A chara, – In my lifetime I have done approximately 50 per cent of my commuting by car, 25 per cent by public transport and 25 per cent by bicycle.
As a cyclist I have been knocked down four times in broad daylight by drivers. On each occasion it was entirely the driver’s fault. As a driver, I am occasionally annoyed at the behaviour of some cyclists. But I have never yet been in a collision which was the fault of a cyclist and I have never felt my life was put in danger by a cyclist. I’m not saying such things don’t happen. But my experience is that drivers are far more of a danger to cyclists than cyclists are to drivers. Cyclists are in general more aware of motor vehicles than drivers are of cyclists. They have to be in order to stay alive. Awareness of cyclists should be an important part of the driving test in order to save lives. – Is mise,
Madam, – Your Editorial (“On your bike, April 22nd) is unfortunately written from the common but erroneous point of view that cycling is an inherently dangerous activity. To many people this looks like a no-brainer: mixing with heavy traffic without wearing armour certainly looks risky.
I have cycled in Dublin since the age of 11 – 50 years. I find driver behaviour has improved enormously in that time, and despite the greater volume of motor traffic I now feel less threatened, The threat to cyclists is stupid driving, and that has decreased (contradict me if you have figures). Vigilance, of course, is always necessary, but a small price for freedom.
Cycle lanes are a distraction. They are handy when they work, but the focus on cycle lanes as a solution to a problem is wrong-headed. They can never be universal, and so the more there are, the more cyclists will be suddenly exposed once the lanes (inevitably) evaporate. What makes a cyclist safe is being seen (best achieved through being numerous) and having the freedom of movement to evade whatever trouble may arise.
Studies show that cycling is not significantly more dangerous than walking or driving; some even show it to be less dangerous. A good case has been made that non-cycling is more likely to bring you to an early grave: comparing the years added to the life expectancy of cyclists with years lost through fatal accidents, the researcher Mayer Hillman established a ratio of 20 to one.
Cyclists are healthier, and beyond saving on medical costs, on balance they live longer. It is more dangerous not to cycle. – Yours, etc,