Cycling safety in Netherlands

Chris, I don't think there was a 550% increase in injuries. "2000" is a year, not a number of injuries. That sentence is missing something.

Agree with Kim and Chris. This information needs to be set in context.

I suspect the number of kms ridden per capita is higher in Holland than in most other places, simply because of the dedicated infrastructure thats in place.

I can only offer anecdotal evidence but on my visit to Holland last summer: (1) I saw very many people on bikes, of all ages, and bicycle traffic appeared far heavier there than in general in the UK; (2) Dutch roads (or rather cycle paths) were the most-highly-maintained and the most cyclist-friendly design that I've ever ridden.

I have fundamental trouble accepting that a country, in which large parts of the road network have cyclists and motorists on different pieces of tarmac, is more dangerous.

Yes it also needs a scale... such as injuries/fatalities per x-thousand kilometres, otherwise it is just a number.

Did the overall number of fatalities go down, and cyclists remain steady, which would account for a share increase ?

And a 550% increase in injuries certainly requires further explanation - I would be surprised if that sort of jump would not be, at least in part, due to changes in reporting or data collection.

No doubt Dave and the boys are on the case as we speak, demanding answers and stroopwaffels.

Beware taking raw data on face value. Try finding out more about what is actually happening, what is the cause of these fatalities, which age classes are they occurring in, etc.

When you start to find that a large proportion of these deaths are peole over 60 and the cause of death was heart attack or stroke, you start to get different perspective.

Saying Dutch cycle lanes are dangerous because people die there is rather like saying going to bed is dangerous because large numbers of people die in bed...