Month: June 2012

[B’ Spokes: For those of you who take extra time for your exercise the following seems to be good advice. For those of you who engage in active living and exercise is just part of your daily life there is something you can get from this as well… there is a benefit in going outside your comfort zone. For example something I have been known to do, I push myself to ride a little harder going uphill on Roland Ave but I’ll stop at Starbucks in Roland Park for a "reward" and cool down period. Little things like this once and awhile can really boost your overall fitness level, at least from my unprofessional view point.]
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Gretchen Reynolds, the Phys Ed columnist, on the science of high-intensity interval training, or H.I.T., which scientists are finding can be as effective as longer endurance training.
https://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/10/health/100000001515630/the-20-minute-workout.html

By Tanya Mohn, Forbs

New data highlight that bicyclists in the United States save at least $4.6 billion a year by riding instead of driving.

The analyses were released on Friday to coincide with National Bike to Work Day, part of National Bike Month, which occurs each May.

The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is $308, compared to $8,220 for the average car, and if American drivers replaced just one four-mile car trip with a bike each week for the entire year, it would save more than two billion gallons of gas, for a total savings of $7.3 billion a year, based on $4 a gallon for gas.

…

LaHood noted that walking and bicycling are options people want, citing a national poll released by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in March that indicated that “more than 80 percent of Americans support maintaining or increasing federal funding for biking and walking.” “The benefits of bicycling are real, and there’s no arguing with the impressive ridership data,” LaHood said. “Bicycling is an important part of the 21st century transportation mix.”

Click here for the full fact sheet: “Pedaling to Prosperity,”  here for more about National Bike Month, and here to read: New Report Finds That More Biking and Walking Do Not Increase Crash Rate.

Continue reading “Pedaling to Prosperity: Biking Saves U.S. Riders Billions A Year”

Traffic fatalities are the No. 1 killer of young people
By: AOL Autos Staff
Every six seconds, someone is killed or seriously injured in a traffic accident. Every day, 3,500 people are killed in car crashes.
That means traffic fatalities are a global epidemic on par with malaria and tuberculosis, according to a new report issued by the Campaign for Global Road Safety.
"The epidemic has reached crisis proportions," wrote Kevin Watkins, a Brookings Institute researcher who authored the report, and the problem is "set to worse over the years ahead."
There are 1.3 million annual global road deaths, and they are the No. 1 global cause of deaths of young people ages 10 to 24. Approximately 260,000 children die in car accidents annually, according to the World Health Organization.
Air pollution also kills an estimated 1.3 million people each year, according to the report, and 70 to 90 percent of fatal pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide, originate from automotive traffic, the report says.
"There are no surprises or hidden magic bullets for tackling the road traffic injury crisis," Watkins writes. "Vehicles need to be separated from vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.
https://autos.aol.com/article/road-deaths-a-global-epidemic-on-par-with-diseases-says-new-r/

By David Alpert, Washington Post

Here are five things drivers need to know, and often don’t, about sharing the road. Dr. Gridlock has the flip side below.

●Cyclists might be on the left side of the road. If someone on a bike is turning left, the correct and legal thing for them to do is to move to the left, just as a driver would, and then turn left from there. If a cyclist is on the left side of the road, or a left lane of a multi-lane street, don’t honk or get angry; realize the cyclist is probably getting ready to turn left or making some other necessary maneuver.

●Riding outside a bike lane is often okay.




Bike lanes are great. They make many cyclists feel more comfortable on the road. They move many cyclists into a separate space so that drivers can pass without having to wait for the slower vehicle. However, a cyclist might be elsewhere on the road for many reasons, including the left turns mentioned above. In the District and Virginia, a cyclist can choose to ride outside the bike lane for any reason.

Cyclists also often ride in the left part of a bike lane to be farther from car doors that might suddenly open.

●If turning right across a bike lane, move into the bike lane first. Say you’re driving on a road with a bike lane on the right side. You want to make a right turn. What do you do? Many people just drive up to the corner in the “car” lane, then turn from there. That’s unsafe.

The right way to turn across a bike lane is to first merge into the bike lane a short distance before the corner. Signal to move right and look over your shoulder like you would changing lanes on a highway. If there are no cyclists coming, move over, then make the turn from there. Don’t move into the lane while stopped behind a line of cars at a light, because then a cyclist can’t get past, but do it when you’re ready to turn right and have the green.

●Bicycles are faster than you might think. A bike is slower than a car most of the time, but often not that much slower. If you’re driving and pass a cyclist, give some extra time before moving back into the lane, because that bike is also moving.

If you pass a cyclist and then plan to turn right, realize that the cyclist probably isn’t still back where you were when you passed, but has moved a lot farther. It’s generally safer for all to avoid passing a cyclist just before making a right turn, because the cyclist can end up in your blind spot.

Don’t honk. Some drivers think that it’s a courtesy to honk to tell a cyclist they’re coming. Trust me, they know. Cars make a fair amount of noise. Horns make an enormous amount of noise.

Continue reading “Bicyclists, motorists need to share road”