Your cycling fallacy is…
“It’s unsafe to cycle and we shouldn’t promote it”
The response
Cycling is not an intrinsically dangerous mode of transport.
Danger comes mostly in the form of motor vehicles, particularly those travelling at higher speeds, and those of larger mass. That is why it is essential that good road design should separate cycling from faster motor traffic, and also from heavier vehicles like buses and HGVs. Where encounters do have to occur, they should be as limited as possible, and at slow speeds.
Even in countries with poor cycling conditions, the benefits of cycling outweigh the risks, but well-designed streets and roads also make cycling feel like a safe activity, as many studies have found that sharing space with motor vehicles on busy roads is an intimidating and scary experience for most people.
More journeys made by cycling would benefit everyone in society, through reduced pollution and an improvement in public health.
Vauxhall Bridge, London
A new cycleway in London, opened in 2015
Photo by As Easy as Riding a Bike (Copyright, used with permission)
Further reading
- Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? — PubMed Central
- Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study — BMJ
- Cycling Safe and Sound — Delft University of Technology
- Healthy Streets for London — Greater London Authority
- Bike lanes are a sound public health investment — Reuters
- How cycling to work could save thousands of lives a year — CBC (Canada)
- Is urban cycling worth the risk? — Financial Times
- Yes, ditching the car for your commute to work improves well-being — MinnPost
- Cycling to work can cut cancer and heart disease, says study — BBC
- British study finds commuting by bike can cut heart disease and cancer — Tree Hugger
- Active and safe travel — The King's Fund
- Not Dangerous — As Easy as Riding a Bike
- World's safest roads — A View From The Cycle Path
- Cycling and trucks, the Dutch way — BicycleDutch
- Rethinking Safety, by Marjut Ollitervo @cyclite — Kaupunkifillari
Suomi
Čeština
- Jízda na kole, bezpečnost a zdraví — Centrum dopravního výzkumu
- Pozitivní dopady cyklistiky na lidské zdraví — CykloNovinky.cz
- Bezpečnost cyklistů - konečně jiný pohled — Dobrá města
- Pražské nehody cyklistů 2020: noví cyklisté nezvýšili podíl zavinění — Městem na kole
Русский
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