Safety and Education Committee Report
Save Time Commuting by Bicycle
Bike-to-Work Week is May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day is on Friday. I hope you make an effort to participate.
The high cost of oil has many of us are considering ways to reduce our consumption. Mass transit is not an option for most NH residents and carpooling often inconvenient. Commuting by bicycle is the best available option for most people. Every mile you use a bicycle instead of a motor vehicle helps.
Lack of time is often the reason cited for not commuting by bicycle. Bicycle transit time is easily figured at 4-5 min/mi (12-15 MPH) and I consider anything less than 15 miles a viable commuting distance. If you live a distance greater than that, you can drive part way and leave your car in a parking lot.
Considering only transit time riding a bicycle takes longer but time spent earning the money to support the vehicle must also be included. My twenty-five mile (round trip) takes twenty minutes longer when I use my bicycle instead of a motor vehicle. It costs $.55/mi (AAA) to drive a car so I must earn $60/hr to break even. I ride my bicycle 7-1/2 hrs in just 100 minutes/week extra commuting time. I would need at least ten hours more a week to have the same fitness level and money using a motor vehicle.
It requires considerable planning to save time commuting by bicycle. Driving to work allows a person to sleep much later and time the arrival at work quite accurately. Weather, repairs and personal energy levels can greatly affect commuting time for a bicyclist. I try to arrive at work ½ hr before start time and eat my breakfast before work starts. This time buffer has proven adequate for most repairs. I suppose if I skipped breakfast and drove my car, I could sleep forty minutes longer but I had much more trouble getting to work on time before I started commuting by bicycle.
Nothing is without risk and some people feel it is unsafe to commute by bicycle. Ninety percent of all bicycle fatalities involve an un-helmeted rider and in most cases the cyclist was breaking the law. Accident statistics also show that about the same number of people die due to falls in the bathroom and as the result of bicycle accidents each year. Some people are very cautious but I haven’t heard of anybody limiting their bathroom time for safety reasons.
Most excuses for not commuting by bicycling can be overcome with a little thought and the proper planning. One of the biggest benefits I gained from bicycle commuting was the improvement in planning skills and ability to define needs properly. Every child needs to learn these skills and encouraging them to use their bikes for transportation will help.
I encourage parents to pay their children $.25/mi for using a bicycle instead of being driven somewhere. The parent is going to save money; they must drive twice the distance (@ $.55/mi) or stay there with them. More importantly, the child will learn how to use the bicycle as a transportation vehicle. The biggest savings will be in time. The parent will not have to spend the time in transit and nobody will be waiting around. Doing a physical activity with a child is a great way to become closer. Ideally, the parent could ride with the child.
Bill Fisk - Safety and Education
Safety and Education Coordinator
Archive Safety Articles
Which Foot Down?
Preparing For Rain
Stopping in the Roadway
Encountering Animals
Why I Commute by Bike
Your Bike and Knee
You Can be Too Far Right
Wrong Way Cyclists
Choosing the Right Tire
Don't Scare the Slow Guy
Using Your Front Brake
How Safe is Bicycling?
How Safe is Your Helmet?
Making Left Turns
Where on the Road Do You Belong?
Rumble strips on the Shoulder
Safer Without Helmet?
Impaired Drivers