The more cylists, the less accidents OECD

Safety in numbers
The more bikes are around, the less the risk for an accident. To provide safety for cyclist, cities should provide a sufficient bicycle infrastructure. This 2013 OECD reports on "Trends relating to fatalities, injuries and crash rates are presented alongside international data on levels of cycling."

Cycling, Health and Safety, Analysis of international trends in bicycle use and cyclist safety
DOI:10.1787/9789282105955-4-en

In good cities one can cycle to work and education without stress. It appears 'normal' to go to the movies (Babylon) or an ADK concert/ exhibition at the Brandenburg Gate by bike.

Cyclist killed, law breached, driver not charged

 

The recent killing of Alberto Paulon by a car door suggests a problem with law enforcement in relation to cyclists in Victoria.

'Dooring' has been explicitly made an offence because it is dangerous. It is one of the main causes of injuries to cyclists.  It is common when offences are committed which cause death that it is taken seriously by the authorities, e.g. speeding, red lights, etc, - more seriously than when no one is hurt.

In the case of Alberto Paulon no charges were laid apparently because the driver saw "the first bike coming, but didn't see the second bike". Given that almost 2 million people cycle daily in Australia and that more than one of them may be expected on a road at any given time, it is hard to understand the relevance of this. This needs to be explained to the public.

The message that the non-enforcement of the law in this 'incident' sends to car drivers is that killing cyclists with doors is nothing for drivers to be concerned about. No fines, no points lost, no day in court.

One of the purposes of the law is to send messages to the public about the consequences of engaging in acts which are prohibited. This a deterrence. Enforcement is crucial. A court may say that the circumstances demand lenient treatment of the person who killed another as a result of their breach of the law. However for this to happen the person must be charged, not let off.

See also
The car door is potentially a deadly weapon

'Road Fatalities Map'

The Victorian Road Fatalities Map visualises the daily car-nage caused on the roads and other spaces. The interactive Googlemap is updated daily, visualising the place and mode by which a person's life has been changed or erased. "More than 256 drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians have already been killed this year..." in Victoria, Australia. The icon and the above stats make it hard to differentiate between push- bikes and CO2 pumping motor bikes. There is no indication how such data gathering is utilised to prevent deaths and injuries in a risk society.

There is a U.S. mash-up 'Safe Roads Maps' , using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System with Google Maps by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Excellence in Rural Safety.

Ploughing Vehicles into Pedestrian's Spaces

Alcoholised learner driver kills one pedestrian and injures another as his car mounts a footpath in Melbourne.
A teenager with three times the permissible alcohol limit was doing 150km/h in a 60 zone. After crashing into a traffic light and tree, the car mounted the footpath (image & here) killing one pedestrian and seriously injuring the other. The surviving pedestrian is suffering from "head injuries, fractures to his leg, and possible fractures to his pelvis." The 19 year old learner driver injured his wrist. >via Southbank crash driver 'drunk and speeding', The Age, 011008
- If nothing effective can be done against speeding and alcoholised drivers, should not the urban territory and its pedestrian paths (and cycle paths) be studded with bars? - Just in case.
Image: Artifacts excluding motorised vehicles from spaces where non-armoured bodies move.