Safety in numbers in England There is good evidence to support the idea that cycling gets safer the more people do it. Yet despite this, many organisations are reluctant to encourage cycling for fear that this would increase the number of casualties on the roads. This approach fails to recognise the fact that cycling’s health benefits greatly outweigh any risks involved – not to mention the benefits to the environment and people’s quality of life. The emphasis must now be on tackling the fears that prevent people from cycling more or not cycling at all. This can be done by: improving driver behaviour, creating more welcoming and cycle-friendly streets and giving people the confidence to cycle more. This will be good not only for our health, but also for streets, communities and the environment. The evidence Research suggests that a doubling of cycling would lead to a reduction in the risks of cycling by around a third, ie. the increase in cycle use is far higher than the increase in cyclists’ casualties.1 There are plenty of examples to show that steep increases in cycling can go with reductions in cycle casualties. For example: in the UK: •
London has seen a 91% increase in cycling since 2000 and a 33% fall in cycle casualties since 1994-98. This means that cycling in the city is 2.9 times safer than it was previously.2
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York, comparing 1991/3 and 1996/8: mode share for cycling rose from 15% to 18%, cyclist KSI fell 59% (from 38 to 15). 3
and in Europe:
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Jacobsen P. Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling. Injury Prevention vol. 9 pp 205-209, 2003 (see http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/9/3/205). 2 Transport for London press release. 16/6/08. www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/8631.aspx 3 Harrison J. Planning for more cycling: The York experience bucks the trend, in World Transport Policy & Practice, Volume 7, (4), 2001
CTC – the national cyclists’ organisation
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