Cycling is safe.
Contrary to what you might hear. Unfortunately cycling has had a bad press of late, but not all cyclists jump red lights or cycle on pavements!
Just look at the number of people who cycle these days and how low the accident rates are. In cities like Copenhagen, for example, the number of people being injured each year is dropping year on year. The more people cycle, the safer it becomes!
"We use to have 120 cyclist killed in Copenhagen 12 years ago, now we have 12-15"
That's achieved through changing the road layout, sensible cycle lane design and people's attitudes to cycling.
See this video, Contested Streets - Copenhagen, about cycling in Copenhagen. After 30 years of city planning with cyclists in mind, they have made the roads safer and easier to use for the cyclist.
Think about the amount of miles that people cycle every day compared to how many that are hurt cycling.
"In fact, a bicycle user is seriously injured only once every 500,000 cycling kilometers - and a cycling death occurs only once every 17 million kilometers."
University of Birmingham, BIKE for your LIFE study.
With a little planning and will power from everyone any city in the world can become a great place to cycle in. Let's face the facts: most of our journeys could easily be done on bike. We don't need to drag out 2 tonnes of metal when going for a pint of milk.
And you can also help buy doing things yourself e.g. take some cycle training with any of the providers who does Bikeability. Honestly it does help I was sure that I was the "bees knees" before I became a Accredited Cycling Instructor. But I soon saw that I had learned many bad habits over the years, which didn't help me to keep safe on my daily commute.
Bicycleslut (even if the name scares you the site and article is quite harmless :) ) writes a brilliant article, I ride wide, about why you should be more assertively and take your space on the roads.
It is simply down to the 3 C's, remember them boys and girls ... 'To see;, To be seen' and Communicate. If you are in a position where you can see and can be seen and above all tell other road users where you are going, is probably the best road safety advice I can give to any cyclist.
Just look at the number of people who cycle these days and how low the accident rates are. In cities like Copenhagen, for example, the number of people being injured each year is dropping year on year. The more people cycle, the safer it becomes!
"We use to have 120 cyclist killed in Copenhagen 12 years ago, now we have 12-15"
That's achieved through changing the road layout, sensible cycle lane design and people's attitudes to cycling.
See this video, Contested Streets - Copenhagen, about cycling in Copenhagen. After 30 years of city planning with cyclists in mind, they have made the roads safer and easier to use for the cyclist.
Think about the amount of miles that people cycle every day compared to how many that are hurt cycling.
"In fact, a bicycle user is seriously injured only once every 500,000 cycling kilometers - and a cycling death occurs only once every 17 million kilometers."
University of Birmingham, BIKE for your LIFE study.
With a little planning and will power from everyone any city in the world can become a great place to cycle in. Let's face the facts: most of our journeys could easily be done on bike. We don't need to drag out 2 tonnes of metal when going for a pint of milk.
And you can also help buy doing things yourself e.g. take some cycle training with any of the providers who does Bikeability. Honestly it does help I was sure that I was the "bees knees" before I became a Accredited Cycling Instructor. But I soon saw that I had learned many bad habits over the years, which didn't help me to keep safe on my daily commute.
Bicycleslut (even if the name scares you the site and article is quite harmless :) ) writes a brilliant article, I ride wide, about why you should be more assertively and take your space on the roads.
It is simply down to the 3 C's, remember them boys and girls ... 'To see;, To be seen' and Communicate. If you are in a position where you can see and can be seen and above all tell other road users where you are going, is probably the best road safety advice I can give to any cyclist.
Labels: city cycling, cycle training, Cycling
posted by woollypigs at
17:26
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