Cycling is safer in numbers, says CTC

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By Richard Peace | Thursday, May 7, 2009 12.00pm

Cycling gets safer the more cyclists there are. That's the finding of a new report by the CTC, the UK's national cyclists' organisation.

Safety in numbers, launched in Parliament today by broadcaster and CTC president Jon Snow, shows that places with the highest cycle use are also the safest places to ride a bike.

CTC ranked non-metropolitan English highway authorities according to the levels of cycle commuting in the 2001 census and the number of cycle casualties per million cycle commuters.

Places such as York, Cambridgeshire and Hull were in the top band both for cycle use and cyclists’ safety, while authorities with low cycle use such as Bradford, Leeds and Stockton-on-Tees were among those with the highest casualty rates.

CTC also highlighted a major change in London, which has seen a 91 percent increase in cycling since 2000 and a 33 percent fall in cycle casualties (going on absolute numbers) since 1994-98.

In Holland, long held up as an example of a cycling-friendly nation, cycling increased by 45 percent from 1980-2005 while cyclist deaths fell by 58 percent.

In the report, CTC puts this down to three factors:

  1. Drivers grow more aware of cyclists and become better at anticipating their behaviour when there are more of them around.
  2. Drivers are also more likely to be cyclists themselves, which means that they are more likely to understand how their driving may affect other road users.
  3. More people cycling leads to greater political will to improve conditions for cyclists.

CTC stresses that cycling isn't as risky as commonly thought – there's one death every 32 million kilometres (the equivalent of travelling 800 times around the world) and cyclists on average live two years longer than non-cyclists.

The organisation is pressing for the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy – currently out for consultation – to encourage more as well as safer cycling, by tackling the factors that deter people from getting on their bikes. They want ministers to address the following issues:

  • 20mph zones: CTC wants ministers to make 20mph speed limits the norm for most urban streets.
  • Bad driving: Tackling bad driving is a key aim for CTC and, the organisation says, is one of the weaker areas of the strategy. Nearly half of all drivers exceed 30mph speed limits when not prevented from doing so by congestion, and mobile phone use at the wheel is widespread. CTC is particularly concerned that some driving offences with potentially fatal consequences are still treated in law as “careless driving”. It quotes evidence from France and Australia that increased investment in traffic policing can substantially increase compliance with traffic law and achieve significant road safety benefits.
  • Hostile roads and junctions: The Department for Transport published new guidance on Cycle Infrastructure Design last autumn, but CTC says little has been done to ensure local authorities follow its advice. It says the Government needs to sponsor professional training for planners and engineers involved in designing streets and highways that stresses the importance of a safe cycling environment.
  • Lorries: HGVs typically account for 20-25 percent of cycling deaths each year, and over 50 percent in London. Last year, 10 out of 13 cycling deaths in London resulted from collisions with lorries. CTC says driver awareness of cycling issues and the design of lorries (in particular the fitting of mirrors) needs attention.

The draft strategy already includes a target – called for by CTC – to halve the risks of cycling within 10 years. CTC says the best way to meet this target is to double cycle use over the same period, and is urging MPs to sign a parliamentary motion backing its call for the Road Safety Strategy to aim for more as well as safer cycling.

Mr Snow said: “My own experiences as a regular cyclist tell me that London’s streets have started getting a lot safer, thanks to the growth in cycling over the past decade. We all know that more cycling is good, not just for our own health but also for our communities and the environment. I hope decision-makers throughout the country will now heed CTC’s message that more cycling will improve road safety too.”

Roger Geffen, CTC’s campaigns and policy manager, said: “There's good evidence that cycling gets safer the more cyclists there are. Yet despite this, local councils are often reluctant to encourage cycling for fear that this would lead to more casualties – and some even think the best way to meet their safety targets is to scare people off cycling altogether!”

The Government’s own statistics show a massive drop in everyday on-road cycling levels in the UK from the 1950s onwards, largely due to increasing motor traffic. However, leisure riding on off-road routes has become increasingly popular over the past 30 years, mirroring the rise of the National Cycle Network.

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User Comments

There are 7 comments on this post

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  • seems a bit one sided, no mention of bad cycling..

  • This data correlates with some research done in Auz - after the introduction of mandatory helmet wearing, cycling numbers dipped and the authors of the report asserted that this made cycling more dangerous, as motorists became "less used to" seeing cyclists on the road.

    Maybe CTC could push for VAT to be removed from all cycle sales, that would encourage more bike purchases, gets more poeple cycling - addressing health issues and supports reduced car usage, cuts omissions and reduces congestion. I'd say that was a win win win situation

  • Can I give my (probably controversial) opinion on commuting by bike. I spent 18 months working at a new office 5 miles away, so in that time I probably spent 95% commutting by bike in all weathers rather then spend time in traffic jams. The vast majority was on a cycle track, with 2 busy roads.

    In that time, I had 2 confrontations with cars, both honked and shouted abuse for no reason what-so-ever. However, almost 3 times a week on average, I had F***ing shouting matches with fellow cyclists. They'd cut me up, they rode on the opposite side on the track (yet soon changed to the left when on a road), go through the red light at the junction, riding 2 abreast on the cycle track, barge past me running down a short stair section...endless problems.

    I'm a fairly laid back charactor, if I get cut up in the car, I'll mutter but very rarely get upset about it. On the bike, I get very frustrated by other cyclists stupid cycling behaviour, more so then car/van drivers.

    If you want proof (OK it's extreme) then watch

    http://www.digave.com/videos/index.htm

  • I'd like to add my comments too.

    I've only been commuting by bike since last September and prior to that it took me almost 3 years to get a bike, get lessons and build up confidence. I really enjoy it, especially on the weekends when the traffic is less, however I have to concur with Buckled_Rims re the actions of other cyclists. In the South London area, between Clapham South and London Bridge (my route to work) many of them, I feel, act as if they are in a race. Cycling way too close to other cyclists, going on the pavement because they are too 'good' to wait in traffic, deliberately going around vehicles who are turning, reversing, coming out of side roads safely. What's with that kind of behaviour? Bad cycling, for me, is more worrying than being hit by a vehicle and should be targetted. Fortunately it won't put me off cycling, I just leave home earlier to try to avoid the cycling crowd. Roll on winter!

  • Buckled_Rims "I'm a fairly laid back charactor, if I get cut up in the car, I'll mutter but very rarely get upset about it. On the bike, I get very frustrated by other cyclists stupid cycling behaviour, more so then car/van drivers."

    Then that's an issue with you, I have issues with those that are using half ton killing machines as rams rahter than other cyclists.

    You are clearly confrontational with those that you think you have a chance with.

  • it wont be the first time that someone has said that there is a war on the roads of Britain - each and every mode of transport (even in fighting) battling for road space (which in Britain is becoming harder and harder to find, not least because there are now so many 4X4's on OUR roads, roads we all have to share.

    If calling for more people to take up cycling is the answer to making it safer for cyclists, does that mean the innocents and the vulnerable in wars in the likes of Iraq and Afganistan will be safer and better protected if we send in more troops ?

    To some extent maybe, but until people learn to respect one another and learn to live together, where big people don't bully, intimidate and bash little people, and are punished most severley if they do, then the innocents and the vulnerable will always be injured and killed.

    That's not you say there wont be accidents, but how many road casualties are genuine accidents? Not many.

    If the goverment wants more people riding bicycles then they should take all the potential killers off OUR roads - the speed freaks, the mobile phone menaces, the drug addicts and indeed the dealers, these people have no respect for man nor beast.

    To help move goverment in this direction, stand up and be counted by signing the number 10 petition website http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/mobilemenaceban/

    This is calling for tougher penalties for those imbeciles who insist on ignoring the mobile phone ban - potential killers of not just innocent cyclists, but all road users.

    Also, an advanced cycling proficiency test - which the police have to take before they can use a bicycle for duty - should be a prerequisit to obtaining a driving licence, and also a requirement for banned drivers to take (and pass) before they can have their licence back

    Here's to safe cycling and a happier, healtheir UK

  • Of course the CTC would say this. They have a vested interest in getting more people cycling who will strangely join their organisation. That's another £37. Kerching! The CTC don't bother campaigning first and foremost for the many cyclists actually getting seriously injured or killed just concentrate on getting more bums on saddles to boost their bank balance. The CTC are worse than the AA.

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