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Is Drunk Cycling As Hazardous As Drunk Driving?
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 9, 2009
Modified Apr 9, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 9, 2009
Modified Apr 9, 2009
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When it causes injury or death, the answer is obviously yes. But some New York cyclists are finding fault with this morning's City Room article about pedaling under the influence. (PUI?) Brian Fried at Streetsblog says the article, which suggests an anti-drunk biking P.S.A. might be in order, is wrong to equate the dangers of drunk driving with drunk cycling:
Drinking and biking puts cyclists at risk because impairment makes them more likely to be killed by a motorist. Drinking and driving puts everyone in the vehicle's path at risk of being killed by that motorist. In 2007, nearly 13,000 people died in crashes involving drunk drivers on American roads. More than 4,300 of those killed were people other than the impaired perpetrator behind the wheel [PDF]. Meanwhile, how many people died at the hands of a drunk cyclist?
The article in question looked at a study of cyclist autopsies after fatal accidents in NYC from 1996 to 2005. Of the 225 bicyclists who died in accidents during the 10-year time period, only 176 were tested for alcohol. And because of the time-sensitivity of alcohol tests, only 84 of those cases were considered to have valid tests. And out of those, 18—or 21 percent—showed signs of alcohol.
While it's difficult to draw conclusions from those numbers about the overall prevalence of drunk cycling, it's clearly something for bike riders to think twice about. Take it from rock star cyclist David Byrne: drinking and cycling don't mix. Unless it's during Bike Kill and a giant mobile dildo is involved.
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drunk
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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