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Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

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Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#391

Post by Mawr »

7e wrote: post #107
nritchie wrote: post #13

As a bicyclist, I'm constantly told how dangerous bicycles are. Usually, I get a blank look when I explain, bicycles are very safe, it is the cars that are the dangerous part of the equation. Now I'll have to add fast billing ambulances to the list of dangers.

Many cyclists bike like raving a*holes, and it is dangerous, both for them and for cars which cannot predict how they will behave. I could imagine cases where the the car might swerve and hit something else besides the cyclist. So yes, bicycles can be dangerous to cars in a roundabout way.

I find drivers are often utterly shocked by the presence of a pedestrian at a pedestrian crossing as well as a cyclist at a cyclist crossing. Unpredictable!

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#392

Post by Mawr »

ggreer wrote: post #346
sottol wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, on the margins cycling is more dangerous in the USA . OTOH, I wouldn't be surprised if the physical exercise would reduce mortality enough to still be a net positive on the margins - biking to the bakery vs driving - but haven't verified that. Interesting tidbit from the report is that almost 50% of fatalities are in towns 100k. I would have guessed metro areas are more dangerous.

There is no country in which cycling is safer than driving. Even in the Netherlands, the fatality rate is 13 deaths per billion miles. For comparison, the Netherlands has 3 deaths per billion miles by car.

It's the other way around, overwhelmingly so:

"With 290 cyclist fatalities in 2022, cyclists were the largest group of road casualties." [1]

"Cycling prevents about 6500 deaths each year, and Dutch people have half-a-year-longer life expectancy because of cycling. These health benefits correspond to more than 3% of the Dutch gross domestic product. Our study confirmed that investments in bicycle-promoting policies (e.g., improved bicycle infrastructure and facilities) will likely yield a high cost–benefit ratio in the long term." [2]

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That's just the big picture though, I suspect your statistics are wrong directly as well. Cycling deaths are very skewed towards the elderly [3], so it appears that if you're under 50, cycling is statistically safer than driving, no matter how you look at it.

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[1]: https://english.kimnet.nl/publications/publications/2023/11/...

[2]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4504332/

[3]: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/0... (https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2024/03/06/cycling-safety...)

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#393

Post by bitcharmer »

mihaaly wrote: post #233
fy20 wrote: post #169

As a European, the fact that you have to pay for emergency transport in an ambulance is enough internet for today.

And they are proud of their low tax system, because high taxes kill businesses. Better people than businesses, right?! : / (Trump will bring the paradise with even lower corporate taxes for the common people voted for him)

You're absolutely right but this is HN so any criticisms of the great us of a will earn you a storm of down votes.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#394

Post by bitcharmer »

seba_dos1 wrote: post #365

This headline tells you which country this happened in without telling you which country this happened in.

The funniest thing is Americans really believe what they have is the best in the world. USA is third world country with a Gucci belt

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#395

Post by bitcharmer »

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #180
shiroiushi wrote: post #9

Only in America.

Rocky mountain west American here. Our local (non-air) ambulance company went out of business. The local city and county government were forced create a government ran service and everyone was upset they were doing it (people literally argued we should just have nothing at city/county meetings). Our new government system works so much better, is cheaper, and is actually thriving with us even getting new stations for…

[flagged]

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#396

Post by bitcharmer »

1-6 wrote: post #7
stefanos82 wrote: post #5

Why does this reminds me of the "Why would they do this" meme? Such things happen only in USA LOL!

The people in the USA are more open about sharing embarrassing situations. I think idiocy is a trait that appears worldwide.

[flagged]

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#397

Post by instig007 »

exe34 wrote: post #298
instig007 wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the cyclists still don't respect pedestrians and abuse their privilege and oftentimes cut them off on pavements and zebra crossings when they feel like it.

I've seen plenty of pedestrians just begging to get run over - no spatial awareness, just randomly dancing across the shared path or straying into the bike lane. I'm paranoid though and just assume hostile intentions. I slow down to walking speed or even just stop until I'm certain they're clued in.

I've seen plenty of cyclists just begging to get run over by cars or collide with pedestrians - no spatial awareness, just randomly chosing their way, without realising they use a higher risk vehicle, and that pedestrians have a natural right to higher priority on shared use paths and in crossings, by the virtue of using the most basic and harmless means of moving in space.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#398

Post by instig007 »

preisschild wrote: post #300
instig007 wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the cyclists still don't respect pedestrians and abuse their privilege and oftentimes cut them off on pavements and zebra crossings when they feel like it.

This happens when there is no bike lane. Cyclists take the pavement because the street is unsafe.

Cyclists shouldn't take the pavements whatever the reason, they operate a higher risk vehicles, and spreading those risks on pedestrians who didn't chose to pick a higher risk for the purpose of moving around is exactly the disrespectul attitude I mentioned in my original comment.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#399

Post by instig007 »

exe34 wrote: post #299
danielbarla wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For several years now I have commuted almost exclusively by biking and walking to & from work, and I can say that both the pedestrian and biker populations have a small but very noticeable number of idiots in them who just don't seem to care. On one long bridge here, pedestrians and bikes have dedicated roads, on the opposites sides. I regularly see bikers use the sidewalk side, and the same with pedestrians on the b…

I've been told to get off the pavement by a pedestrian while on a shared path with an actual sign up right in front of us both - I pointed at it and laughed at him.

Cyclists use a higher risk vehicle, pedestrians have a natural right to higher priority on shared use paths and in crossings, by the virtue of using the most harmless means of moving in space. That means giving way to pedestrians when they need it, keeping a safe distance, and not causing dangerous situations for them. If you think otherwise, by that same token you'll have to convince all the cyclists around you that cars overtaking cyclists on shared roads, or cutting them off on turns is a fine attitude as well.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#400

Post by instig007 »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #285
instig007 wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the cyclists still don't respect pedestrians and abuse their privilege and oftentimes cut them off on pavements and zebra crossings when they feel like it.

I would still bet way more pedestrians are killed or injured by car drivers than bicyclists.

It's a weird context for the bet. What's your point on cyclists not respecting pedestrians even though when they've got more bike lanes? I bet their attitude hasn't changed with the grown number of dedicated lanes. Are you arguing that as long as pedestrians are not being killed at the same rate, being disrespectful to them and causing danger by another kind of a higher risk vehicle is fine?
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