🚀 go-pugleaf

Joseph Lovell  <subdjoe@sonic.net> wrote:
>> The notion introduced that bicycles have any real expense to the state
>> of CA is far more ludicrous than Perata's latest attack on gun rights.
>> Motor vehicles dominate the scene.

>US govt. figures show over 400k bicycle injuries/deaths per year.  If we
>assume that about 15% of those are in CA (since CA has about 15% of the
>population) then we have over 60k deaths/injuries by bicycles in CA
>every year.  Are you saying that all of those are covered by insurance
>and place no financial burden on ERs and trauma centers?  How many of

Cite your agency please, when giving 'gov statistics.'  I learned long ago
that both sides of the gun wars tend towards outlandish use of numbers.
Your lumping together 1000 deaths with a claimed 399k accidents is on par
with the use adult age victims in child shooting death numbers.

Or like you even talking about cycling accidents at all.  What exactly is
your point?  You don't need to make misleading statements to talk about
the problems with Perata's legislation.  Don't fight bullshit with more
of the same.  

I'm telling you that cyclists have the same sorts of insurance issues
as any other class of accident victims, nontheless their numbers are
significantly smaller.   

>those injured suffer head/spine injuries that take months of
>hospitalization for recovery?  How many of those injured are children
>who will require round the clock care for the rest of their lives
>because of brain stem injuries?  

You tell us - it's your fantasy. 

And as I alluded to previously, if you want to attempt to put a price
on cycling to society, you have to evaluate the benefits of healthier
citizens as well.  

Just as when one attempts to measure the cost of gun related violence on
society one must also at least pretend to consider the social benefits
of citizens that can defend themselves, as well as of the crimes not
committed by criminals afraid of getting shot.  

To be totally clear for you, since you might be a participant of 
t.p.g, I'm not a fan of Perata.  But nor am I a fan of gun nuts who
make uneducated claims in an attempt to 'help' our cause with the
same quality of facts prepared by HCI.  
-- 
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com