Hacker News Reader

Comment by wefarrell | Hacker News Reader

I commute on my bike in NYC daily and I am far more terrified of pedestrians and other cyclists than I am of cars. Cars for the most part pay attention and obey traffic rules. Cyclists less so and pedestrians ignore rules entirely and frequently aren't even aware of cyclists.

View on HN

You're being irrational with that fear. Cyclists are basically never killed by other cyclists or pedestrians.

In fact, 5 of the last 8 years had zero pedestrian deaths due to collisions with cyclists. [1]

[1] https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtm...

You do have to weigh the severity of death against the frequency of lesser injuries. Hippos are more likely to kill me than mice, but I'm much more worried about the mouse problem in my building than I am about hippos.

I have not dug into the data, but for whatever it's worth, cyclists completely ignore the Red Bicycle lights here in midtown. These are red lights that are even shaped like a bicycle, and when pedestrians are crossing in the other direction the bikes keep going.

The difference is that almost getting killed by a car happens only a few times per month, but having pedestrians step into the bike lane right in front of you without looking happens multiple times per day.

been a cyclist for a long time, know hundreds of cyclists, you are the first person I've heard say this. If you collide with a pedestrian or cyclist the likely result is an injury, with a car death becomes very likely. Statistics certainly back this up as the vast majority of cyclist deaths are due to vehicle collisons not bike-bike or bike-pedestrian collisions.

Are you literally "far more terrified" of pedestrians than cars, or are you looking for a way to appear clever and different than everyone?

It's just a fake "as an X" to try to make the arguments have more weight.

Do you cycle in Manhattan?

I bike for about 60 minutes in Manhattan most days. I'd guess that I have to slam on my brakes or swerve away from a pedestrian maybe 2-3 times per day on average, usually because they stepped into the bike lane from the sidewalk while looking down at their phones. It's so common it barely registers. While I am very aware of cars, they rarely do anything surprising besides occasionally opening a door into my lane. I've certainly never seen a car go from a dead stop to suddenly darting into my lane against the light, the way pedestrians do. So while I acknowledge that I'm much more likely to be killed by a car, I spend a lot time avoiding pedestrians.

Wait until you get hit by your first car. I guarantee the object of your fear will change to the car. It's not a pleasant experience.

This. I’ve been hit 2x with major injuries, both times 100% the cars fault and one time I was in a very well identified bike lane. Cars are terrifying

I've been hit by cars at speed outside of the city and outside of Manhattan I absolutely fear them more.

Your experience is entirely the opposite of mine. Cars are not only usually unaware of me (despite me being lit up like a Christmas tree day or night), even if they do see me they'll just cut me off or even run me off the road if I'm in their way (and in violation of local law).

Pedestrians pose no threat to me unless I'm breaking the law, i.e. bicycling on the sidewalk, running a red, running a stoplight, etc.

You're probably more likely to hit cyclists or pedestrians, but they're a lot less likely to kill you.

This makes absolutely no sense. Cars are much more deadly than cyclists and pedestrians.

If cars are so safe then just ride in the middle of the street. It's perfectly legal- bicycles are classified as moving vehicles.

If you ride in the middle of the lane and follow the rules of the road for drivers of vehicles, then it becomes much easier to predict what other vehicles drivers will do (vehicle type doesn't matter).

But if you want to follow pedestrian rules at vehicle speeds, then it's not going to work so well.

I've had several minor scraps with other cyclists, and some close calls with pedestrians. The injuries involved were so minor it's not even worth cataloguing them.

Cyclists are routinely killed by motor vehicles in NYC. It's not even close which one you should be more afraid of. The scariest thing in the world if you're a cyclist is a big truck. They are statistically most likely to kill cyclists. People on foot don't even come close.

I get angry at some pedestrians for behaving poorly but I'm not terrified of them. I'm terrified of cars, and even more so of trucks.

Does someone know the name of this bias/fallacy?

Almost all comments in the comments section here are anecdotal. People are singling out this one because it goes against what most other cyclists are saying.

I've never heard another cyclist express this sentiment. Most of us are scared of speeding cars grazing us or parked car doors suddenly opening up in front of us.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com