There seems to be a lot of hostility in bike blogs these days. Everyone has an opinion about wearing helmets (or not), vehicular cycling (or not), bike trails (or not), and so much more. Having an opinion is a great thing; forcing it down others’ throats with vitriol is not.

I just have 2 things to say about all this. First, cycling is not an individual act; it is inherently social, simply by the fact that other people are using the trails/roads/sidewalks. I am both a driver and a cyclist. When a cyclist is biking erratically or is not visible in the dark, it affects me as a driver, by increasing my stress level as I am driving and trying to be safe. Further, if I were to hit that cyclist, it’s not just the cyclist who would be affected. I would be emotionally devastated. Our health care system would take another hit. My loved ones as well as the cyclist’s would be impacted. Insurance costs would go up. So, yes, individuals have the freedom to make choices about how they want to bike. But that freedom does not exist in a vacuum.

Second, could we be a little nicer to each other and to those with whom we share the transportation infrastructure? There’s a great post at EcoVelo to this point.

Read the comments too, where you’ll find, among others, this gem from the post’s author:

“The idea that acting courteously as opposed to confrontationally is somehow going to put us on a slippery slope leading to “laws demanding that all cyclists get out of their way” is a fallacy that has been used all too frequently to justify rude, aggressive riding tactics. What’s going to get us kicked off the roads is disregarding traffic laws, riding irresponsibly, and treating other road users as if we bicyclists operate under our own set of rules (see it too often). You are right, the car is “almighty”, but fighting its supremacy with a head-on frontal assault is not the answer in my opinion. I believe we need to build good will with the general public and politicians to gain the political capital necessary to instigate the infrastructure and policy changes that would make our roads (and trails) more attractive to new bicyclists, thus growing bicycling to the extent we’re all hoping for. In my opinion, the “us versus them” mentality is counterproductive to this goal and has gotten us nowhere in the U.S.”

From today’s Albany Times Union:

SCHENECTADY — A 62-year-old bicyclist suffered minor injuries after accidentally running into the back of a CDTA bus on State Street this afternoon, city police said. The man was pedaling behind the bus near Clinton Street and rear-ended the vehicle when it pulled over around 1:25 p.m., Sgt. Eric Clifford said.

The crash tied up downtown traffic for about 20 minutes, Clifford said. He said the man was taken to Ellis Hospital for observation.

– Paul Nelson

As I wrote here and here, there was a recent cycling accident in Saratoga Springs, north of Albany, that was featured in the Times Union newspaper. You can read my note to the reporter in the previous post.

Here’s the response I received from the reporter, Dennis Yusko:

Hi Jason: Thank you for writing. You make a valid point about the placement of the helmet reference. I guess it was in this particular story because he suffered a head injury, and because police made a point of it when discussing the case. Anyway, I’ll think about it more next time I write because of your note. In the meantime, feel free to go to our Saratoga Seen blog and post what you feel under the story there. It might generate some discussion.
Dennis.

If you’d like to take Dennis up on his suggestion, visit the Saratoga Seen blog.

This story of course notes that the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet. Which I’m sure is what caused the motorist to fail to yield the right of way.

Vehicle charges likely in bicycle accident
Bicyclist hospitalized after Saratoga Springs accident

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A 30-year-old man was taken to the hospital with head injuries on Sunday after he struck a car while riding his bicycle on Broadway, police say.

The man, who police did not identify, was riding north at 1:22 p.m., when he hit the rear passenger door of a vehicle turning left into the parking lot of Lillian’s restaurant, Lt. Matthew Veitch said.

The bicyclist was not wearing a helmet and was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Veitch said.

The operator of the vehicle, who police would only say is from Vermont, will likely face charges of failing to yield the right of way, police said.

“The investigation is ongoing and charges are anticipated,” Veitch said.

This article is available at the Times Union site.

I sent a follow-up email message to the author of the piece, Dennis Yusko (dyusko@timesunion.com):

Hi Dennis,

As a local cyclist, let me begin by saying thanks for covering any bicycle stories at all, even when they’re accidents.

A quick question: Why is it that the cyclist’s lack of a helmet is mentioned before the motorist’s failure to yield the right of way? (I might go further and ask why the helmet is in the story at all.) Surely the cyclist’s lack of a helmet is not what caused the driver to hit the cyclist. Shouldn’t the charges against the driver come first?

Helmets are great, but every cycling accident story tells the reader whether or not the cyclist had one, as if this had anything to do with the cause of the accident.

Thanks again for your time and for paying attention to cyclists.

All the best,

Jason

Does the Times Union have a new bicycle accident beat?

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A 30-year-old man was taken to the hospital with head injuries on Sunday after he struck a car while riding his bicycle on Broadway, police say.

The man, whom police did not identify, was riding north at 1:22 p.m., when he hit the rear passenger door of a vehicle turning left into the parking lot of Lillian’s restaurant, Lt. Matthew Veitch said.

Read the rest of the article.

The Times Union just posted a story about a collision between a cyclist and dumptruck:

Cyclist seriously hurt after collision with dump truck in Schenectady

I scanned this from the Spring 2009 magazine Geico sends it’s members.

The construction of a ramp replacing the staircase underpass has begun.

All riders will need to cross Clover St. at-grade during the construction period of approximately six weeks.

The road entrance/exit on the west side of Clover St. is now open and is several yards north of the old entrance.

Please be careful crossing. Auto traffic is often moderate to heavy with speeds normally 40 -50 mph.

I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but somebody has to say it. According to the NHTSA, New York is the third worst state for bicycling, based on fatalities. There were 51 deaths in 2007. Via BikeCommuters.

I know some of you will hate this.

Thanks to Bookninja for the link.