And the answers are, according to the National Safety Council[i]

  

#1 = basketball, 690,000 ER visits per year

#2 = bicycling, 590,000

#3 = beds: 400,000

#4 = chairs & sofas, 390,000

#5 = carpets & rugs, 125,000

 

So the bad news is: yes, your bike is probably more dangerous than your house if you live in a  house with no carpets or furniture.  But if your house has a carpet and furniture, watch out!  And we won't even talk about stairs and floors, which cause over 2 million ER visits per year.

 

The serious lesson here is this: America is a big country.  All numbers are big.  Yes, bicycling's 590,000 ER visits per year sounds like a lot - but if beds cause almost as many injuries as bikes, can we really say bikes are dangerous?



[i]. National Safety Council, Accident Facts, 1997 Edition