Finding a cycling spirit

A sobering thought for this time of year is that most fatal cycling accidents occur in the dark, with the most dangerous hours for a cyclist reported as between 8.00am-9.00am and 3.00pm-6.00pm.  While these facts are unlikely to inspire more people to ride bikes during the darker months, it raises questions on how we can improve road safety generally. 

Sustrans suggested safety is linked to building more segregated on-road cycle routes when it published a survey this week showing significant public support exists for them.  That is all well and good where there is space to do so, but in Bath and many other towns and cities, there is very little room to change the road infrastructure. Yet cycle friendly cities exist elsewhere, even in densely populated places with busy roads and where they have similar challenges to Bath. Osaka in Japan is an interesting example. It does not have miles of bike lanes, nor does it have a modern infrastructure or a bike sharing system but it is considered to be one of the most bike friendly cities in the world because the Japanese culture has instilled a cycling spirit in its 2.6 million residents. 

This makes me think that simply looking to spend money on cycling infrastructure is approaching the problem the wrong way.  Whatever we introduce to improve cycling safety will only work if we collectively as road users are prepared to change our behaviour.  We need to find a way to shift the “them and us” attitude that exists between cyclists and drivers, we need to make better decisions as road users and we need to rid our roads of rage.  Finding our cycling spirit in Bath is surely worth striving for and investing in. And right now, we need to invest in being visible to one another. Even when there are streetlights cyclists are often not easily seen.  Ride 

with your lights on day and night and wear some bright high visibility gear and drive cautiously and keenly. 

Road safety is the responsibility of both drivers and cyclists and to sensibly adjust to the road conditions, not least at this dark time of year.