The Darling Life – – Could our roads be safer for British cyclists?

Of all journeys completed in 2014 across Britain, 90% of those were completed on our roads. On these roads, 83% of journeys were undertaken in a car, van or taxi – covering more than 600 billion kilometres over the course of the year.

However, it’s clear that on these roads, there is a shortage of cyclists, as 1% of the total number of vehicles used were accounted for by cyclists. This is a 13% decrease in the use of cycles since 1952, when official figures stood at 14%.

Specialists in bicycle accident claims, True Solicitors, assess the safety of the UK’s roads, and whether this correlates to why there are so few cyclists on our roads today.

Opinions across Britain

In 2015, The British Social Attitudes survey suggested that of those over the age of 18, 1.5 million people cycled on a daily basis, which accounts for 3% of the people surveyed.

Based on 69% of those surveyed, 34 million claimed that they had never cycled before. This is as a direct result of the clear lack of cyclists across the UK more generally. However, by analysing individual countries within the UK, the idea that Britain is uninclined to use a bicycle as a form of transport of our roads becomes clearer.

England

Of those surveyed over 16 between 2014 and 2015 in The Active People Survey, it has been suggested that 3% cycled five times a week (1.3 million) — which is less than the overall national average. The survey also found that 15% cycled at least once per month, which equates to 6.6 million people.

What this suggests is that many cyclists are choosing to use their bikes as a leisure activity, as opposed to using it as a day-to-day form of transport.

Scotland

Those in Scotland were still 10% below the overall figure of those surveyed – and this also corroborates to the total number surveyed across England and Wales. As a means of transport, 3% of people aged over 16 used a bicycle 1 – 2 days a week. 2% used one 3 -5 days a week and only 1% used a bicycle nearly every day of the week.

Although it cannot be stated for certain, the total number of cyclists on British roads may be decreasing because of the hazards that they face on a daily basis. For Britain to be willing to use cycling more enthusiastically as an everyday form of transport, perhaps the safety of our roads need to be improved first.

Wales

Of those surveyed over the age of 16, 6% claimed that they cycled 1 – 2 times a day in 2014-15; this is a similar figure to the 3% in England who cycled five times a week.