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
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
’s horn as it passed multiple people while driving in the turning lane. I see similar situations everyday on my drive to work and it just seems to be getting worse. Everyone I talk to seems to have a weekly “crazy driver” story and there are endless news stories about hit and runs, wrecks and road rage incidents. Aggressive drivers are creating unsafe situations everyday, unaware that they are hurling tens of miles an hour in two
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).
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
We want to create a simple framework for the implementation of bicycle systems, so other cities and communities have the blueprints to implement a similar smart system in their respective areas. These systems are designed to have a long term effect on reducing overall traffic throughout the city and drastically increase the number of bicycle and public transport commuters. With an increase in commuters taking alternate forms of transportation, we expect to see “ride together” programs that encourage people to commute in groups. Lastly, we want to get organizations and the city to work together in tracking commuter’s commitment to alternate forms of transportation and offer tax rebates as incentives to switch from other private forms of
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...
Most people like to have some sense of control in their life so it is a perfectly reasonable assumption that there will be quite a few people who will not be quick to give up control of the wheel.” A crucial, and perhaps overlooked, aspect of the future of autonomous cars is that they will necessarily be programmed to obey all traffic ordinances and rights-of-way. While the finer points of law and technology are still being worked out, autonomous vehicles will behave much more respectfully towards other road users than the human-controlled vehicles of today.” Tayler (2017) While these measures could significantly decrease traffic accidents most people do not do strictly adhere to them.
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.
With increased use of bicycles across Australia, there is an increased urge that individuals wear a helmet while riding, it is an important necessity to all bike owners, no matter what age. An imperative measure of state road authorities, within Australia, is that all bicycle riders wear helmets while riding in public areas, as it is considered a vehicle; therefore, riders must also obey road rules, as there are consequences for non-compliance. These measures were introduced for the safety and wellbeing of the individual, as it had become apparent that cyclists faced a higher risk of injury, especially brain damage, without the use of a helmet. According to the Australian Competition and consumer commission [AU], the helmets must adhere to
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.
The cultural norms of the larger community are seen to influence the individual behaviour, also when it come to the behaviour of cyclists, and who chooses to identify themselves as cyclists. The study points at helmets and high-visibility clothing as being the‘uniform’, that some cyclists wear to look competent to other road users, and to fit in with the other cyclists. Aldred (2013) points out that the identity as a cyclist is highly stigmatised, both by other road users, as well as within the cycling community. Furthermore, Aldred points to how selling cycling as ‘healthy’ and ‘sporty’ may not resonate well with those who do not define themselves as neither healthy nor
Being strict is the best way to go to protect people from deaths and injuries that could be prevented by following and obeying rules. California should be doing a great deal more to promote the fact that helmets are essential in the mission to being the safest on the streets. According to www.dmv.ca.gov, “Bike helmets are 70% effective in preventing damage on impact.” These studies show that people who wear bike helmets will significantly be more safer that someone who isn’t. This alone shows how much people really need to have helmets as a daily and essential use during rides.
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.
We should apply harsher laws to penalize drivers who decide to endanger
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.