Location: Northern Florida, USA
(10-02-2020, 06:47 PM)JoJoJo Wrote: here is a link to a county-by-county breakdown for the most cyclist fatalities in 2014-2018 with Los Angeles CA taking the number one spot: https://i.imgur.com/KzQPKv9.png
is anyone here from any of these counties? @Jesper many from FL -> how is the safety situation in your area?
Since I work in a city with a high student population, as well as older (retiree age) drivers there are many cycling accidents and fatalities (could easily be more!). Most are night time accidents around the major streets surrounding UF campus. Unfortunately, the majority of fatalities were deemed to be the fault of the cyclist for improper yielding to oncoming traffic; more fatalities and serious injuries were recorded by cyclists not wearing a helmet. I have biked around Florida, both in cities and out in the country. It is a sad testament of the respect from drivers to cyclists that I experience when out cycling on essentially deserted and/or low traffic country roads; vehicles swerving into my path, trash tossed out of windows, and a stream of unwarranted curses by drivers who are irritated by the fact that you are there at all! I have some decent 20+ mile paved "rail trails" so I avoid the traffic like the plague (and COVID)! I have raced only twice under less than favorable conditions involving an open course with live traffic sharing the road, one near miss and one crash with a ride to the ER. Thankfully most of my "accidents" are my own fault for trying to go too fast or from crazy maneuvering; occasionally from poor road conditions having excessive debris, etc.; but not out in traffic or around other cyclists. I am presently trying to "school" a retiree on cycling since he is now hooked after I built him a retromod bike. He's not used to being on 1" tires on a bike that can be run over 20mph with ease. He wants to ride the sidewalk which I personally despise, but probably safer for him though more dangerous for me (not even considering the bumps, glass, yard waste, etc. on the walkway); our bike lanes are either getting grown over with grass/weeds, and/or have trash piled up in them necessitating biking out into the traffic. He actually witnessed me crashing in front of his house when I was leaving to ride home; he took me to the ER that day for broken collar bone (first time, and took nearly 40 years of cycling).
I am ReapThaWimpWind and I view the world from a plexiglass window in my lower abdomen because my head is a sigmoidoscope always shoved up my....