The dangers of biking in the city without bikers.

I've had many encounters with bicycling accidents that were pretty close brushes with death. It started making me reconsider biking in the city in general. It's too bad because my main goal for biking was to eliminate my car instead I think I kind of fell into the status quo. It pains me to say but I'm part of the problem because I'm not willing to have the courage to continue biking in the city for a common cause.

It's pretty well known that biking is a more efficient way of commuting around the city. The dangers of biking really makes us reconsider this mode of transportation. Think of the beauty of everyone biking around the city rather than taking cars in the first place?

There would be less congestion on the streets as bikes don't take as much space. There would also be less pollution in terms of smog and noise. Our dependence on oil would considerably decrease. Maybe we'd all be a little more patient because we know things might take a little longer. One of the biggest outcomes would be less serious accidents.

Bikes don't go incredibly fast or as fast as cars. They're also not huge hunks of steel able to crush your bones. This is one of the biggest issues with biking in a congested city. There's tons of cars and they're going fast. If there's a collision between a biker and a car driver there's no contest who's going to end up in the hospital.

The thing is you see a lot of bikers thriving in big cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Portland. These cities already have an established biking community that's large and vocal enough to have car driver's attention. Cars are more alert for bikers in these cities because there's so many of these bikers around. It's sort of like strength in numbers. I'm glad that these cities are getting more of a bike presence and I hope they continue to grow.

In contrast cities that don't have as many bikers on the streets may actually be more dangerous to ride in than these other cities. Drivers aren't used to seeing bikers on the road so they don't have a learned behavior of looking out for them. It's fair why would they expect a biker if they never see them on the road? This is strength in numbers in the opposite spectrum where cars outweigh bikers.

As bikers are incredibly fragile compared to car drivers they're understandably hesitant to ride their bikes in the city. They're afraid of getting hit by cars. Of course they're going to be afraid of getting hit by a car. A simple accident could result in a hospital trip.

Some municipalities have made great efforts in creating designated bike lanes for bikes and this can help encourage bikers to ride their bikes. The problem is that bikers need to get out there and continue to encourage others to bike. If no one uses these bike lanes then pedestrians and car drivers alike will treat these designated bike paths as their own.

Bike riders need to take advantage of the few privileges that municipalities are granting them. Cities already know that it's beneficial on a city planning standpoint to have more bikers in their cities. They're making conscious efforts to encourage bike riding but we have to get out there in order to make these initiatives worthwhile.

With people still being afraid to bike makes citizens question the money that's being put in place for bikers. Drivers of course are annoyed by them already because these bike areas are encroaching on their space. Little do they know, if more bikers are on the street there's going to be less cars on the street meaning there's less traffic congestion. It works out for everyone.

I started biking having all of these ideas in my head. At first I thought it was great because the lanes were absolutely empty because no one was biking but I would soon realize the multiple reasons why people don't bike in the city.

With less bikers on the road people just don't know what to do when bikes are around. They don't look out for bikers because they're not expecting bikers around. Bikes are usually awarded a little space on the side to ride their bikes however cars don't realize that bikes aren't made like cars. There are constantly obstacles on the road such as construction, potholes, sewer grates, and dirt and debris pushed away from the street.

Sometimes bikers have to swerve to avoid the obstacles and potentially dangerous situations occur. There's a ton of things to watch for and it can get quite scary for a bike rider.

That's not to say that bikers are totally innocent themselves. They need to obey the laws and not ride their bikes as if they're pedestrians. Even though bikers aren't riding at fast speeds they should still respect pedestrians on the street as well. It's sort of like bullying where the cars can bully the bikers and then the bikers bully the pedestrians. A terrible cycle so to speak.

In the end, I'm definitely a hypocrite because I've finally given into car driving. I tried so many times to bike in the city but after some considerable injuries due to some accidents from cars hitting me and unmaintained road conditions I've decided to give in. I want to join again when there's more of a community in my city but with a world full of sheep it's hard to give them the courage to get out there.