Post’s Bike to Work Week article needs work

The Post has a big article on biking in the city for Bike to Work week, it has some good information (and photos) for someone who doesn’t follow the subject, covering DC’s plans, the LaHood controversy and recent fatalities, but it has some glaring flaws. Such as this.

The overall number of traffic fatalities in the United States has
dropped to its lowest point since 1961, but deaths of bike riders are up.

While in 2008 there were 15 more deaths than in 2007, it was still the 5th fewest deaths in a year since 1980. 2007 was 4th. In fact the five safest years since 1980 have all been in the last 9. In 1975 there were 1003 bicyclist deaths. In 1980 there were 965. Last year there were 716. Looked at holistically the deaths of bike riders are down. And bike riding is way up.  

Frustrated by congested traffic, busy with cellphones and often in a
rush, drivers are displaying less patience than ever with cyclists who
block traffic and sometimes ride erratically, flying through stop signs
and traffic lights.

Block traffic? No. That sounds like they’re standing in the road holding up their hand. Slow traffic? At times, yes. And while people love to complain about poor cycling, when I’m honked at or yelled at it is not for running stop signs, it is for being in front of them.

“A small percentage of drivers are apparently enraged either by the
sight of a cyclist or by being held up for 10 seconds,” said Alexander
Meller, an Annapolis bike rider. “It’s a huge contrast to Europe, where
drivers most frequently wave, and where I’ve never seen the behavior I
see here.”

There are a few of the usual quotes about cyclists by non-cyclists

“I’ve seen cyclists on the sidewalk or skipping through traffic lights,”
said Jody Carlson of Fair Lakes, who gave up bicycling 20 years ago. “I
don’t know if they don’t care or what.”

Janet King, who lives in the District, said, “Stop signs and red lights
do not have signs that say ‘Except for bikes.’ ”

“No one is addressing the issue of rude behavior by bikers,” she said.
“If they want respect, they must give respect.”

And this one

“The people who do it for sport generally handle their bikes pretty
well,” said Detective Scott Neville, who investigates fatal accidents in
Fairfax County. “It’s the people who are biking to and from work,
without so much awareness or understanding of the law, who get into
trouble.”

which sits wrong with me. I’m no expert on Fairfax crashes, but my experience is that bike commuters are pretty good with their bikes. But maybe the issue is that Fairfax is fine for biking if you’re just exercising or training, because you don’t really care where you go, but when you’re going from home to work, you end up on bad roads. The only Fairfax fatalities I know of include a cyclist hit from behind in a hit and run, and a cyclist hit by a driver charged with reckless driving, not sure how poor bike handling is the cause (though I believe the first cyclist was riding at night without lights.

I can’t put my finger on it, and maybe I’m just overly sensitive but I find the whole article has a slight “cyclists need to behave better” slant. 

Photo by nanoenano91