SAN FRANCISCO, CA (BRAIN)—Planet Bike's advocacy coordinator Jay Ferm had several problems with The Chronicle's recent study that Bay Area cyclists were more at fault than drivers.
"There are several problems with the stats presented in the article and they paint the wrong picture," Ferm said. "For starters, the article does not distinguish between child and adult riders. The Portland DOT (Department of Transportation) has published extensive bicycle crash analysis. These note that in crashes involving kids (less than 15 years of age), the kid is almost always at fault because they are developmentally incapable of accurately gauge speeds and risks in a traffic situation. However, when you look at crashes involving adults, the vast majority are caused by car drivers. When you consider fatalities, the vast majority in the Portland studies occur on rural roads involving DUI. I don't know how relevant this is to the SF stats, but it certainly calls them into question."
Click on link to view San Francisco Bicycle Coalition executive director Leah Shahum's published rebuttal to the story.
