Disproving a myth that cycling in London is dangerous

[jdtate101]

Cycling in Birmingham is not dangerous really. I've never cycled in London, so can't comment as to a comparison, but I have never felt scared at all. I do cycle mostly outside of the centre where there is less traffic and the countryside is only ever 15mins ride from anywhere in the city. We don't have a lot of dedicated infrastructure at the moment, but hopefully that will change with the recent grant. What we do have a lot of is canals with towpaths and they are very popular for commuters, but they are very weather dependant, as they are mostly unpaved and can get REALLY muddy.

 

[jefmcg]

Boris, as in him of the Boris bikes and TFL must have some stats bearing in mind they are the ones trying to promote cycling in London.

Don't ask boris, he just makes things up

http://www.theguardian.com/environm...ris-johnson-cycling-accident-statistics-wrong

 

[Twelve Spokes]

Blimey I wish I had no incidents in three years,I must be a bad cyclist.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Used a folder from Euston to Chancery Lane and latterly to Westminster, plus inter office trips, since 1999. One minor contact with a car and one with a ped who looked left and stepped out in fron of me. No injury in either event.

Rode once across wet steel plate surface on car park near home last summer and flipped bike. Broke collar bone and neck of left femur.

Surgery and 6 weeks on crutches.

My riding in London is safe but YMMV

 

[Glow worm]

I too really enjoy cycling in London, (although it's pretty rare for me these days). The low average traffic speed possibly helps and I don't find drivers there any worse or better than elsewhere. I certainly don't feel in any more danger than I do on some of the NSL roads around here. You can't beat a blissful loop of Regent's Park after battling your way along the Euston Road from King's Cross station. Even if you don't enjoy it, anything has to be better than the underground and I sometimes think of the poor sardines sods below me as I whizz along on my fold up

 

[StuartG]

Sorry Stuart, I thought this was a forum to chat about cycling...

Indeed - I was just making the point that any form of transport has dangers. That more people may die other ways but it is cycling that is as disproportionately dangerous. And it is the perceived danger that is a major impediment to people taking up cycling. We are in a conundrum (or being two faced) in downplaying this danger to people around us but uplaying the danger to those who are causing most of the grief. Or to be more precise lorries in the construction trade ...

 

[Little My]

Blimey I wish I had no incidents in three years,I must be a bad cyclist.

Lol, or you need to be a female on a folding bike - I think women are being given more slack, as they are seen as more vulnerable, slower or inept.
I was quite lucky as to begin with I used to commute to either to Twickenham ( most of the way was through Richmond Park) or to Wimbledon (going through the common) so I had the perfect opportunity to build up my confidence slowly and to grow more comfortable in busy traffic. At the same time I came across some excellent road safety advice on London Cyclist blog and started watching Gaz's Silly Cyclists series - so was careful not to pick up other cyclists' bad habits (jumping reds, or undertaking lorries). I'm also quite lucky now as to get to my new job I ride through Hyde Park.
The first time I rode all the way from mine to my boyfriend it Beckenham (12 miles one way through the delightful Mitcham and Croydon) it felt like a huge achievement - I was pleased as a punch , so now my 9 mile commute feels like a doddle in comparison.

 

[Little My]

I ride regularly in London and the Sticks.

I love London for the slow traffic speed and the amusing cut-and-thrust at junctions like HPC.

It can get a little Harum-Scarum, but always significantly more mellow than a rural NSL A-Road.

Your commute sounds fun! Your colleagues are right to be impressed. It is quite a cool thing to do and you will love it more and more.

Thank you It's great fun and I find it so relaxing and invigorating at the same time. I didn't realise I was quite so competitive - I ride safely, but anybody slower or another female are fair game (it's a matter of pride for my little folder to leave the wheelbarrow hybrids for dust ). I love riding through Hyde Park - all this lovely green space and for the last three days they had some sort of triathlon happening there, so it was great fun seeing the pros trying their hardest.

 

[SomethingLikeThat]

Drivers in London are much more used to seeing cyclists. From what I've seen sometimes there can be more cyclists than any other road user. Lots of other cities in the UK are nowhere near as popular for cycling. In addition the speeds are often higher than in London - riding round Nottingham, Derby and Leicester on several occasions there are many roads that are very scary to ride on because there is no cycling provision, and unlike London traffic moves much faster.

 

[Twelve Spokes]

Drivers in London are much more used to seeing cyclists. From what I've seen sometimes there can be more cyclists than any other road user. Lots of other cities in the UK are nowhere near as popular for cycling. In addition the speeds are often higher than in London - riding round Nottingham, Derby and Leicester on several occasions there are many roads that are very scary to ride on because there is no cycling provision, and unlike London traffic moves much faster.

I had very little problem cycling in Bangkok and Tokyo and I saw very few cyclists.Granted in Bangkok they mostly use mopeds as two wheel transport.Also Chiang Mai was no problem either.

 

[4F]

The countryside is only dangerous when townies come and ride here :>)

 

[Twelve Spokes]

I can't handle some knob boy racer at Stratford pulling out on me without looking.

 

[Davidsw8]

Indeed - I was just making the point that any form of transport has dangers. That more people may die other ways but it is cycling that is as disproportionately dangerous. And it is the perceived danger that is a major impediment to people taking up cycling. We are in a conundrum (or being two faced) in downplaying this danger to people around us but uplaying the danger to those who are causing most of the grief. Or to be more precise lorries in the construction trade ...

I agree that perception of danger is worse than the actual danger, i.e. I'm sure that I 'feel' more in danger cycling through London than I am actually in. This perception is supported by the fact that I, as a cyclist, am probably the most vulnerable of all road users but it's also due to some of the dangerous and illegal driving/cycling I see go on around me. The reckless nature of some folk on the road scares me at times... I don't know if they're being stupid, impatient or just plain selfish but I the vast majority of accidents could be avoided if people simply complied with the Highway Code and gave some thought to how their actions may impact others.

For my part, I never run a red light, I only go on one stretch of pavement en route (when it's totally empty of peds so I can avoid knackering my bike on this one bit of very bad road) and I feel that I'm considerate to other road users. Of course, I make errors of judgement but I'd never do something to put someone else in jeopardy just so I can get ahead...

 

[StuartG]

One tends to act more safely when you feel at risk. If motorists felt as vulnerable as us - then fewer of them would kill each other. Not sure I'd go all the way to the spike though ...

 

[Davidsw8]

One tends to act more safely when you feel at risk. If motorists felt as vulnerable as us - then fewer of them would kill each other. Not sure I'd go all the way to the spike though ...

Very interesting point. Complacency would definitely lead to a greater likelihood of an accident. But then again, I'd enjoy my commute so much more if I 'felt' safer. It's a bit of a double-edged sword really.

I definitely agree that the bigger the vehicle you have around you, makes you feel safer. A lot of motorists do cycle though so it's funny that the appreciation of vulnerability seems to disappear when you get in a vehicle...