woman cyclists more likely to have accidents?

[Sandra6]

I just pinched this off another thread in commuting

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8296971.stm

Quite an interesting article, and wondered what others thought about the differences between men and women on bikes. Are they more likely to put themselves in danger, and subsequently hae an accident. Is it stereotyping?Over generalisation? Or first hand experienced fact?

Personally I'm a lot more cautious than most of the blokes I know who cycle, but I'm also more "rule" aware, I don't pavement hop and I ride in primary and signal clearly.
I also seem to have more "incidents" than anyone else, all of them misses though.

 

[sidevalve]

Hmm, That's brave! Anyway I can't say as I've ever noticed any differences although I do believe some men do tend to be more aggresive [sometimes to the point of stupidity] but a lot of the ladies are catching up fast these days. Same as driving cars really, a bit sad.

 

[Boris Bajic]

This whole topic is a little bit Swindon to me.

I really don't want to go there.

Sorry, Swindon. Sorry, topic.

 

[Banjo]

I have friends who are casual or occasional cyclists (not sure if theres a label for cyclists who only do a few miles now and then) .

When I suggest to them that its safer to filter down the outside of traffic at junctions than between the vehicles and the curb they look at me with an expression that says they obviously think I am wrong.Every time I see my kids set off on their bikes I cant help but remind them not to pass large vehicles at junctions by filtering on the left.

When the Olympic bus tragedy was announced we knew nothing about the accident details and my eldest son said I wonder if the cyclist was passing the bus on the left? Sadly he was and thje result was fatal. At least it confirmed to me I have got the message into my kids.

I dont think Gender is the issue,its confidence combined with experience and knowledge that makes the difference.

 

[coffeejo]

I'll probably jinx myself with this post but in my cycling group, the 3 most recent falls have been me having a clipless moment (bruised and bleeding knee), one guy not securing his pannier properly and hitting the tarmac with a thud when it got caught in his rear wheel (lucky to walk away with nothing worse than bruises and aching muscles) and another bloke going too fast downhill and ending up sitting on his head (severe concussion and a week in hospital).

 

[Globalti]

The answer is already well known; women tend to be less assertive and will creep up on the inside of queueing traffic where drivers can't see them whereas men will go down the outside and position themselves in clear view of the driver.

Next question?

 

[RaRa]

The answer is already well known; women tend to be less assertive and will creep up on the inside of queueing traffic where drivers can't see them whereas men will go down the outside and position themselves in clear view of the driver.

Next question?

+1 to this, also when I spot cyclists wobbling a few inches from the curb I'm afraid it tends to be the women doing it. Riding assertively doesn't seem to come easily to most of us.

 

[MrJamie]

So its not drivers being distracted by boobs then?

 

[akb]

 

[martint235]

.Every time I see my kids set off on their bikes I cant help but remind them not to pass large vehicles at junctions by filtering on the left.
.

I'm afraid I'd advise them not to pass large vehicles at junctions. Or any other vehicle really. There's plenty of time for safe overtakes on straight bits of road with no junction usually.

 

[Aushiker]

That article is about three years old now ... the data may not be so valid now.

Andrew

 

[Sandra6]

The women I see cycling do tend to fall into the "little old lady nipping to the shops" category, whereas the blokes are more likely to be "serious" cyclists (or mamil's!) Little old ladies on bikes are a law unto themselves and treat the roads like an extension to the aisle in a supermarket, which could explain the statistics.
Men tend to be more serious about things like this in general and will ride more often, therefore become more experienced, while women are more hit and miss. Obviously there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[Melonfish]

i must say that 8 people is not a statistic. the 7 women that died could in fact be a complete fluke get me statistics over several hundred and show me a trend that there are more women then men dying on our roads and i'll believe this.
otherwise its just another daily mail to bbc transfer 'journalist' who thinks they have a nice edgy story

 

[Kizibu]

..... show me a trend that there are more women then men dying on our roads

This article may raise some important issues but the basic premise (women cyclists more at risk than men) is not borne out by official accident statistics.
Male cyclists are more likely to be killed or injured than women, even when you take into account the fact that more cyclists are men.
Women are reckoned to cycle 23% of the total cycle miles but only 15% of the cyclists killed between 2005 and 2007 were women. And women made up only 18% of the killed and seriously injured. One analysis suggests male cyclists are 1.7 times more likely to be killed than female cyclists.

 

[Davidc]

Can't say I see much difference by gender.

Too many cyclists are not assertive enough, too many go up the left of big vehicles, and too few are prepared to cede their priority and act defensively.

Most RLJ and other idiotic behaviour is by teen and twenty males, most kerb hugging is by females, the males win for crass stupidity by a country mile!