From young children to older adults who are enjoying their retirement, many people like to ride their bicycles for exercise, as a means of transportation or just for fun. Riding a bicycle can be great for one’s health (as well as the environment), but it also carries serious risks, especially when it comes to accidents involving traffic. Additionally, bicyclists should be aware of other concerns, such as different age-related factors that could affect their chances of being killed or hurt in a collision with a vehicle.
On their site, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that bicyclists between the ages of 45 and 54 accounted for 25 percent of bicyclist fatalities in 2008. This may come as a surprise to some people since bicyclists in this age group are younger than many older bicyclists but old enough to be more mindful of various traffic risks (compared to much younger bicyclists, such as children who may ignore signage or fail to take precautionary measures). However, many middle-aged bicyclists choose to take to the road, and some of them will sadly be involved in a traffic accident while riding their bike.
When looking at bicycle accidents and age, it is also important to point out that 20 percent of bicyclist injuries involved riders who were between the ages of 10 and 15. Clearly, riding a bicycle near traffic can be very dangerous for younger bicyclists also. It should also be mentioned that regardless of a bicyclist’s age, they run the risk of being involved in a deadly accident whenever they ride a bike near vehicles.