Cyclist's Near Miss

He was in the shoulder, speeding and passing the cars lined up at a traffic light about to turn green. I didn’t see him. I was in the only lane, trying to make a right on red and had no reason to check in my passenger-side mirror, but gratefully, something caught my eye, and I slammed on my brakes. His bike sped by just as the light turned green, travelling downhill at over 25 miles per hour. If I didn’t stop, he would have slammed right into the side of my car.

After this narrow escape, I decided to look into the statistics related to bicycle accidents, injuries and death. I wasn’t at all surprised that the average bicyclists killed in 2009 was 41 years old and almost exclusively male. I see this age group all the time in my hometown, which is filled with scenic winding roads. They are usually riding two by two and sometimes three-wide across narrow roads.

There are many bikers in this age group, so the stats seem logical, but shouldn’t any male over the age of 25 be more experienced, and therefore cautious? Only a small percentage of people killed on a bike are under 16, which is the demographic you would think took chances and were not as careful with their lives or bodies. There are many factors that go into the numbers of course, but could we deduce, even partially, that some of it relates to overconfidence?

There are some bicyclists out there who take unnecessary chances and disobey traffic laws. There are also motorists who don’t take into consideration the right of way of cyclists. Who has more rights or who should pay more attention are not questions we should be stuck on though. Who has more power to crush should be the issue. Any biker (and this goes for motorcyclists too) who takes for granted, human error or the size and weight of the vehicles they are travelling next to is not only being naïve, he/she is living dangerously.

Rather than debate the issue though, I want to offer some advice. Whether you are a daring, adrenaline junkie, an exercise enthusiast or just an out-for-the-fun-of-it cruiser, there is something you can think about every time you are about to do something even remotely dangerous: “Would I want to see my son or daughter take this chance?” This is the thought I put in my head when I even think about texting while driving. If you are not a parent, replace it with brother, sister, mother, father, best friend (you get the idea).

Taking chances and pushing past personal limits are part of any sports enthusiast’s active lifestyle, but what good is having a fit heart and iron quads if you are in a casket? Keep pedaling, but while you are out there, please keep in mind that your resilient personality and invincible spirit are housed in a very human body, and unfortunately, it doesn’t bounce.