> This is absurd. It makes me really doubt if you have any understanding of physics.
You are looking at the problem from the wrong angle.
Weight is not the issue.
How about this: would you prefer to be hit full force in the face with a pillow weighting 1Kg or with a bar of steel weighting the same 1Kg?
Or maybe you would prefer to be hit with a metal ruler weighting less than 100 grams.
Sounds better than 1Kg, doesn't it?
I don't know you, but I would choose the pillow any time.
I might be wrong, but I think that density is discussed in physics too.
The point is not that a bike runs as fast as a bullet, but that a bike is basically a bar of very hard, very dense, very rigid, indeformable stuff (metal and/or composite materials) like a bullet, while a car is made in a way that in case of impact its deformable body absorbs a good chunk of the kinetic energy.
The same way being hit with a piece of metal embedded in a pillow causes less harm than being hit by the naked piece of metal, even though the weight of the pillow + metal bar is higher than the metal bar alone.
TBH a car is a very heavy pillow, running too fast too often, but looking at just 15 years ago cars have gone a very long way towards safety, bikes haven't, they have in fact gained a brand new clean and green engine, becoming much heavier, much faster and much more dangerous.
The bicycle is also more dangerous for the occupant, it's irrelevant what the biker hits, could be a wall, a car, a bus, another person, the person riding the bike will be projected forward at the same speed she was riding, no way to stop it, no safety mechanism.
That's why in the Netherlands are worried about "fewer road fatalities but more serious bike accidents" and are thinking about making it mandatory to wear an helmet when riding a bike.
I'm quite sure the problem is speed.
Specifically they state that
- the number of motorcyclists or moped drivers who died following an accident increased by 24 victims to 101 last year
- While the overall number of road fatalities has reached a seven-year low, number of cyclists seriously injured in accidents continues to rise, data released by Dutch safety organisation SafetyNL reveals that the number of cyclists seriously injured in road accidents has increased by a third over the past 10 years likely as a result of the rise in popularity of the e-bike. (too fast, maybe?)
When we talk about safety, rising numbers are always a net negative, no matter the reason why. Cars are getting safer, bikes are getting less safe over time.
Bikes are not for everybody, I think not everyone should drive a car, but slower, lighter, smaller, mostly made of derformable plastic city cars will have a major impact on urban transportation, while bikes will not.
Let's talk about it in 5 years, I bet I won't be proved wrong.
maybe a video made by someone "addicted to cycling and coffee", living in a very bike friendly Country, will give you some more perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3s2gVxLN9Q