{"id":244323174,"date":"2012-09-28T19:32:54","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T19:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=244323174"},"modified":"2012-09-28T19:32:54","modified_gmt":"2012-09-28T19:32:54","slug":"a-matter-of-life-and-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=244323174","title":{"rendered":"A Matter of Life and Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bob Mionske, Bicycling
\nCyclists ride for a lot of different reasons. For some, it\u2019s for the love of sport. For others, it\u2019s is an economical way to stretch a tight budget. There\u2019s also the environmental benefit.
\nAnd of course, many people ride for their health. A new study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, identifies physical inactivity as one of the leading causes of premature death. How bad is it? Consider these statistics:
\n\u2022\tInactivity causes 5.3 million deaths per year\u2014from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and breast and colon cancer.
\n\u2022\tThat\u2019s more than the number of deaths caused by smoking.
\n\u2022\tInactivity is the cause of 1 in 10 deaths.
\n\u2022\tPeople in higher-income countries are the least active.
\nAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Adults should engage in moderate exercise\u2014for example, brisk walking, cycling, or even gardening\u2014for at least 150 minutes each week. In the U.S., 43 percent of us don\u2019t meet that minimum requirement. In Europe, it\u2019s 35 percent. Worldwide, one-third of all people live a sedentary lifestyle\u2014and for teenagers, the number rises to over 80 percent.
\nPedro Hallal, a professor who led the Lancet study, said \u201cThe global challenge is clear\u2014make physical activity a public health priority throughout the world to improve health and reduce the burden of disease.\u201d
\nWhich brings us back to\u2014what else?\u2014bicycling. Want to get some exercise in every day? Try bike commuting. If someone you know wants to ease into getting around by bike, the 1-Mile Solution is the perfect way to get started.
\nBut despite cycling\u2019s many benefits, there\u2019s one big problem we must contend with when we\u2019re trying to get people off their couches: The roads we ride on can be a hostile environment. There are several reasons for this.
\nFirst, road infrastructure is usually biased towards the automobile, and often fails to take cyclists into account at all. Even though it is legal to ride on most roads, the more biased towards automobile traffic the road infrastructure is, the more intimidating the road will feel to all but the most intrepid of cyclists. As Professor Lindsey Davies (president of the UK Faculty of Public Health) observed in response to the study on inactivity, \u201cWe need to do all we can to make it easy for people to look after their health and get active as part of their daily lives. Our environment has a significant part to play. For example, people who feel unsafe in their local park will be less likely to use it.\u201d The same goes for our roads.
\nSecond, our laws are usually biased towards motorists. Consider, for example, the driver who passes dangerously close to a cyclist, and injures or kills the cyclist. In too many states, the motorist will at most be ticketed for a relatively minor offense, like making an unsafe pass. And that only happens when an officer is concerned enough to write a ticket.
\nWhen a motorist is severely injured or killed in a traffic \u201caccident,\u201d the circumstances are usually so extreme that serious charges may be filed. But all it takes to injure or kill a cyclist is a moment\u2019s inattention, a bit of bad judgment, a careless act. An \u201caccident.\u201d The message sent to drivers and cyclists alike is that our lives are worth little to nothing. \u201cWas the cyclist wearing a helmet?\u201d people ask, subtly shifting the blame from the careless driver to his victim. In contrast, in countries where cyclists\u2019 lives are valued, the law places the burden of safety where it belongs\u2014on the driver. This makes the roads safer for cyclists and drivers alike, and is one factor in getting more people on bikes.
\nThird, too many motorists, including many law enforcement officers, have only vague notions of what the laws on bicycling are. They may, for example, think you are breaking the law by riding on the road instead of the sidewalk, or by taking the lane. This confusion raises the hostility level of motorists, and too often results in unjust law enforcement by officers who aren\u2019t really sure what the law is.
\nFinally, many motorists feel entitled to threaten us, and even jeopardize our lives, with hostile and aggressive behavior, simply because they do not believe that we have any right to use the roads.
\n….
\nhttps:\/\/bicycling.com\/blogs\/roadrights\/2012\/09\/28\/a-matter-of-life-and-death\/2\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Mionske, Bicycling Cyclists ride for a lot of different reasons. For some, it\u2019s for the love of sport. For others, it\u2019s is an economical way to stretch a tight budget. There\u2019s also the environmental benefit. And of course, many people ride for their health. A new study, published in the British medical journal … <\/p>\n

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