Brits: too scared to cycle

Only a disappointing 1% of journeys are made by bicycle in the UK every year, according to the Department for Transport survey published on Tuesday. These low figures are due to the fact that people are still scared to take to our roads on two wheels.

According to a recent survey, 73% of Brits are reluctant to cycle on UK roads as they feel they are unsafe to do so- the majority of those being women. People are simply too afraid to do their daily commute via bike as they feel they are not respected on the roads, and are concerned about being injured by other traffic.

Alec James, from Sustrans, a charity set up in the 1970s to promote cycling, said: "The key to normalising cycling in British cities is safety.

"That's the number one concern of people who want to cycle but don't. Cycling is actually quite safe compared to other forms of transport but public perception says otherwise.

"We also need a better quality of roads. Our road network is a hangover from a time when the car was king. Cycling needs to be a part of road design from the get-go - not tacked on later.”

It seems as though Britain is getting left behind when it comes to the cycling revolution. Take the Netherlands for example, despite the mere 200 miles distance between them and us, the attitudes and acceptance towards cycling couldn’t be more different. The streets of Amsterdam are filled with happy and confident cyclists not scared about being knocked off their bikes by angry motorists.

However, one British city that is trying to lead the way in encouraging a greener Britain is Bristol. The number of cyclists in the city is four times the national average. The number of female cyclists has doubled from 2.3% to 4.6%.

The council has invested £35 to develop a cycle strategy and make cycling safer in the city.

Although it is clear road changes need to be made to increase cycle safety, a huge issue appears to lie with people’s perceptions, and the negativities surrounding cycling. Council’s and MP’s need to do more to change this, and get Britain on track to a more positive cycling culture.

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