Cycling is not dangerous - understand the risks
Simple ways to massively reduce your chance of an accident

Cycling is not dangerous - understand the risks

Cycling is a fundamentally safe way to get around, yet fear of cycling on the roads is the single biggest barrier to cycling in this country. Part of the reason for this misconception is the media. Car accidents are no longer news, but if a cyclist is killed it's an unusual event, so it gets coverage. Oxford has very high levels of cycling, which means that car drivers are very aware of cyclists and accident rates are low, per cyclist. But with so many cyclists, the absolute number of accidents is enough to keep a steady stream of stories in the local press.

The other point to note is that accidents are not evenly spread amongst all cyclists. Most of the accidents are accounted for by a minority of cyclists who engage in obviously risky behaviour (e.g. cycling without lights at night or running red lights). Follow the simple precautions below and you'll massively reduce your chance of having an accident.

Finally, you have to ask the question, is it safe NOT to cycle? Coronary heart disease kills 110,000 people per year in the UK. Total road deaths stand at around 40,000. Not only does regular cycling cut your risk of suffering heart disease in half, this kind of exercise will lower your risk of diabetes, various cancers and depression (amongst other things). The British Medical Association estimates that the health benefits of regular cycling outweigh the negative effects of a possible accident by a factor of 20 to 1.

Simple ways to massively reduce your chance of an accident

These are listed roughly in order of priority:
- Don't cycle in the dark without lights. (Wearing hi-visibility clothing will help even more). Not only will this save your life, it'll save you a £30 on the spot fine from the police. For EACH light. That's four times the cost of the lights you'll have to buy anyway.
- Don't carry heavy shopping in plastic bags dangling from your handlebars(!) (We shouldn't really have to say this.) Use a rucksack, panniers or basket.
- Cycle well out into the road - and at junctions, take a lane. If you cycle really close to the kerb you are less visible, and drivers will be encouraged to 'squeeze' past you. You're also more at risk of being hit by a car door opening. Cycle about 1 metre out, far enough so that cars will have to wait until there is space to take a wide arc round you. Plus, if they still decide to squeeze past, you'll have at least 0.5m of space to move out of their way. At junctions, particularly when turning right, position yourself like a car, in the middle of the lane. That way everyone can see you and a car can't turn across you. Don't be intimidated and feel like you're holding up traffic. You need to be safe, and at slow speeds a bike accelerates as fast as a car anyway.
- Don't pass lorries and buses on the inside (i.e. between them and the pavement). Lorries and buses account for a disproportionately high number of cyclist deaths, mainly because they take up a lot of space, they have a wide turning circle and large 'blind spots' where the driver cannot see you. (If you can't see the driver's face in a mirror, then they can't see you either.) If you wish to pass a stopped bus, do it on the right. They may still not see you and pull out, but you'll have much more chance of avoiding them than if you're trapped against the kerb. Sometimes you will be in a cycle lane passing stationary or slow traffic on the inside. This is fine, but you should still treat large vehicles with extra caution. If the road is narrow they may squeeze the cycle lane, and if there is a left turn you must assume they could turn across you until you're sure they're past it.
- Maintain your bike. There is no mandatory test for cycles ridden on the road like the MOT for cars, and every day we see people dicing with death by riding with poor or non-existent brakes. Most of the traffic in Oxford is moving at under 30mph, particularly at junctions. This means that with proper attention and working brakes you should be able to avoid accidents even if someone else does something stupid. If your brakes are so poor that you have to anticipate stopping well ahead, then you're unable to react to the unexpected and sooner or later you will have an accident. Oxford Cycle Workshop staff are happy to give your bike a complete safety check, for free, as often as you like.
- Pick a sensible route. When some motorists start cycling, they just use the same route they'd take in a car. In Oxford there is no need to ever cycle on really busy roads. If you need route advice, just ask our staff. We can give you a free Oxfordshire County Council cycle map too.
- Get trained. If you're going to have an accident, it's likely to be in your first six months of riding on the road. The statistics show that once cyclists gain some road awareness their risk of accident drops dramatically. If you feel a little lacking in confidence on the road, you can 'leapfrog' that early inexperienced period by getting a little on-road cycle training. Oxford Cycle Workshop has two fully trained cycling instructors. Just one hour spent going over your most frequently used route(s) with an instructor can give you a huge boost in awareness and confidence.