It just makes me crazy!   The things I keep seeing people do on bicycles….it just makes me crazy!

I spend a considerable amount of my time promoting bicycle advocacy.  Advocacy aimed to influence public policy and resource allocation decisions, trying to make our world a better place for pedestrians, and for bicyclists. “A better place”, meaning more opportunities to participate in these activities, and a better place relative to cycling safety. There are lots of people doing the same thing and many right here in Warrenville, Illinois.

Somehow we, who are working to promote bicycling, are failing.  Why else would I continue to see bicyclists riding on the wrong side of the road? Why else would I continue to see bicyclists riding without helmets?  Why else would I continue to see bicyclists “blowing” through Traffic Lights?  Why else would I see bicyclists riding the wrong way on one-streets?  It just makes me crazy!

·         There are close to 85 million bicycle riders in the US, including nearly 45 million over the age of 6 who rode more than six times last year..

·         About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.

·         Non-helmeted riders are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than helmeted riders.

·         Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries.

·         A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent.

·         Direct costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $81 million each year, rising with health care costs.

·         Indirect costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $2.3 billion each year

Sometimes I just want to say that if you won’t wear a helmet, and you won’t follow the rules, please don’t ride a bike.  It just makes me crazy!

There is a publication called “Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road”. It is published by the Secretary of States office. If you have never seen a copy, you can download a copy from their website, or you can stop in at your local bike shop and pick one up. It is FREE! 

 I very much believe that Bikes Belong and those cyclists have the same rights on the road as automobiles. However, cyclists have the same obligations to follow the rules as does the driver of the automobile.