[Awavey]

not sure if this survey has come up yet for discussion, it feels familiar, but perhaps its just because its another insurance firm survey telling us stuff we already know.

https://www.simpsonmillar.co.uk/media/road-traffic-accidents/cyclists-dont-feel-safe-on-uk-roads/

but it has led to the local Norwich press, where 70% of the survey respondents saying they felt unsafe on the roads, taking a more indepth look at it.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23441986.norwich-people-feel-uk-roads-arent-safe-cycling/

having spent another weekend of riding, even if the roads seemed quieter, avoiding people who really dont seem to get the whole leave cyclists some space thing, I wonder if it will ever feel safe to ride on UK roads.

Topic

[chrisonabike]

Of course there are several

Of course there are several kinds of “safety”.  Presumably “feels safe” means “don’t fear motor vehicles hitting me / passing close at speed / turning in / pulling out on me”?  Does it also have the meaning of “not feeling like a target for robbery or assault (including sexual violence)”?  In the UK maybe we can also add “not feeling like an idiot / outsider / that people regard me as poor or antisocial when cycling”?

Awavey wrote:

having spent another weekend of riding, even if the roads seemed quieter, avoiding people who really dont seem to get the whole leave cyclists some space thing, I wonder if it will ever feel safe to ride on UK roads.

No it won’t – because UK roads as they are now are designed for motor traffic (the maximum throughput of motor vehicles consistent with safety).  So they won’t ever feel generally safe for cycling to most people.

OR

No it won’t – because although we are moving (slowly, in very few places) towards “accommodating cyclists” all current layouts involve a lot of sharing space with motor traffic in places where that traffic is not strictly managed.  Especially at junctions.  In particular there appears no real plan to reduce the number of motor vehicles.  Cycling and motoring are incompatible modes – where the amount of motor traffic or speed differential with motor vehicles is high it doesn’t feel safe for cycling to most people.

OR

Yes it will – because we will eventually realise we can’t afford to let motor traffic dominate and so will tame it, separating where necessary, mixing where possible, and this has been shown to make cycling feel safe to lots of different people.

[Anonymous]

If you don’t feel safe on a
If you don’t feel safe on a particular road, don’t ride on it. Find another safer route or do what I did and toughen up.

[Author]

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