t see the cyclist * |
3% |
| Total Motorist |
48% |
|
| Undetermined |
5% |
|
| * Cyclists hit from behind are included here |
It seems to me that if I avoid road surface hazards, don’t crash into another bicyclist or curb, don’t do those things on the top of the list, and look out for motorists doing the things on the bottom of the list, I can be pretty safe on my bicycle.