As someone who cycled to work (in combination with rail) for much of my working life I have to agree with the research that using a bike for your everyday journeys helps you feel good ("How cycling to work gives you an edge", The Herald, October 21).
Unfortunately, many people are deterred because they feel unsafe. Much of the blame for this can be placed on messages from government, media and the manufacturers of "safety" equipment which make cycling look and feel really dangerous.
The truth is far more mixed than those simplistic messages. If you use your bike only for trips on local minor urban roads, for example to the shops, to work, or to visit friends, your risk of death per kilometre is less than one-20th that of someone cycling on a rural "A" road. Indeed, remarkably, you are safer than the average Danish or Dutch all-areas cyclist. In general, and of course there are exceptions, "A" roads are far more dangerous places to be than lesser roads in terms of deaths or serious injuries per kilometre. Rural roads (both major and minor) are more dangerous than the equivalent urban roads for deaths, though fairly similar for injuries. The figures can be found by googling RAS30018.
If the Government genuinely wants more people to travel by bike, whilst at the same time reducing casualties, it should stop pretending that all cycling is dangerous and should start to deal with the situations where danger is real.
Main roads in cities provide direct routes from A to B, generally at good gradients, and therefore many people will cycle on them. But, as the figures show, they are the main urban danger areas. They need high-quality cycling infrastructure, physically segregated where possible.
Rural roads are more costly to tackle because of longer distances and lower density of cycle use. However, solutions such as strict liability, average-speed cameras and the tackling of blackspots would reduce casualties to all categories of road user.
Meanwhile, safety campaigns which concentrate solely on the cyclist protecting themselves are quite possibly doing more harm than good.
The emphasis on danger and on the need to dress up means that many people don't dare use a bike at all - not even to pop out to the local shops. Others will take the intended message and, unfortunately, will feel that they are sufficiently safe on any road if dressed up suitably. It is appalling and frightening that motorists and cyclists are not warned in safety messages from government and other agencies that cycle helmets are designed for a crash at closing speeds of only up to around 12mph.
It is high time that government and the road safety industry accepted what is happening in the real world and addressed the real issues - both in terms of infrastructure and in the messages they are giving to the public.
Dave du Feu,
2 Greenpark Cottages,
Linlithgow.
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