This paper explores bicycle safety and bicycle use behaviour in Amsterdam, Paris, and Boston. The context for understanding this behaviour is provided by population-adjusted bicycle and passenger fatality rates in The Netherlands, France, and the United States. Observation data regarding the use of lights at night and helmet use are also discussed. Boston has the fewest bicycles per hour (55), Paris is next (74), and Amsterdam has the highest, at 242 cyclists per hour. Only 0.1% of Amsterdam cyclists wore bicycle helmets, 2.4% of cyclists in Paris wore bicycle helmets, and 32% of Boston cyclists wore bicycle helmets. On the other hand, Paris cyclists were much more likely to use lights at night (45.2%) than Boston cyclists (15.6%) or cyclists in Amsterdam (7.6%). The Netherlands seems to have a dramatically lower fatality rate for people in passenger cars and for the combined group of cyclists and passenger car occupants than the other two localities studied. The Netherlands seems to have a more effective transportation safety policy than either France or the United States.
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