You see them everywhere in hipster areas. Bikes slung with slogans about how they are the ones saving the planet. Numerous cities have rolled out urban bike rentals. And Paul Krugman attacked me in the New York Times for criticizing the idea.
It's 2018. The cycling movement has gained lots of ground. And lots of casualties.
Hit-and-run crash deaths are rising nationwide, and pedestrians and bicyclists account for close to 70% of the victims, according to a new report, as more people cycle to work and motor-vehicle fatalities are at a near-decade-high level.
The number of hit-and-run fatalities jumped 61% from 2009 to 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
There's a consistent pattern here.
LA’s bicycle-involved traffic deaths have tripled so far this year
Even out in the Netherlands.
An increase in the number of pensioners, particularly men, riding electric bikes has led to an increase in the number of cycling deaths in the Netherlands.
For the first time the number of cyclists killed on Dutch roads has exceeded the number of people killed in cars, with the increase in cyclists’ deaths largely down to a rise in the number of older men riding electric bikes.
As reported by The Guardian, the number of cyclists killed while riding electric bikes has nearly doubled in the past year according to official statistics, with three-quarters of those killed being men over the age of 65.
Urban cycling is dangerous. It's dangerous for cars, for pedestrians and for cyclists.
Bicycles are unpredictable vehicles. They crash much more easily. They're driven erratically. Drivers have trouble spotting them and correcting. So do pedestrians. And bicyclists have to maneuver on roads that are built for large wheeled vehicles or for walking people. No amount of bike lanes will change that.
The urban cycling movement has gotten more people on bikes. But that comes with a false sense of familiarity. Riding a bike as an adult in urban traffic is very different than riding a bike down a suburban street as a kid. The risks are different and so are the reflexes.
The biking virtue signaling began with hipsters and was pushed by environmentalists. But it's killing people.