RISK ACCEPTANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Have you ever thought about how much risk you accept? We each live with the results of our decisions, and we have full responsibility for the actions we take in traffic. A person who has several “close calls” or near misses when driving a car may be prone to similar behavior when riding a bicycle. It’s something to think about....

People take a variety of risks every day, but some take more risks than others. For instance, imagine a “ladder of risk.” Picture a tall ladder reaching to the top of a building. For an experiment, would you climb up on the first rung and jump off to the ground? How about the second rung? Do you know anyone that would climb up to a rung higher than you and jump onto the ground? Some people are higher risk takers than others, but the important point is to think about the risks you are willing to take. Only when you think about the risks of riding in traffic can you manage the variety of factors that happen while riding.

Once you become aware of the risks associated with bicycling, and once you accept that risk, it is time to learn how risks can be managed. Choosing to accept the challenges of being a responsible cyclist means to think about the consequences of your riding behavior in traffic. It also means accepting personal responsibility for the results of your decisions and actions, as well as developing good skills and judgment.

Knowledge of what causes crashes is helpful in managing the complexity of riding situations. How would you answer this question: “What is the primary cause of bicycle crashes?” There are several ways to answer. Perhaps you thought of such things as speeding, inattention, distraction, drinking, or carelessness. All are good answers. Read the following crash scenario, and see if you can determine the primary cause of the crash.

A cyclist is riding a country road at 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon, heading home after finishing a grueling day at work. Still thinking about some of the projects not finished that will have to get completed tomorrow, the rider rounds a slight curve in the road and approaches an intersection. There is a car on the right and the rider thinks about slowing. Suddenly the vehicle pulls out. The cyclist tries to swerve around the car to the right, but the car stops in the middle of the lane. The front tire of the bicycle hits the left rear of the car, sending it out of control and into the ditch along the road. The helmet saved the cyclist’s head, but the cyclist’s knees were bruised, and the bike couldn’t be ridden. Investigation showed that the car driver was a young person without a license, who was distracted by the glare of the setting sun. There was no alcohol involved, and no one was speeding.

What was the primary cause of this crash? Since there were multiple factors, it is difficult to determine the primary cause. So the lesson in this crash, as in most crashes, is that there is rarely a single cause. There is usually an interaction of factors that accumulate, and at some point in time they come together in such a way to produce a crash. Many safety professionals do not like to use the word “accident.” Most crashes are predictable and preventable.

How could the above crash have been prevented? Would a cloudy day have prevented the sun glare from partially distracting the young driver? Should the car driver have paid more attention? Should that driver have been behind the wheel in the first place? Would a better prediction by the cyclist have provided that extra moment to stop or swerve to miss the car? If the cyclist had been less distracted by the events of the day, would the cyclist’s response have been quicker? Remove just one factor, and this traffic conflict may not have developed into a crash.

Ladder of Risk. Each rung of the ladder represents a factor. More factors result in more risk; fewer factors result in less risk. Good cyclist’s keep the number and significance of factors in check.

One way to think about the causes of crashes is to imagine a crash chain. Crashes occur because factors interact and develop into a hazardous situation.

Have you ever had a close call whilst driving? What kept it from becoming a crash? Usually someone took action to prevent it. Good cyclist’s are ready to take action to minimize factors and maintain a margin of safety.

Hazards are everywhere, and good cyclist’s will be quick to notice what’s going on all around them. Hazards can be anything from road debris, to sun glare, to other traffic. Sometimes one factor alone is hazardous and sometimes it takes several factors to produce trouble. Look for ways to break the crash chain of events. Sometimes removing just one factor prevents a crash, but continuously keeping the number of factors to a minimum is a good way to manage your risk.

What do you think of when asked, “What is a good cyclist?” Is it one who obeys the laws? Is it one who has superior riding skill? Is it a cyclist who can negotiate curves fast? Is it one who rides slow and anticipates hazards? Is it one who doesn’t crash?

Whatever your definition of a “good cyclist,”, a key element for a good rider would be to have the desire and motivation to choose to reduce risk while riding. It takes superior riding skill; and of course, a positive mental attitude helps. But a fundamental trait of all good riders is that they have a strategy, a way of thinking and planning to avoid trouble.

A good cyclist reduces factors that lead to problems by applying a STRATEGY. Responsible riding is more than just having good skill, and more than simply having a good attitude. It means thinking before acting. It means considering the consequences of actions. This is the mental preparation that helps to reduce risk.
All physical activities have an element of risk. It is important to recognize that risks can seldom be completely eliminated, but they can usually be managed or minimized. One of the surest ways to manage risk is to first be aware of the potential risks, and second to have a specific plan for minimizing the risks.

One way to think about your personal safety when you ride is to consider your personal margin of safety. This means to consider the “margin for error,” or how much extra time and space you need given your skill level.

SEE — a simple and powerful strategy — is to Search, Evaluate, Execute.

It is the strategy to help you understand what is going on in traffic and to be constantly planning and implementing a course of action. To SEE is to Search for factors that might lead to risky situations, to Evaluate how the factors might interact to create risk, and to Execute an action to maintain a margin of safety. To SEE is to ask yourself such questions as: What’s the other person going to do? What if that driver doesn’t see me? What if there’s gravel in that curve ahead? What if that car doesn’t yield the right-of-way at that intersection? These everyday riding situations have something in common: if a strategy for dealing with them isn’t employed, they can easily lead to a crash. To put it simply, you must continually SEE.

As you develop your riding skills, apply the SEE strategy to give yourself time and space. It works anywhere, and can help to ensure your safety and the safety of others.