Using the Holt Road in Norfolk as a straw poll, I would say that the biggest culprits for this are Vans, Trucks and Larger Cars (My particular bane are cars with low profile tyres, which make them sound positively deadly as they approach and skim my elbows when passing).

Another dangerous situation that occurs regularly on Norfolk roads is [what I would call] the ’3 car dash’. My latest one of these was at around 4pm on the Reepham Road heading out of Reepham towards Norwich, along a particularly straight [and potentially fast] stretch of road. I was ahead of 3 vehicles (unknown at the time), the first (a van) over took me with about 100 meters of clear road between them and oncoming traffic (a small car). The road is single lane in both direction and without any centre line or side line markings. The second car followed in the slip stream of the first vehicle with around 35 meters of clear road before the oncoming car reached us. The first time that I realised that the third car was also going to try and follow its predecessors was when I heard the screams coming from within the oncoming car (windows open). Screeching of breaks and a quick look over my shoulder to see a man in his late 20′s looking scared, shocked and somewhat intimidated by the swearing 6ft, 16 stone cyclist that he very nearly killed with his stupidity.

I just felt that I had to write to say that most incidents involving cars and cyclists are not caused by the cyclist. The vast majority of reporting on these incidents insinuates that the blame lies with both parties equally, but this is not true outside of cities. On countryside roads, which are broadly speaking less wide than most city roads, the cyclist must be treated as a equally important vehicle and not, as is happening, some annoying bollard for the cars and lorries to whoosh past as closely as possible. Country roads suffer from pot holes, cracking edges and cambers. Bicycles can’t ride out the lumps and bumps that cars take for granted, they have to swerve.

Most councils don’t do enough because it will only become cost effective for them to repair the roads properly when compensation claims exceed the cost of repairs.

Furthermore to compare the UK with the Netherlands is like comparing chalk and cheese. The Nederlands have invested widely in cyle lanes and not of the very poor type found in the UK which are on the same piece of tarmac as the car only separated by a painted line…that’s great protection isn’t it?

The clear facts are that cycling is an increasingly dangerous activity overall for two main reasons -

1. Car drivers are becoming increasingly distracted and not really bothered about how they drive and what the conseqences are. Hitting another car is bad enough but survivable. Hitting an unprotected cyclist or pedestrian is almost sure to be a disaster…for the one being hit.

2. Cyclists are increasingly becoming unthoughtful and uncaring towards other cyclists, pedestrians and also make a big nuisance of themselves to car drivers, many flouting rules such as cycling through traffic lights, not having lights on their bikes, etc. Of course far from everyone, but more and more.

This silly bit of PR above really treats people as naive children and it should be replaced with something more realistic that promotes the benefits of cycling but gives some meaningful statistics and advice on how cyclists should behave and what measures they should take to make themselves more visible and careful to avoid careless and negligent drivers who will continue do whatever they do regardless of whatever advice is dished out to them.