The Safety Of Cycling

This is a very interesting read on the relative risks of cycling as compared to other road users including pedestrians.

The big points that stood out for me were:

1. Cycling being perceived as a high risk use of the road is a myth.
2. As cycling use increases (both en mass and by the individual), fatality rates decrease.
3. Point 2 for the crowd comes likely from a 'safety in numbers' thing.
4. For the individual, the more you cycle the better at it you are and the better at reducing your risk you become.
5. The best way to reduce the risk even further is to encourage more cycling, mostly through improving cycling infrastructure (like wider roads / less pinch points)
6. Other countries in the EU have drivers that respect cyclist quite a bit more than the UK drivers do (how embarrassing to be out-done on courtesy by the Europeans!)

One thing that always astonishes me about point 6 is that British car drivers completely fail to realise that on my bike I represent one less car in front of them, one less ingredient in a traffic jam, a few less seconds between them and their destination and that collectively we cyclist are a bloody good thing for the length and ease of their journey.

However, despite that we're treated like the enemy. Shocking.