Roads 'too dangerous' for cyclists BBC poll suggests

[Rooster1]

Just what we need to read today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28093374

BBC News reports...

Half of British adults believe their local roads are too dangerous to cycle on, a BBC poll has suggested.

The Tour de France, the world's biggest annual sporting event, starts in Leeds on Saturday and will take in Harrogate, York, Sheffield,Cambridge and London.

But cycling campaigner Martin Lucas-Smith said "people felt unsafe to cycle" in many UK places.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it had "doubled funding for cycling to £374m to help deliver safer junctions".

Mr Lucas-Smith from the Cambridge Cycling Campaign, added "things like narrow cycle lanes" and "badly maintained roads" led to cyclists feeling unsafe.

"We'd like to see proper allocation of space on these roads which can almost always be achieved simply by a bit of redesign, so people can cycle safely and easily."

 

[GrasB]

I wish the CCC would stop using 'dangerous roads' type phrasings they've done more to promote the abandonment of cycling by incoming post-docs within the department I work for than anything motorists & the council have managed to do

 

[martint235]

It's not really the BBC's fault if that's how people feel.

 

[Markymark]

Based on what people who don't cycle say to me, I'd say the report is more positive than I'd imagined.

 

[Fab Foodie]

It's not really the BBC's fault if that's how people feel.

This.
Look at it this way, it's actually good news, it could be just what's needed to make neigbourhood streets, busy junctions and town centres a better and safer place for cyclists. Crap farcilities might be sorted, roads surfaced, traffic calmed.
There's no getting away from the fact that fear is a major barrier to utility cycling. The cognicenti here understand that the fear is mostly irrational, but humans don't do rational thought very well.

 

[Dmcd33]

Most people always comment to me how they would love to cycle, but the don't feel safe enough. Irronically, one of my team has had three accidents in her car over the past 6months, but the perception is that it's safer? Like I always say, It's all about perception!

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Most people always comment to me how they would love to cycle, but the don't feel safe enough. Irronically, one of my team has had three accidents in her car over the past 6months, but the perception is that it's safer? Like I always say, It's all about perception!

For her, it might be :-) my 19 year olds car record is one of my main arguments for them not getting a motorbike. That and the way they ride their singlespeed.

 

[Rooster1]

I have a dream where roads and junctions give equal priority to cyclists, and are free from potholes and unsafe junctions and where vehicles give space and patience to cyclists.

In the mean time, I will carry on riding every day, as I do (except when it is raining really hard which sucks)

 

[Glow worm]

Surprisingly balanced discussion on this now on radio Norfolk (so far anyway)

Edit- spoke too soon- "why don't they use cycle lanes" grrrrr

Local telly programme Look East
will be covering the survey at 6-30 tonight apparently. (Sky channel 961).

 

[MacB]

Most people always comment to me how they would love to cycle, but the don't feel safe enough. Irronically, one of my team has had three accidents in her car over the past 6months, but the perception is that it's safer? Like I always say, It's all about perception!

You hear that a lot but I often feel it's just something people say as an excuse, remove their safety fears and they still wouldn't cycle.

 

[Markymark]

...as was told to me by my FIL - "...in a car you have a big metal box to protect you."

 

[w00hoo_kent]

You hear that a lot but I often feel it's just something people say as an excuse, remove their safety fears and they still wouldn't cycle.

I'd agree with that, they'd just find another reason it's 'not for them'. It would be interesting to know the percentage that actually cycled to any degree who were answering the questions. I mean, I'd happily tell you what I think about the sex lives of airplane pilots.I don't know anything about it, but I occasionally see airplanes flying past. That makes my opinion of high value, right?

Of course, the reality is some editor somewhere (paper, TV or radio) is walking around saying "it's that French cycle thing in a week and it's in Yorkshire so we need to do features on push bikes. Anyone know anything about them at all?" And he's talking to a load of journos so the answer is mostly 'no'.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Good input from Chris Boardman on the Toady prog this morning.

 

[Fab Foodie]

You hear that a lot but I often feel it's just something people say as an excuse, remove their safety fears and they still wouldn't cycle.

That's certainly true for some but by no means all. From our Freewheeling club perspective what we've found is that there are plenty of people (particularly women) who find cycling alone scary and intimidating but love cycling in the safety of a group/others. As their confidence grows (or their perception of fear diminishes) they are more likely to become regular cyclists.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Anna notherthing ....

The other thing that makes the streets safer for cycling ... is more cyclists. Obvious maybe, but here's the thing, if we all worked on helping cajolling just one extra person to get their bike out and help them to join the 2 wheeled revolution we'd all be better off. So find and start helping that person today!

http://road.cc/content/news/121962-awesome-stickers-update-they-sold-out-more-way-plus-get-free-ones