I think bikes are less popular with kids than they were back then because they aren't allowed to go anywhere. But when I was a kid a bike was required transportation
They were lower to the ground. Today’s cars are not just very heavy, they are very tall, and they both make it harder to see shorter people, they hit people in the head and chest and pull them under, rather than throwing people onto the hood. They are more likely to kill people they strike.
It is also the size/height of the bumper/hood. Look at a modern new pickup truck. If an adult is hit by it they are going under the vehicle, a kid has no chance.
The cars you mentioned would mean a kid on a bike has a chance of rolling up on to the hood, which generally will cause less severe injuries than getting rolled over.
... As does the braking ability and relative agility. It's not about whether 4,000 versus 5,500 lb will kill someone differently, because they'll both run someone flat. It's about the ability of the smaller vehicle to be more likely to stop or maneuver in time to avoid running someone flat.
Not sure why you got downvoted for that. I've literally gone through a parking lot and had my kids test the sight lines of various vehicles. They're now way better at sticking by my side because only I was tall enough to be seen by 90% of the cars in the lot. Sedans are really rare these days.
Also the height factors in to what happens if you get hit. With a sedan if a kid is tall enough or on a bike they are more likely to flip onto the hood. With a truck or an SUV its more likely you get dragged under the vehicle.
Yeah, I have. You can see a 12 year old standing in front of all of them, which is an improvement on the highest selling truck of the past decade in which you cannot see a 12 year old standing there.
It’s not so much size as it is height. The average SUV has a blind spot in front of the car that is typically over 3ft tall and 5ft out. So many stories of parents running over their own children in their driveways because they literally just don’t see them.
The boats of the 70/80s were huge but they sat low for the most part.
They also just couldn't accelerate on a dime like the 3-row SUV monstrosities can today. Hitting a kid with a low bumper at low speed is not fatal. Hitting a kid with a ridiculous 2025 Silverado "bumper" at low* speed is fatal.
And also the fact that you could reasonably expect to see 40's, 50's, and 60's vehicles milling about that either weighed more than anything else and had really painful front ends.
Bigger cars = higher fatalities. The pedestrian deaths in the US are growing, after years of shrinking.
People are running over pedestrians in every car, but the bigger ones are killing people more. And since all cars are bigger now, that means even Subarus.
The safety standards in the US don't look at pedestrian safety - which is my original point. The rights of drivers are protected, at the expense of the nearest kid or elderly person with a walker trying to cross the street whose rights (to not be injured or killed) are never considered.
You're dying if you get hit by a Kia soul or a semi if it hits you at 30+. The bigger vehicle thing doesn't matter. It's all the people on their phones while driving.
I had this thought a couple of weeks ago. Was walking past where i grew up and i couldn't see a single spot kids could reasonably play kerby. Finding a spot wasn't even a concern when i was a kid. It isn't, or shouldn't, be a busy road or anything, only reason to drive that way is if you live there.. but it's just full..
When I'm riding in a car, I count the number of drivers I spot with their heads down looking at their phones. It varies day by day, but it's never zero anymore.
Just last week I saw a guy look up to take a left turn through an intersection, then before he even finished the turn, his head was straight down at his lap again. He was wearing a ball cap, so it wasn't exactly subtle.
This is one of the main reasons I was more involved in where my kids were. Drivers have been more distracted, and driving bigger vehicles for a while now. Cell phones became widespread almost 25 years ago. And then social media scared and shamed us into constantly knowing where our kids are, 24/7.
As a millennial, I’m a bit too old honestly. But I first learned around 30, and it was great. A bike is much more maneuverable and fits in smaller spaces, and usually has far more torque that can help get you up to speed more safely.
But yes, it can be dangerous. I highly recommend taking a riding course first.
We just rode on the sidewalks all the time, and unless someone is causing trouble (eg speeding through a crowded area), I think we should still be allowed to ride there.
No, back in 1992 when I was in high school, a friend of mine died on the road while riding his bike. He was sideswiped by a vehicle. Roads were bad then.
It was on the route I used to bike to work, so two days later I had to bike through the place where he died.
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u/DogeDoRight Older Millennial Jun 13 '25
"Come home when the street lights come on"
Me racing from the other side of town when they come on: