Is riding a bike on the road in the UK a “very safe activity”?
While the evidence of dangerous driving often featured on this very site would suggest otherwise, that’s the opinion of John Franklin, the author of cycling skills manual Cyclecraft, which forms the basis of Bikeability, the UK’s national standard for cycle training.
In the quick-fire Q&A section of the latest edition of Cycling UK’s magazine Cycle, Franklin was asked – among other things, such as ‘Who mends your punctures?’, ‘Lycra or normal clothes?’ – “what single thing would most improve matters for UK cyclists?”
“More self-confidence among cyclists and less exaggeration of ‘danger’,” he said. “Cycling on roads is actually a very safe activity.”
That answer, unsurprisingly, has divided cyclists on the internet, it appears.
“I was mulling on this as I rode home tonight while I avoided a pincer movement by one van blocking the cycle lane that I was in and another turning right in front of me,” Singletrack World forum user Mr Sparkle said in response to Franklin’s Q&A claim.
“Followed immediately by a car driver parked on wrong side of the road and so unsighted, pulling out on me. I’m 62 and been cycling since I was about seven. I ride pretty much five days a week year-round and have been doing so for years.
“I’d class myself as an experienced and confident road user (cyclist, full motorcycle and car licence etc, etc). I have lost count of the times over the years where I’ve come very close to being injured or worse through no fault of mine.
“I would argue that, while self-confidence (if you have the sense and experience to back it up), is great – I don’t see it as being the ‘single thing that would most improve matters for UK cyclists’.
“A massive cultural change where drivers are required to be tested more frequently and suffer greater punishment in court for road crimes that they have been found guilty of would be higher up the list.”
“It’s a bit like asking why the zookeeper insists on all the lions being locked away before going in to clean the enclosure and suggesting that if they just had a bit more self-confidence, they’d be fine,” agreed Crazy Legs.
“It’s a shitty attitude and one that is responsible for a significant failing in ever increasing the number of people cycling.”
> “Some drivers see safe cycling as a character flaw”: The fight for fewer close passes
However, not everyone believed the Cyclecraft author (who, of course, makes a strong case for riding in primary position in his guide) had missed the mark.
“I think I agree with him that the danger of cycling on the road is a bit over exaggerated, and in the sense that I think more cyclists on the roads = slightly safer for everyone, and that it doesn’t help to be putting people off riding,” said another forum user.
“But definitely agree with you that it’s way down the list of answers I’d give. Charitably, there’s not a lot of space for his answer and I guess the first part of his answer he’s wearing his Cyclecraft cap and advocating for more training.”
“He has a very good point,” argued Scot Routes. “Too many folk are put off by an exaggeration of the dangers (often on social media).
“The more cyclists there are, the more ‘usual’ it will be for motorists to see cyclists on the road and the better the infrastructure provision will become. The Field of Dreams approach (build it and they will come) has been only partially successful as it sends a message that shared infrastructure isn’t for cyclists.”
“I understand the sentiment but probably badly worded,” another user said.
“Confidence/assertiveness link to positioning on the road, and I found doing Bikeability a few years back that my positioning wasn’t as good as I thought it was. Getting that right and being more proactive on the road led to fewer close passes.
“And I think because we are aware of how vulnerable we are on the road, we overestimate the actual danger to us at an individual level. I know two people who’ve been killed while riding in 40 years. I know more who’ve died unexpectedly young from other causes.
“Cycling is relatively safe. I have no more concerns about my kids cycling on the road than I do of them driving now they’ve passed their tests.”
> The guilt, the danger and the dichotomy of being a cycling parent
Meanwhile, KCR said: “It’s a quick-fire format interview, and he was asked to pick one thing, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. I’m sure he would have more to say on the subject if he was interviewed at length.
“I think one of the things that would improve matters most would be to get more cyclists on the road (and I’m including cycling infrastructure when I say ‘road’).
“If more people were cycling, it would reduce the ‘othering’ of cyclists and make them an expected part of the transport system that motorists would be more likely to look out for.
“One of the things that deters many people from using a bike for transport is a lack of confidence and a perception that it really is a dangerous thing to do, so Franklin has a point.”
What do you think? Does Franklin have a point? Is self-confidence the key to being safe on the roads? Or is it way down the pecking order on the list of things that keep cyclists safe?