A Strava friend just posted a notice from his local police department in the US about a cyclist who had been hit and killed by a truck. Seeing these kinds of things reminds me of something I never think about on the bike – we are extremely vulnerable and for the most part at the complete mercy of car and truck drivers when we are on the road.
Right after reading this, I got to wondering how things were in France when it comes to deaths of cyclists because I remember that after Covid there was a reasonably big jump, with so many new people on bikes on the road. Well, stuff has calmed down a little, and according to Collective Cycliste 37, there were 226 mortalities last year, down 8% from 2022. Compare this with an increase in the number of cyclists (don’t ask me how they arrive at this number) of 5% and we are doing much better. It’s still 226 deaths too many.
I just read an article on the same subject in Canada and it states that a third of cycling fatalities was the result of the cyclist not following the rules of the road, something I know many of us are guilty of (Stop signs are ‘slow down’ signs for me, I’ll admit). There’s probably a lot we can do make our precarious world a slightly safer place.
The Vicious Cycle 
I’m interested to know how France’s drivers became so – generally – respectful of cyclists on the road. Is it all about bike racing being a major national sport?
In the US we have a major cultural problem such that millions of drivers actively resent and object to bikes being on the road. The general feeling is that bikes are toys for kids and belong on sidewalks and in parks. Roads belong to cars. Exacerbating the problem is a notion among a large slice of the population that adults who cycle are emblematic of a privileged emasculated elite that the country would be better off without. “Real men don’t wear Lycra.” I.e., there is, unfortunately, a strong correlation between voting far right and driving your truck on the far right edge of the road when a cyclist appears.
It would be great if we could get cycling to be seen as a legit adult activity here in the US. I totally agree, btw, that riders do not always hold up their end of the respect bargain! The most common offense I see is people rolling two or more abreast, oblivious to auto traffic behind. Not cool.
I don’t really know, Tony. I can only make guesses, including the history you mentioned. This is probably way out there, but I sometimes feel like the engrained sense of sympathy for the downtrodden (the French LOVE the word ‘solidarité’ somehow translates over to the weak, exposed cyclist.
I’ve had some proper aggression here, but I can count the occurrences on one hand. Not bad for 14 years of riding on the roads.
The US mentality is cyclist don’t pay road taxes where vehicle owners do so cyclist don’t belong on the road. Billy Joe Creep deeply believes cyclist belong on the sidewalks and loves to yell this as they pass us in a cloud of exhaust. Stay safe.
I’m not sure I could handle that kind of stress if I ever moved back home. I might join the curling club instead!
Tony & John are spot on. I typically ride solo or ideally in a small group of 2-4 people so we can ride or more easily move to single file. I feel that the larger group rides are a source of anger/aggravation/impatience for motorists who often pass in curves, through intersections etc. The last group ride I participated in I was on the front 2 wide and a car came at us head on. It swerved over at the last second. Thought I was a goner for a second but I think it was a driver just having fun messing with the “bike fags”.
I’m with you regarding groups, except for tours! I can’t stand the 3 abreast look and even don’t encourage doubling up on anything but quiet roads. It’s just asking for someone to take offence. Glad to hear you survived that last group ride, Sam!
All of the above! I ride in western Maryland USA and in the last couple decades the numbers of loose, lunging dogs have declined to nearly zero while the vehicles have gotten larger, more numerous and more erratically driven. I preferred the dogs. ‘Rolling coal’ was such an alarming trend that it’s now against the law here (though enforcement seems improbable). I ride by myself, and have always been a mirrors guy, so at least I can see what’s coming, be it doom or no.
I have to say, using the term ‘mortalities’ instead of ‘deaths’ seems refreshingly civilized despite the obvious equivalence.
Thanks for the new word. Rolling Coal is indecent…who knew such a think existed! And I like your attitude when it comes to doom. I feel the same, except I’d rather not know about it.
Something I thought about mentioning in relation to ‘space’ is what you alluded to here – the size of vehicles has increased a lot while roads haven’t gotten wider. I go into shock when I see the size of pick-ups back home now. Europe is filled with SUVs, don’t get me wrong, but a pick-up truck that needs a ladder is on another level.
These are not pleasant thoughts to carry round while cycling, but in our area, the drivers are almost always very considerate. It may be tempting fortune to say so, but I generally feel safe when I am out. Of course, I go quite slowly which may be help.
It probably helps that there are relatively few cars on the roads around Langholm, or at least it looks that way on Street View!