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news
London cyclists at traffic lights (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpgUK cities where cyclists feel most unsafe ranked in new survey - where does your city rank?
Cardiff is the UK city where cyclists feel most unsafe, according to a new survey from cycling insurer Cycleplan as it launches a cycle safety campaign along with brand ambassador and former road world champion Lizzie Deignan.
The Welsh capital, which it should be acknowledged is currently rolling out protected cycle lanes across the city, was seen as unsafe for cycling by 71 per cent of respondents to the survey.
It was followed by Leeds on 65 per cent and Birmingham on 63 per cent, and in each city in the top 10, shown below, which was rounded off by London at 54 per cent, more than half of participants felt unsafe.
The sample of 1,732 regular cyclists was drawn from Cycleplan’s own client database with between 90 and 100 respondents per city analysed.
Other cities that fell outside the top 10 were Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Newcastle and Nottingham, however across the UK only 17 per cent of cyclists felt “safe” or “very safe” while riding in the city where they live.
Other findings are contained in the infographic below, and the company, which has today launched its Pedal Safe cycle safety campaign, also provided some harrowing testimonials from survey respondents, shown at the end of this article.
John Woosey, founder and managing director of Cycleplan, said: “These findings are extremely concerning, particularly given the emphasis currently being placed on cycling as a silver bullet for reducing pressure on public transport in the post-lockdown era. Let’s be clear, we’re certainly not saying that cycling is a bad thing. By contrast, it’s been fantastic to see the huge increase in participation over the past few months.
“However, cycling comes with a degree of risk - one that everybody must be mindful of. It’s a sad fact that roads across the UK currently fall short when it comes to providing a risk-free route for cyclists. That’s why, as part of Pedal Safe, we have shared our top tips for road cycling safety, and we would urge all cyclists to refer to these as a minimum before heading out on two wheels.”
Brand ambassador Deignan commented: “It’s fantastic that people are being encouraged to cycle more, but we need to make sure they feel safe. More infrastructure will be vital, as will educating drivers to be more patient and to share the road. After all, most cyclists are also drivers and vice versa. There should be room for us all.
“I would advise anyone who feels nervous on the bike to take all possible precautions to feel more confident. For example, wearing bright clothes and lights to be as visible as possible, not hugging the kerb – sit a bit further out to make yourself seen. This also takes away the temptation for drivers to nip by without making sure there is a safe gap in traffic to overtake.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
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That's a design feature of dockless bikes! People opt for "easy" at lot of the time. They'll park their own pride and joy (car) quickly or...
- mdavidford 5 min 28 sec ago
To be fair to Attenborough, he doesn't appear to actually have any involvement in or have offered any particular support for the campaign. A child...
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they always strike me as being overpriced for the hardware...
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What's that? A mobile home for squirrels?
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While original sash windows are nice they make it very hard to keep the house warm, we eventually went for upvc double glazed sash window...
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As you said the pedals will be hidden anyway. My shoes, 3 pairs of them, have reflective strips on the heel and my winter trousers do too on the...
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Other drivers only care about disabled people when it gives them a way to object to cycling infrastructure.
- mark1a 11 hours 20 min ago
I'll put you down as a no then.
- chrisonabike 16 hours 46 min ago
Well if you *can* interview the original riders at all surely they worked, at least?...
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17 comments
Probably going to get shot down like the last time I commented on a thread on road.cc but I agree that cycling safety is multifaceted as pointed out in the article. I also think that it needs to go both ways regardless of whether the motorist is in a vehicle which of course is more dangerous to a cyclist than the other way around. A major cause of the problem seems to be a lack of patience and people constantly rushing. Many motorists (NOT all) dont like driving even 1mph slower than their intended speed even if it means they just wait longer at the next set of traffic lights or traffic jam and often show little courtesy towards cyclists. Conversly many cyclists (NOT all cyclists) act in a similar manner, breaking many of the road rules and not giving courtesy to faster moving traffic around them. This sense of entitlement needs to change on both sides as both share the road.
"One of my best cycling buddies was killed by a car."
Really? We're not helping ourselves using language like that.
You're right - I mean, who says "buddies"??
You're damn right, unless it was one of them driverless cars, they were killed by a motorist, presumably
I cycle in both Cardiff and London, and there's no way I'd rank them in that order for safety / perception of safety (NB: I know that's not what the survey was asking). Though my Cardiff cycling tends to be recreational, London cycling is commuting, which impacts on time of day / traffic volume and therefore no doubt [perception of] safety.
More than the general feeling of safety or not when people cycling, what seems quite telling in this survey and many others is just how many cyclists experience abuse, punishment passes, actual collisions etc. Yes many people drive poorly and without paying attention etc and are a danger, but the number who now seem to feel it's fine to threaten someone just because of how they're travelling seems to be increasing.
I felt safer riding in Birmingham than I did when I moved back to Reading.
And I know it's a weird little town but there is something about drivers in and around Farnborough...
I feel safer riding in London than in Reading.
I worked in Cardiff for a few weeks a couple of years ago. I was amazed at how many commuter cyclists rode in the dark without any lights, I am never surprised by a few, but this was a significant percentage.
Not really a suprise.
But it's a case of self selection bias - would be very useful to know what their spread of "users" are around the country is to understand wether other cities just aren't as represented, or aren't deemed as dangerous.
Also wish they'd reported their "top 5 things" as numerical results as well, rather than just "infographic'ing" them, as i'd expect after "protected cycle schemes" and "higher fines" it tails off pretty quickly, almost exponentially.
Yes, you really have to wonder where they got these cyclists from if No 5 in changes that would make them safer is "stricter rules around helmets and lights"
Like most of these surveys, to be taken with a bucket of salt as many of them don't have a clue what they are talking about.
What is the difference between 'not worried' and 'not worried at all'?
6%
6 percentage points ? ( not 6% )
Wasn't Cardiff on the 'best cities for cycling' list not that long ago?
It was indeed! Only in July too.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cardiff-cyclists-coronav...
I ride around Cardiff a lot, it's not too bad and getting much better.
Caro Wild is doing a really good job with cycling infrastructure. I've been really impressed with most of the recent improvements.