Comments on Bike Jax: Florida the most dangerous state for bicyclists

I lived in Florida years ago, I was surprised that...

2009-06-06T15:52:35.045-04:00

I lived in Florida years ago, I was surprised that Orlando was the worse in bus service and there are no side walks anywhere (I had this problem in Clearwater also but not nearly as bad).

Its silly that the byways (State Routes) are the only access to get from point a to point b and the best you can do on these old 1 and two lane roads is to ride in the grass.

Thank you for the data. When we look at hard numb...

2009-05-20T22:02:39.450-04:00

Thank you for the data. When we look at hard numbers from a dependable source we can step away from our emotional responses that normally say... what the hell is UP WITH ALL THE FATALITIES??? Then we can look at the numbers and know that it wasn't in our heads, and try to get some methods in place. Methods I (well, we) suggest: make certain that road construction follows the laws and includes, and paints in, the bike lanes, mark them as bike lanes with signs, and encourage drivers to follow the "three feet" law.

Love you Matt.

Urbismus, for the record I was referring to the in...

2009-05-20T14:23:47.303-04:00

Urbismus, for the record I was referring to the incompetent, if not criminal, behavior of fellow cyclists, not motorists (but they're in no way off the hook in this fight!).

We joke about a distinction between "cyclists" and "people on bikes". The distinction is that "people on bikes" care not a whit for following road laws or engaging in common-sense behaviors...and they are overwhelmingly the ones who are being killed in car vs. bike incidents.

Excellent post! You're right about club riders ex...

2009-05-18T09:37:00.000-04:00

Excellent post!

You're right about club riders experiencing more hostility. I have done both kinds of riding.

An FDOT evaluation of crashes a few years ago revealed that only a small percentage of cyclists killed were riding on the road and legally. As GhostRider notes, drunk, unlit cyclists are over-represented in the stats.

I agree 100% about connectivity. It's not enough to stripe bike lanes on busy arteries. We need to focus on connecting quiet routes. Florida cities have developed poorly— terrible land use and traffic planning, no concern for connectivity (exacerbating geographical challenges like lakes).

Another contributing factor to fatalities is inadequate transit. Again, the demographic populating the statistics is one that is forced to use a bike for transportation. They are people with the least ability to access educational material about safe riding and they would probably use a transit system if it were available.

I've been mapping out my bike project for roughly....

2009-05-16T16:54:00.000-04:00

I've been mapping out my bike project for roughly...ah...7 months now (yeah I've been lazy but it hasn't been easy gathering information from Duval County officials either). So far, I've come to the conclusion that where the majority of accidents between cyclists and motorists (in Duval) has occurred are places where cyclist or pedestrian friendly infrastructure is absent or poorly developed. That's not to say there weren't other factors present in these accidents. It's just an observation I noticed in my research.

Urbismus, I am not sure of the statistic you have...

2009-05-13T07:02:00.000-04:00

Urbismus,

I am not sure of the statistic you have quoted. Can you provide a source please? Also, could you provide some breakdown of the statistics. For example, how many people killed with a head injury were wearing a helmet? Did the helmets crack (because if helmets crack, your skull has accepted the full blow rendering the helmet useless). How many were riding on the road with the flow of traffic? How many were mountain biking or road racing? How many were commuters?

I do not want to start a helmet debate. No body wins and it gets no where. I just want some information to do a personal research.

i stand corrected on the florida statute of bike h...

2009-05-12T18:31:00.000-04:00

i stand corrected on the florida statute of bike helmets optional over the age of 16.

i think the issue of connectivity is the best reso...

2009-05-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

i think the issue of connectivity is the best resolution to this problem. Since statistics indicate that 99% of bike fatalities are of head injuries, ive accepted that riding a bike should include a helmet. Matts reference to the helmets limitations only further discourage me from sharing the road with automobiles. Ghostriders reference to incompetent, if not criminal, behavior of drivers makes floridas notorious lead in bicycle fatalities easy to believe.
development of exclusive bike commute trails seems like the best idea.
matt, did you mean that mandatory helmet use for cyclist under 16?

Thank you for posting this. This post is what I ex...

2009-05-12T08:50:00.000-04:00

Thank you for posting this. This post is what I expected from Mr. Larry Hannan. He did not quote a single bicycle law or ordinance to refute or reinforce any of the quotes from the people he interviewed thus creating a clusterfcuk of dead end comments like his earlier brilliant post, leaving the readers no more wiser than they were about the constant clash between bicyclists and motorists.

Both Sides are to blame, everyone feels they own t...

2009-05-11T20:17:00.000-04:00

Both Sides are to blame, everyone feels they own the road and that they are the perfect driver. Wake up folks the road is big enough for all of use. For those who do not get the message remember driving is a privilage not your right.

Father Sigmund

My take on the high number of fatalities is that y...

2009-05-11T17:36:00.000-04:00

My take on the high number of fatalities is that yes -- infrastructure development, traffic calming schemes and all that other good stuff will help reduce these incidents...but the overwhelming "fix" is to eliminate poorly-lit, wrong-way-riding, drunk/doped, blow-through-the-lights-and-stopsigns riders.

Somewhere around a third of bike fatalities in 2007 had alcohol as a contributing factor, and who knows how many of those other factors I mentioned contribute. I'm basing my thoughts on anecdotal evidence (gleaned from newspaper/TV reports) of cyclist deaths. Sounds like education for both motorists AND cyclists is the best course of action.

Sarcastic Cyclist, the post is about Florida's hig...

2009-05-11T16:59:00.000-04:00

Sarcastic Cyclist, the post is about Florida's high death rate for cyclists. Not about what to do to those that kill a cyclist.

While I agree that drivers need to be held responsible for cyclists deaths. Better planning and building of our neighborhoods and roads (connectivity) does and will lead to a much lower number of accidents and deaths.

Ruffly? Are you serious? Connectivity doesn't so...

2009-05-11T16:35:00.000-04:00

Ruffly? Are you serious? Connectivity doesn't solve cars running people over. People get hit in the bike lanes all the time. How about charging people with manslaughter when they kill a cyclist?