Why people are put off cycling on the road

Published by Matt Polaine | Filed under Bicycle, Cycling

I came across this GMTV article today. GMTV researchers ‘found out’ why many people are being put off riding a bike on the road. It was revealed that some people are being put off from taking to the roads on a bike through fear of traffic. Holy cow! Really? I would never have guessed. I mean, that driver that skidded on an icy road in Wales early this year and killed 4 cyclists and badly injuring a number of others in the process was just a one off, right?

Clearly many people (including me, and I cycle on the roads a lot) think otherwise…

As many as 47% of people never cycle and a further 17% only use cycle paths and trails away from roads, a survey by road safety charity Brake and breakdown service Green Flag found. So that’s 64% of the population in the UK that don’t ride on the UK roads. Quite an achievement by successive British governments.

Of those not taking to the roads…

• 17% said they shunned roads mainly because they were dangerous.
• 19% included danger as one of the reasons for not cycling on roads.
• 35% of all those surveyed said they would choose to ride a bike on cycle paths and trails if those routes connected their home to local amenities.

The survey follows recent Government figures showing that 2,420 cyclists were killed or seriously injured on British roads in 2006. Bicycle use is decreasing, with the average number of cycle trips made per person per year falling from an average of 18 from 1995 - 1997 to just 14 in 2005.

Car instead of bike Every year, statistics show that more and more young people, to the detriment of their health and well-being, are being driven to school. Jools Townsend, head of education at Brake, said:

“It’s terrible that so many people are afraid to get on a bicycle because of fear of traffic, and worse their fears are justified. Too many people try to cocoon themselves and their families in cars, leading to more vehicles on our roads and an even greater threat to pedestrians and cyclists.”

“Choosing cycling and walking over the car is good for your health and the environment, so we should be encouraging it. But people won’t be persuaded to get on their bikes - quite rightly - unless they can do so without putting their lives in danger.”

“It’s time the Government put some serious investment into the National Cycle Network and other measures to enable people to walk and cycle safely.”