The Biggest Danger When Cycling

Watching the track championships on the TV, you are constantly surprised at how fast and close the riders are to each other. If you take an event like the Keirin, you can have 8-10 riders racing at upto 40mph (65Kmph) sprinting for the finish line. It looks dangerous but serious accidents are very rare. Even if riders crash and come off, a broken bone is quite unlikely; although, its pretty painful when a few layers of skin come off. It is surprising that there are not more accidents but, compared to a commute to work it is pretty much a safe haven.

The Biggest Dangers when Cycling

• Pedestrians. Pedestrians never look where they are going. They just listen for cars. If you ring your bell, they panic and have a habit of still getting in the wrong place. I’ve had many accidents with pedestrians just walking into the road, at least, they tend to be non serious injuries.
• Cars Turning left, when you cycle straight on. This is the biggest danger for cyclists.
• Cars turning right and cutting a corner. I was once turning right in Oxford, a car cut the corner, and stopped just a few feet in front of me and rather sheepishly went around. Interestingly it was at night and I had a front light…
• Cars Passing too close. Cars and buses do this everyday and I don’t even think they are aware of it. I’m always more conscious overtaking cyclists when driving.
• Low Sun. Low sun exacerbates the problem of motorists ‘not being able to see cyclists’
• Sleepy / drunk drivers. Many drivers just have poor control. They think they are safe because they drive an armoured SUV with bull horns around. But, they forget they drive a potential killing machine.
• Cyclist error. It’s not just drivers who make bad decisions. Alot of cycling accidents are self created through ignoring basic common sense. In fact, I would say the standard of cycling around Oxford is as bad as driving. The main difference being cyclists only put themselves in danger.

Related

• Tips for Cycling Safety 

• Victoria Pendleton talks of dangers of Cycling