Hacker News Reader

Comment by foobarian | Hacker News Reader

I thought that harping on riding a bike was a bit disingenuous. I used to do do it daily, but after a close brush with death (got doored by a car stopped at a red light) I've come to think the risks are high enough that continuing it would be irresponsible for a family man.

View on HN

Note that his family isn't dependent on his income or earning potential anymore, so it's not like he'd be leaving then destitute if he got killed. Purely financially, they'd be better off.

That said, everyone has to choose their own acceptable level of risk.

Edit: Plus you can argue that biking all over the place decreases his risk of dying of heart disease or similar later in life, which may balance out or outweigh the risk of dying in a vehicle collision.

You are correct, the evidence is that the health benefits outweigh the risk of death about 50 to 1 (see meta-study at http://www.ubcmj.com/pdf/ubcmj_3_2_2012_6-11.pdf).

What about the risks of driving?

Driving the same route is safer.

Not when you die a heart attack. The increase in health from cycling outweighs the risk of death in the region of 50 to 1 ( see meta-study at http://www.ubcmj.com/pdf/ubcmj_3_2_2012_6-11.pdf)

Obviously, if you do plenty of exercise already, this may be more of a moot point, but if you are even slightly overweight or unfit, get on your bike.

I think I may know you in real life. Did you successfully represent yourself in court?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com