How Many More?

Woke this morning to the news that a 64 year old man had been killed riding a cycle on the A18 in North Lincolnshire, after a collision with an articulated lorry. Another life lost on Britain’s roads, someone else riding a bicycle on a main road The chances of these accident's happening are much reduced in Holland because alongside roads connecting major towns and cities, there is a segregated cycle way that thousands of people use everyday, safely. The number of journeys made on a bicycle is much higher in Holland than the UK yet safety rates are much higher, even though hardly anyone wears a helmet.

Some cyclists believe that we need segregation, instead we should have a combination of better cycle training, driver education, and helmets, fluorescent lycra, and the ability ride like motor vehicle i.e. be able to "command" the lane by being able to accelerate to 20 mph and "drive" their cycle in the way a car would among heavy, fast traffic. Well, that's their choice (and cyclists as vehicles should always have that choice), although how older people and young children, or anyone else, should be expected to ride like this, or anyone should be expected to feel safe riding like this, is beyond me.

Many people of any age, don't want to ride like a racing cyclist, or a cycle messenger, and just want to ride safely to work, the shops, meet friends, go the cinema etc, without having to run the gauntlet with heavy traffic.

A letter in my local people this week mentioned cycle paths near him that he sees hardly anyone using. Unfortunately, there are many examples of cycling infrastructure in the UK that are badly designed, and in some cases even dangerous. Seem seem designed to unnecessarily delay cyclist and make using paths inconvenient for cyclists, so two things happen. Firstly, those cyclists who apparently feel comfortable riding fast on roads amongst traffics do just that, and many people (a majority) who would use them are put off and take the car instead adding to congestion. I suspect even more people who would at least like to try cycling don't even bother because they see heavy, fast traffic and decide it's too dangerous.

Give people a choice (i.e. segregated, high quality cycling, safe infrastructure, that doesn't seem designed to delay or inconvenience them) they will vote with their feet, or rather wheels. Just as they did in Holland and Denmark.