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"Stan Craig dodged piles of leaves as he pedaled down the bike lane along H Street in Sacramento early Tuesday morning.He said new statistics revealed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration come as no surprise to him.\"I've seen drivers do stupid things. I've seen bicyclists do stupid stuff. I'm guilty myself,\" Craig said.NHTSA reported that an analysis of 2011 traffic deaths revealed that the number of bicycle deaths rose 8.7 percent.The jump in bicycle deaths comes even as the overall number of traffic fatalities dropped 1.9 percent.Craig said the sheer increase in bicycle commuters and bike lanes in Sacramento may be one explanation for the increase in deadly crashes.But, he added, bicyclist also make the same mistake as drivers who are behind the wheel.\"People in bikes just like in cars are running late, you're not paying attention, just ya know, whatever the things you do in a car -- a lot of times you do in a bike. I see people with headphones in. I see them texting,\" Craig said.He added, the difference is that there is less margin for error when on a bicycle.\"I mean, you have the brain bucket, but that doesn't do you any good until you are flying through the air headfirst,\" Craig said."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.kcra.com/article/bicycle-deaths-spike-upward-even-as-traffic-accidents-fall/6400832>