Bicyclist oozes beer, not blood, after crash in Madison

A bicyclist who veered into the path of a Madison Metro bus on Friday had a blood-alcohol level of 0.26 and leaked beer onto the street, according to a story posted on the Capital Times web site.

"One witness at first thought the man was bleeding from the chest after seeing liquid shooting out from that area of the body, but later realized it was beer, not blood, squirting from cans inside his jacket," police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a news release.

That somewhat humorous description of events reminded me of the not-so funny facts about alcohol and crashes involving bicylists.

Roughly 24% of the 630 cyclists killed in roadway collisions in 2009 had blood-alcohol levels of 0.08 or higher, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alcohol was a factor in 40% of the fatalities, when the motorists are factored into the numbers.

In 33% of the crashes, either the motorist or the bicyclist had a blood-alcohol level high enough to be intoxicated, according to the standard of 0.08.