522 of 716

In 2008 there were 716 bicycle fatalities in the United States. Of those, 125 of them were in Florida (17% of the total), a state that has 6% of the total US population. It's a good thing I ride in California -- I've a better than average chance of stayin' alive.

In trying to understand those 716, I'm going to go on a hunch and say that greater than 70% of them were the cyclist's fault. High on crank, drunk as skunks, no helmets, total and willful ignorance of traffic laws...I see these every day, and just like tailgating on the freeway, these actions eventually catch up to those who fail to exercise caution.

I think I have a much worse chance of dying compared to, say, my cousin, who has only been riding a bike for 8 months (on account of his latest DUI) and who has already crashed it twice while totally loaded. The last time he crashed he said he saw quadruple; not just double vision, but quadruple vision he was so fucked up. My brother-in-law told me that years ago, while drunk, he was riding on the back side of a supermarket -- you know, with those nine-foot-tall rough masonry walls? He was riding parallel to it when the wall became 40 grit sandpaper to the side of his face and forearm as he careened into in. Twice.

Stories like this, alongside personal observation, are why I believe most bicycling deaths are the result of bicyclist stupidity. Most don't usually result from a single error in judgment; it's usually a chain of events. Here's a fictitious chain: a forty-two year old biker, let's call him Hank, gets into a verbal fight with the old lady and rides out to his friend Charlie's. He drinks a sixer and five shots of Tamiroff to "calm down," stays out 'till eleven, never did replace his tailight battery on account of having lost his job thirteen months earlier. Hank believes bicycle helmets are only for fags -- so he obviously never wears one. Hank decides to ride home anyway, crosses a four lane street illegally and gets plowed down by a pickup truck he didn't see comin'.

Hank becomes #522 of 716.