LSAT 138 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Statistics reveal that more collisions between bicycles…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Bike lanes won’t make bicyclists safer.

REASONING: Most bike accidents happen on roads with bike lanes.

ANALYSIS: This argument ignores that bicyclists are more likely to be on roads with bike lanes.

It’s like arguing that crosswalks are useless, because most pedestrian accidents happen at crosswalks. That’s only true because most pedestrians cross at crosswalks. They’re still a safe place to cross.

It’s a confusion between numbers and likelihood – this is a common LSAT error. Most bike accidents happen on roads with bike lanes, but a bicyclist is less likely to have an accident if there is a bike lane.

___________

1. Seriousness of injury is relevant, but this answer suggests that injuries are as serious with bike lanes. It should have said less serious.
2. CORRECT. Yes. It makes sense that most bicyclists would travel where there are bike lanes.
3. The author didn’t even mention a road alteration that would enhance the safety of cyclists.
4. The author doesn’t distinguish any roads as being safe. He just makes a blanket statements about all roads with bike lanes.
5. This is a different error. It’s like saying: ‘we have no evidence that diet soda is dangerous, therefore it’s safe.’