
The damage of a bike hitting a person is much lower, but that isn’t the only factor. I think there is a disconnect between whether a person on a pedal bike is a pedestrian or a road vehicle. I’ve seen people ride through crosswalks like a pedestrian even though they are technically supposed to dismount here if you’re on the sidewalk. It’s harder for a driver to anticipate a bike since they are generally going much faster than a pedestrian (not a great excuse for hitting one though). You can absolutely break the speed limit in a school zone on a bike and I’ve heard of people getting ticketed for it. On the other hand, I’ve seen people ride on bike lanes on the road act like idiots. I’ve quite a few people riding against the flow of traffic even though there is a clear arrow indicating which direction to ride. It wouldn’t hurt to have more people aware of the laws regarding commuting on bikes. On the other hand, a license could make it more difficult for the people that would normally rely on a bicycle as a form of transportation. Maybe it’s mainly a US thing?





The real question is how does pressure factor in? I don’t care what kind of preparations you make. If you end up at the bottom of the Mariana trench you won’t survive 30 seconds. You just go from biology to physics instantaneously.