Cyclists perceived to be among Ireland’s most dangerous road users, according to poll

A recent poll has indicated that cyclists are perceived to be among Ireland’s most dangerous road users, with around a fifth of those surveyed claiming that people on bikes represent the greatest threat on the country’s roads, just behind young male motorists and e-scooter users.

However, the poll, conducted by insurance company Aviva, also found that younger people are less likely to view cyclists as dangerous compared to older road users.

While 21 percent of those surveyed who are 55 and older reckon cyclists are the most dangerous group on the roads, only eight percent of people aged 18 to 24 believe the same to be true, suggesting an intriguing generational shift in Irish attitudes towards cycling.

Despite the promising outlook among younger people, in most of the other categories – grouped by Aviva by age, location, or gender – cyclists were routinely regarded as the second-most dangerous group on the roads.

For instance, 18 percent of female respondents classed cyclists on the top of the danger list, as did 17 percent of the 35-44 age group. 20 percent of people living in Munster – the home province of Sean Kelly and Sam Bennett – also ticked the cyclists box.

> What will kill you on the road (it’s not bikes) – new report highlights road deaths by vehicles involved 

Overall, of the 1,000 people surveyed, 34 percent said that young men driving cars represent the greatest danger on Ireland’s roads, followed by e-scooters users (20 percent) and cyclists (17 percent). At the bottom of the danger pile lies middle-aged female drivers – viewed by only one percent of respondents as the most dangerous group on the road – followed, oddly enough, by pedestrians (two percent).

Of course, Aviva’s decision to split motorists into age-defined categories has had a considerable impact on the rankings (they neglected, for example, to include a separate category for middle-aged cyclists). Unsurprisingly, when combined into one group, motorists are perceived to pose the greatest threat on the roads by 61 percent of respondents.

2022 saw 155 people die on Ireland’s roads, a 13 percent increase on the previous year’s total of 136, which was the lowest number of fatalities since records began in 1959. Of the 155 people killed, seven were cyclists and 41 were pedestrians, over double the number of pedestrians killed in 2021.

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Earlier this year, the chairperson of the Irish government’s Road Safety Authority Liz O’Donnell, said that the figures for 2022, which also recorded that almost 1,300 people were seriously injured on Ireland’s roads, “should serve as a reminder to us all of our shared responsibility to always be safety aware on our roads, and to pay special attention to motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians”.

She continued: “We simply must get back on track and reverse the increase in deaths. It means that all of us must accept greater responsibility when using the road and become custodians and champions for safety on the road.”

Aviva’s Billy Shannon echoed those sentiments in a statement released alongside the insurance company’s survey.

“Behind each of these dreadful statistics are families and friends whose lives have changed forever following the untimely deaths of their loved ones,” Shannon said.

“We can only hope that the doubling of fines for speeding and other traffic offences announced by the Department of Transport last October will have a positive impact and encourage drivers to abide by the rules of the road and in turn, help save lives.”

> Bus company investigates employee filmed driving on cycle lane and pavement 

While the Irish government has attempted to crack down on speeding, especially on rural roads, in recent months by increasing fines, it appears that little is being done to stop dangerous driving around cyclists.

In December it was reported that motorists in Ireland had received just 71 fines in three years for dangerous overtaking of cyclists. 

Provisional figures from An Garda Síochána suggested that just 14 fixed charge notices were issued for the offence in 2022, with 32 issued in 2019 and 2020, and 25 last year.

Phil Skelton from Safe Cycling Ireland said the “year-by-year drop” in the number of fines issued was disappointing and “we have certainly not seen any substantial evidence that this road safety issue has alleviated to such a degree as to warrant this decrease”.

> Shocking footage shows cyclist deliberately knocked off bike by laughing driver 

In October and November, three instances of shockingly dangerous driving – either around or directly aimed at cyclists – in Ireland went viral, leading to calls from politicians to focus future road safety campaigns on the behaviour of motorists.

In Dublin, a bus company launched a “full investigation” after one of its employees was filmed driving a double-decker bus on both the cycle lane and footpath in order to undertake a queue of traffic, while a few weeks later in Dundalk shocking footage emerged of what appeared to be a motorist – laughing while filming the incident himself – deliberately ramming a cyclist off his bike.

A month before, Gardaí arrested a man after another driver appeared to deliberately strike a cyclist from behind near Dublin Airport, before fleeing the scene, as one of the car’s passengers filmed the collision on their phone.

Footage of the incident was later posted online and shared widely on social media. It appears to show the driver approaching the cyclist at speed as a passenger is heard to say: “Here we go, watch, watch, watch”. A bang follows as the driver rams the unsuspecting cyclist from behind, before someone says, “Gone, go, we’re gone”. The cyclist was taken to hospital, where he was treated for “non-life threatening” injuries.