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Smartphones are the biggest danger to a cyclist

by bernt & torsten

This morning someone sent me a link to the video I’m showing on this page, watch it – what if that tree, in the end, is a cyclist. A few years back I wrote an article 10 Dangers being a cyclist for a cycling newsletter in Toronto.

In that article I list Trucks and Buses at the top, based on my cycling commutes in Toronto, Canada. I think it is still valid observation that trucks and buses due to their size are a danger. After watching the video, I started thinking about what I had seen in the video while cycling to work. What if smartphones are the biggest risk, it does not matter what type of vehicle people are using, having a smartphone will make anyone a high-risk driver.

Not only vehicle drivers, I currently live in Amsterdam with dedicated bike lanes, but I have also had a few run-ins with other cyclists, while they were pre-occupied with their smartphone, changing a tune or talking to someone, they do not pay attention to what is around them.

So with that new fact, I would say the smartphone is the biggest risk to cyclists.