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If we made cycling our main mode of transport we could solve half our problems – obesity, global warming, urban congestion at a stroke. So what’s stopping us?
Fear
For each mile travelled, a British cyclist is three times more likely to be killed than a Dutch one, even though only 3% of Dutch cyclists wear a helmet. That’s because it is highways, not helmets, that save lives.
The Netherlands (like Denmark and Germany) has been investing in barriered cycle routes for 30 years. Even more importantly, cars must give way to bikes in residential streets and drivers are presumed to be at fault in collisions unless proved otherwise.
As a result, it is not just Lycra-clad angry blokes like myself (see right) who dare to cycle, but timid old people, women and kids. Yet recently, when Cycling England proposed that we introduce a similar law here, it was shouted down.
Making Britain bike-friendly is a huge task, with huge rewards. Do the cycling Tories – Cameron, Osborne and Johnson – have the balls to do it?
Related articles
- Are cyclist deaths really increasing? (guardian.co.uk)
- You: Sharp rise in number of cyclists killed on roads (guardian.co.uk)
- Cycling casualties what should be done? (telegraph.co.uk)
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2 Comments for The Real Fear Behind Cycling
robthompson | November 9, 2009 at 8:45 am
Track My Progress During the Race… « Ironman Richard Stabler … « Celebrity Buzz | November 9, 2009 at 8:51 am
[...] The Real Fear Behind Cycling | Ironman by 40! [...]
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