How dangerous is cycling?

[dondare]

Well thats wrong for a start. Are you saying that only 130 of every 650,000 people are cyclists? Rubbish, there are many more cyclists in each 650,000 of the population, but that an additional 130 get killed through some cycling related event. Therefore those 130 people have effectively doubled their chance of dying. So the headline is "Cyclists risk of death is doubled!"

You'd never catch me doing it

Cyclists are reducing their risk of dying from other causes (heart attacks, for example, which are still Britain's biggest killer) more than they're increasing their risk of dying in a road accident. So cycling is less dangerous than not-cycling.

You'd never catch me not-cycling.

 

[dondare]

Life is dangerous. It has a 100% mortality rate. Better not live then...

No activity in life is risk-free. All activities carry a level of danger. The problem with cycling is that the perception of the level of danger cycling has, when viewed by non-cyclists in particular, is way over the top compared to the reality. Common sense is all very well, but common sense used to tell us that the earth is flat.

Also - remember this is a cycling forum. There's a higher level of cyclists here than in the general population. Add into this that this is a place where we can have a moan about the level of stupidity we face on the roads every day and know we're in a place where others understand and will sympathise. So the reporting of the bad stuff is 'concentrated' here, if you see what I mean.

In the great scheme of things, cycling is a remarkably safe thing to do. Yes, there are risks attached to it, but the risks are, in reality, quite low.

Don't get me started about the level of stupidity we face on the roads every day....

 

[Notsoblue]

Its pretty safe. Most people just have an issue getting used to sharing the road with cars, once you get used to it you realise its not as dangerous as it initially might seem.