Normally when I tell people I commute there is a question about safety while cycling. It is hard to convince people that it is a safe method of travel. So it is nice to see this study from Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. (Design News, 10-4-93) comparing the fatal risk associated with participating in various activities.
| Activity | Fatalities Per Million Hours |
| Skydiving | 128.71 |
| General Aviation | 15.58 |
| On-road Motorcycling | 8.80 |
| Scuba Diving | 1.98 |
| Living (all causes of death) | 1.53 |
| Swimming | 1.07 |
| Snowmobiling | .88 |
| Automobile Driving | .47 |
| Water Skiing | .28 |
| Bicycling | .26 |
| Flying (domestic airlines) | .15 |
| Hunting | .08 |
(h/t EcoVelo)
It is nice to see that cycling is roughly 45% less likely to be fatal than driving a car and 97% less likely than riding a motorcycle.
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2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the stats! I agree, it's nice to see that cycling is statistically safer than most folks assume it must be.
I would just comment that this stat seems slightly skewed toward safety for cycling because they did not get numbers specifically for commuters.
I would assume that most recreational cyclists hours are spent on trails like the Burke-Gillman or more "friendly" environs than I do when I'm commuting by bike. My personal risk assessment puts cycling to work right about on par with driving to work.
Cool stats, though.
BTW, I ran across your blog after seeing your Rapto lowracer parked in downtown Kirkland. I did a search for 'RaptoBike' and found the company and your blog. I've currently got a Rans Rocket which I used to commute with frequently and even rode across the country once! I've lately been driving and need to get on the bike to lose a few (or more than a few...) pounds and start enjoying life a bit more again. Both your blog and this cool bike are an inspiration!
Hate to sound like a copy-cat, but I'm thinking I might have to build up a RaptoBike frame on a project similar to yours. I know myself well enough to know that building a new bike will lead to much more riding of that bike! ;-) The RaptoBike design is just stunning. How does it climb compared to your Vivo?
I am impressed that you did a cross-country trip on your rocket. Very cool. I am trying to lose weight as well.
Regarding climbing, my vivo has the fewest hours of my various recumbents. I climb pretty well with it, I climb best with my Corsa. I am about 8% slower on hills with the Raptobike compared to the Corsa according to my GPS. The Raptobike is heaver than the Corsa by about 5 lbs and the Vivo is about 5 lbs heavier than the Raptobike.
I had Kirkland Bike Shop do the work on building my Raptobike. They have been great, very supportive of the project and they do great work.
My bikes:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/watson_house/3509034326/
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