My artifact ~ yellow bicycle ~

 

　My artifact is bicycle.It is about 1 meter 20 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters high.There are various types of bicycles, some with baskets, some with electric assist, etc. My bicycle is very light and weighs about the same as a three-year-old child, and the handlebars are shaped differently from those of a regular bicycle.I started using it in my sophomore year of high school.

　It was bought for me by my grandmother when I was a sophomore in high school. I used it to get to and from school almost every day. I also rode it to the mountains and went fishing in it, including a river 20 kilometers away. After moving to Niigata, I used it to get to and from college and spent a lot of time riding it to and from shopping with friends and cycling to Sekiya beach. I think I traveled more than 700 kilometers on it. But the artifact that was so essential to my life has been destroyed!!

　It happened suddenly when I was riding my bicycle as usual. What happened was that I was crossing a pedestrian crossing when I was hit by a car with my bicycle. I had no idea what had happened. As I was crossing the pedestrian crossing, a car was speeding towards me and I thought I was in danger, but the next moment I fell down a few meters away from the car with my bicycle. I could not get up immediately, but fortunately I was able to stand up after a short time without serious injury. In the meantime, the car that ran over me stopped and a person got out of the car and called out to me.

　The driver of the car got out and asked me, "Are you okay? Do you look okay? I was confused, but I did not know what had happened.

　However, I was confused and didn't know what had happened, so I replied, "I don't know.

　The person replied, "You don't seem to be hurt, and your bicycle looks fine," got into his car, and drove away.

　I thought that the bicycle might have taken my place in the accident, as I only suffered a scratch, although my precious bicycle was broken.

　I wondered how many accidents involving bicycles occur in Japan, and how many bicycles are used as a means of transportation in the rest of the world. I also looked into how many people in the world use bicycles as a means of transportation.

　First of all, there were approximately 68,000 bicycle accidents in Japan in 2020, accounting for about 20% of all traffic accidents. In addition, of the number of fatalities and injuries while riding a bicycle, those under 20 years old account for 27% and the elderly for 20%, with these two age groups accounting for almost the majority. These indicate that young people are more likely to be involved in accidents and become casualties due to various things, such as using a smartphone while riding a bicycle. In other words, it is important for the elderly and young people in particular to be careful when riding bicycles, to turn on the light at night, and to reduce the number of things that can cause accidents, such as not using a smartphone while riding.

　The other is about bicycle penetration.Japan has a very high bicycle penetration rate of 68 bicycles per 100 inhabitants, ranking sixth in the world. The highest bicycle penetration rate in the world is found in the Netherlands, with 109 bicycles per 100 people, by far the highest rate in the world. With today's emphasis on reducing CO2 emissions, bicycles, which do not emit CO2, are likely to attract even more attention as a means of transportation in the future.

Reference List

1. https://www.sonpo.or.jp/about/useful/jitensya/stats.htmlLinks to an external site.

2.図録▽自転車普及台数の国際比較 (sakura.ne.jp)