How many times have you driven around your neighborhood or town? Every time that you drive around you can spot at least one bicyclist. The number of cyclists has increased massively around the world. “Between 2000 and 2012, the number of U.S workers who traveled to work by bicycle increased by 60.8 percent according to the Census of Bureau.” (Frazzini, Shinkle, 2016) There is a positive side to that increment because there are more people trying to stay active and have a better life in terms of healthiness. On the other hand, there is an adverse effect of more people cycling, and this produces more accidents on the roads. Cyclists are involved in numerous crashes with vehicles and most of these crashes the outcome could be devastating. Most …show more content…
At the same time, they are not firm enough, and these events keep happening. Also, there should be some sort of campaign to teach both cyclist and drivers how to behave and use the road properly to avoid fatalities. On the other side, cyclist have also been irresponsible about how they transport themselves around the streets of many towns. They can be riding without helmets, they might be riding in places that they shouldn’t be riding or maybe they are taking more space of the road that they should be taking. The point is cyclists sometimes behave in ways that make drivers angry. This doesn’t mean that they can harm someone that is using the road with the same purpose. In order to prevent these incidents, countries around the world should be more scrupulous with the laws and the education between drivers and …show more content…
There is an enormous population that uses their bike to commute, whether it's to school, work, sport or just to stay active. “The number of cyclists has shown a marked increase in recent years. In the UK, cyclists are more at risk of being killed or seriously injured the pedestrians or drivers” (Boyce,2015). No doubt, it’s difficult to hear that they are risking their lives every day because there are drivers out there that don’t respect bike riders. These are lives that are being taken away by the simple issue that people get annoyed by sharing the road with bikes. “It isn't even because we have a selective memory for that one stand-out annoying cyclist over the hundreds of boring, non-annoying ones No, my theory is that motorists hate cyclists because they think they offend the moral order.” (Stafford, 2013) Therefore, there should be better laws for drivers that don’t respect pedalers such as increasing the number of feet from three-feet to four-feet when a driver is passing a cyclist on the road or setting up a higher fine if they injured a
Millions of people all over the United States choose motorcycles over automobiles for the thrill, speed, and high performance capabilities. On the other hand, motorcycles are not at all the safest way of transportation. Motorcycles do not provide the passenger with the outer protection that cars provide, therefore, when one crashes, the results are usually much more serious. Injuries to the head are responsible for 76% of fatalities when dealing with motorcycle crashes many of which could have been prevented had the rider been wearing a helmet. For this reason, many states have adopted the motorcycle helmet law. The law states that every passengers must wear a helmet at all times when riding on a motorcycle. This law has created a great deal of controversy. One side supports the law, believing that it protects motorcyclists from danger and saves the economy a great deal of money. The other side argues that the law is unconstitutional and it violates our right to freedom. However, statistics show overwhelming support in favor of the motorcycle helmet law. Although wearing helmets cannot prevent motorcycle crashes, they can greatly reduce the number of deaths caused by head injury as well as lowering taxes, insurance rates, and health care costs. Therefore, the helmet law should be put into effect in every state across the United States.
While it is rude and immature to purposely offend someone, it is equally ridiculous to live in fear of having a different opinion that might offend others. Any number of people can disagree and still be respectful to one another; our society seems to have forgotten the days where we could “agree to disagree.” Now everyone is of the mentality that “we cannot be friends if you do not like the same flavor of ice cream as I.” In the same way that our society hides behind politeness, drivers hide behind the wheel of their car. We feel safe to curse and seethe in our cars, a fortress for cowards (Gottfried 308). Drivers are no longer afraid to be rude when their identity is hidden behind a hunk of metal and rubber. It is like Bruce Wayne hiding behind his mask, only we are not out to save the city, but to honk and push our way through
II. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, bicycle related crashes kill about 900 people a year and injure over half a million. Most bicycle deaths or accidents occur between 3-9 pm, and most often occur during the summer months. We can prevent these numbers by: wearing protective equipment, obeying the rules of the road, and being aware of your surroundings.
One important issue to be address is for example when kids getting out of school and dirt bikes are at large in the city if they’re not obeying the laws from the start what causes to multiple members of the community to conclude and doubt of drivers safety. The community worries about the innocent children and other members who may lack of the capability of being able to avoid an accident with neglectful drive who is only worried about having fun and making sure they don't get caught. Driving these vehicles puts everyone on the streets at risk especially pedestrians and often times the driver put themselves at risk because they often try to show off by performing wheelies our trying to stand up on them or just tricks in general and now everybody really at risk cause you don’t always have complete control over them when performing these
Many of us would not want our kids and grandchildren playing in the road with motorized vehicles. On the other hand, what if they were to play in a separated non-motorized road with bicycles and pedestrians? What if they were riding a bike themselves? Considering these questions, a child biking in a separated road with other bikers does not sound dangerous compared to a child biking in the road with cars (Pucher & Buechler 235-255). In the United States, cities with more non-motorized infrastructure tend to encourage more use of non-motorized vehicles (Pucher & Buechler 108, Dill & Handy 2010).
The social impact of this initiative is expected to create some controversy from present day commuters and users or residents of affected roads and city blocks. Technological barriers for a bike system in the Greater Victoria Area are quite small, as no “cutting edge” technology is required for this smart initiative. Environmental factors to consider is the physical characteristics of the local geography and its impact in constructing additional bike lanes and additional required traffic infrastructure.
Around the world cycling is a very popular mode of transportation because of its ease and cost, yet in america we don’t seem to accomodate for all the bikers. Countries in europe such as denmark and the netherlands have the highest number of cyclists in their cities. The BBC says that they have more bikes than people in the Netherlands and 70% of trips made in the netherlands are made by bike. To encourage cycling they have made the laws very supportive of cyclists, the BBC says that “To make cycling safer and more inviting the Dutch have built a vast network of cycle paths. These are clearly marked, have smooth surfaces, separate signs and lights for those on two wheels, and wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and overtaking. In many cities the paths are completely segregated from motorised traffic. Sometimes, where space is scant and both must share, you can see signs showing an image of a cyclist with a car behind accompanied by the words 'Bike Street: Cars are guests'. At roundabouts, too, it is those using pedal power who have priority.” Here in America many cyclists every year are hit in round abouts i myself have been tapped a few times while going around. “You can cycle around a roundabout while cars (almost always) wait patiently for you to pass. The idea that ‘the bike is right’ is such an alien concept for tourists on bikes that many often find it difficult to navigate”. (BBC 2013) In america many motorist don't see bikes as equal on the road i myself have watched cars purposely push bikers off the r...
The primary purpose of pedestrian and bicyclist research is to reduce injuries and fatalities by better understanding the causes of pedestrian/bicyclist fatalities, by identifying and evaluating potential safety improvement measures, to foster public awareness of pedestrian and bicycle safety matters, and to provide resources for use at the national and local levels. There has been a plethora of research completed over the years concerning cycling and pedestrian safety. In the United States, society seems to overlook the problems with the current pedestrian, cyclist traffic and safety systems. The National Highway Society reports that the above is accurate and our society does face a significant problem with pedestrian and cyclist safety.
Evidence from many sources also implements that those who argue with the bike laws or do not adhere to them by wearing a helmet not done up correctly are putting themselves at great risk, not only from the chance of an accidental fall but by increasing the chances of serious injury in the event of a crash with another vehicle. And while the chance of survival with a vehicle collision is limited, depending on the size and weight of the other vehicle, and the speed they were travelling, if you survive and you were wearing a helmet the implications from the injury are significantly lowered. Wearing a helmet is a mandatory law in Australia, the law has been put in place due to this evidence, and while riders may get a fine for not obeying the laws, the police are only trying to enforce and teach riders that cycling becomes a ‘safe and positive activity,’ (Transport for NSW, May 2014) for all road
There have been lots of crashes and lots of kids dying because of them. People need to pay enough attention to all of their surroundings on the road and what the rules are to driving. There was just a new law passed that you can’t text and drive which is one of the most common causes to reckless driving. Younger adults will be on their phones while they are in a school zone, not even paying attention to the speed they are going. There could be kids loading onto the bus and the person driving the car would have never known that they were until it is too late.
In the London-based case study (Steinbach et al., 2011) of how gendered, ethnic and class identities can shape healthy transport choices, it is shown that although Transport for London (TfL) spends resources on advertising to depict cycling as the healthiest choice, it only influences a small number of the citizens of London. Drawing on qualitative interview data with 78 individuals, it is shown how cycling as a ‘healthy choice’ mainly reaches well-educated white men. It digs in to the identity associated with cycling and how this is seen (in a London context) of something associated with road danger and aggression, while the aesthetics and symbolic goals of cycling are less appealing to those with other class, gender and ethnic identities. After 20 years of ‘pro-cycling’ policies in the UK, cycling is still not considered ‘normal’. Aldred (2013) explores the stigma related to cycling identities in the UK by drawing on interview data with 55 cyclists, showing how they are caught in-between appearing too competent and not competent enough.
Some bicycle related crashes are because of the bicyclist’s behavior, while others are because of the motorist’s lack of attention. There are actually four tips of bicycling that cyclists are recommended to follow for their own safety but are not forced or required to. They are the following tips. You must maintain control of your own bicycle. You must protect yourself and reduce the risk of head injury by always wearing a helmet.
Intro/Summary The objective of the recommendation is to evaluate the multiple impacts of bicycle helmet legislation for cyclists of all ages. In addition, determine factors that lead to differences in outcomes observed across jurisdictions. The benefits of bicycle helmets being mandatory for all ages will impact the general public immensely. Seeing as cycling is an affordable mode of transportation and a great method of improving cardiovascular fitness, keeping safe during the activity should be a priority.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.
I.Attention Getter: Speeding, tailgating, giving the finger and outright violence. Each day Americans grow more and more likely to take out their personal frustrations on other drivers. It is called aggressive driving and it is on the incline.