12 yrs , 24miles 4/5 days a week, BUSY roads = one RTA (and I got a decent compo for it as well!), You get to work relaxed, faster than in a car, you don't catch other peoples colds on the train/bus, you stay in shape and it saves money. Well worth the level of risk involved.
On the subject of lights - by all means have loads of them all over your bike but I really don't think they need to be flashing.
Quote from: ianv on November 17, 2013, 04:29:18 pm12 yrs , 24miles 4/5 days a week, BUSY roads = one RTA (and I got a decent compo for it as well!), You get to work relaxed, faster than in a car, you don't catch other peoples colds on the train/bus, you stay in shape and it saves money. Well worth the level of risk involved.However the demographic commenting here today represent the lucky ones.
One of the biggest risks is being too cautious
Riding in all weathers through the winter really teaches you how to suffer. (I think that's a good thing?)
The downside is I was about the only person to make it in in heavy snow.
More statistics on the safety of cycling
Couple of things.Slackers - Cherry picking research which supports your beliefs per chance? You should know better than that
And that other link - What relevance does an Australian study on cycling have to cycling in a busy British city with different road design, driver habits, cyclist habits, weather, light, etc etc etc.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-ban-cyclists-from-wearing-headphones-8948964.htmlI think a ban is ridiculous idea, but he is right how crazy it is to wear headphones whilst cycling on roads. There seems quite a few commuting in Sheffield with the music on, and I do think 'death wish'
Quote from: Snoops on November 20, 2013, 09:21:06 amhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-ban-cyclists-from-wearing-headphones-8948964.htmlI think a ban is ridiculous idea, but he is right how crazy it is to wear headphones whilst cycling on roads. There seems quite a few commuting in Sheffield with the music on, and I do think 'death wish'Surely passing compulsory bike helmet law (like in Oz) would be more useful in reducing deaths?
Quote from: SA Chris on November 20, 2013, 02:04:17 pmQuote from: Snoops on November 20, 2013, 09:21:06 amhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-ban-cyclists-from-wearing-headphones-8948964.htmlI think a ban is ridiculous idea, but he is right how crazy it is to wear headphones whilst cycling on roads. There seems quite a few commuting in Sheffield with the music on, and I do think 'death wish'Surely passing compulsory bike helmet law (like in Oz) would be more useful in reducing deaths?Stats show that most deaths on the bike are caused by other factors not attributed to head collision and therefore helmets wouldnt have stopped it. As such making it compulsory wont help as much as people think. Personally I always wear one and would always advise to wear one as every little helps.
These figures for the whole of London from the DfT 2012 report are quite eye-opening to me:Number killed or seriously injured by vehicle type:Pedestrians 5,272 Cyclists 4,619 Motorcyclists 4,653 Cars 12,298Taking those figures and combining it with what I saw in central London yesterday:There are obviously hundreds (thousands?) times more pedestrians than there are cyclists in London.There are hundreds times more cars than cyclists.