Nine Ways Bikes are Superior to Cars
1. Healthier
a) Relieves pre-existing stress
b) Avoids traffic stress
c) Enhances energy
d) Improves fitness
e) If overweight, subtracts pounds - if underweight, adds pounds
f) Traffic kills four times as many people as wars: 1.26 million people a year (2002) ~ W.H. O. report, 5/03.
g) And how many traumatic injuries? multiply 1.26 million by 5? 10? 20?
2. Environmentally smarter
a) Reduces pollution (especially on short trips - 3-fold)
b) Reduces environmental impact of auto manufacture and infrastructure
c) Frees up parking space (10 bikes = 1 car)
3. More efficient
a) Multi-task workout and transport
b) Avoid traffic delays
c) Door-to-door access
d) Faster than a car for short trips (<3 miles)
e) Mechanically, far more (100x?) efficient
f) For commuters, improves job-performance (according to studies: improved alertness and concentration, and fewer missed days)
4. More thrifty
a) Cheaper to buy
b) Cheaper to maintain (average: $250/year vs. $4,000/year)
c) Saves on parking and tickets
d) Reduces public subsidization of auto infrastructure
5. More patriotic
a) Reduces dependence on foreign oil and parts manufacture
6. More conducive to community
a) More engaged with one's neighbors
b) More personal interaction
7. More spiritual
a) More time to think, and to be alone with oneself and one's environment
8. More fun and exhilarating
a) No elaboration necessary
9. http://todd.cleverchimp.com/blog/coincidence.png
The above section was adapted from an article on bike-commuting by Jenna Kyser in the May '02 issue of Oregon Cycling.
stats
The public subsidy of car culture is equivalent to a $9/gallon. - Jenna Kyser
14% of North and Northeast Portland residents have asthma because of proximity to freeways. - Portland Tribune
More Northwesterners are killed by cars than gun-shot wounds. - Rex Burkholder in BTA newsletter.
Cars kill an average of 14 pedestrians every day nation wide. - Thunderhead Alliance newsletter.
600,000 are killed every year by road traffic. 50 million sustain serious injuries. - World Health Organization 2002.
Motor vehicles are the leading cause of death for children under 18 in the U.S. -- W. H. O.
In the 1890s in lower Manhattan, there were 80 bike shops within a one-mile radius, and...
In Washington D.C., there were two patent buildings - one for bicycles, one for everything else.
from mickey z website:
From '50 to '70 the number of autos increased at 4 times the rate of human population
8 billion hours per year people are stuck in traffic jams
250 million u.s. motor casualties on 20th century
121 u.s. deaths per day
1 million animals per week roadkill
200 million dollars per day spent on road maintenance
464 billion dollars per year spent on car culture
there are now 1 billion unrecycled tires
