Time Waster
Veteran
My partner used to do a lot of cycling around and kind of got me back into it after a long hiatus. It was her only form of personal transport when I first met her and until I relented and put her on my car insurance.
From the age of 3.5 years our son toured and even cycled his own bike when at home I think. At 4.5 years of age he was on his own bike touring and doing 50 miles a day possibly more. He toured and cycled more for the next two years until about 7 or perhaps even 8 ish. At that point we moved and he kind of stopped cycling so much. Now at 11 / 12 he is using my partners bike and wanting to ride around more and more with his mates on the roads (all small country roads in a very popular cycling ares). My partner has limited the places he can ride because she is now afraid of the traffic.
Now this is a big change for her IMHO because she never seemed too bothered by traffic before. She has ridden on tours around the world so likely to have seen the worst of the traffic out there. Part of me thinks that it is since cycling became more popular to be talked about and in particular talking about how dangerous it is on the roads. The thing is it is still actually quite rare to get a cycling accident round here that they get reported in the local press as being unusual. It is a popular cycling area and drivers round here expect to see cyclists and do modify driving. Still some nutters but not as many as other places I have cycled.
So I kind of think that there is something to the perception of cycling risk being linked to the amount of conversation about how dangerous drivers are or how bad drivers are on the roads these days. I personally think they are no worse or better than of old, well possibly better but offset by size of cars perhaps. So I do wonder if all these threads that highlight risk, whether founded or not, are self defeating in creating a climate of public fear about cycling. Assuming critical mass is significant with improving cycling safety and access then giving an excuse not to cycle on saferty grounds is self defeating.
From the age of 3.5 years our son toured and even cycled his own bike when at home I think. At 4.5 years of age he was on his own bike touring and doing 50 miles a day possibly more. He toured and cycled more for the next two years until about 7 or perhaps even 8 ish. At that point we moved and he kind of stopped cycling so much. Now at 11 / 12 he is using my partners bike and wanting to ride around more and more with his mates on the roads (all small country roads in a very popular cycling ares). My partner has limited the places he can ride because she is now afraid of the traffic.
Now this is a big change for her IMHO because she never seemed too bothered by traffic before. She has ridden on tours around the world so likely to have seen the worst of the traffic out there. Part of me thinks that it is since cycling became more popular to be talked about and in particular talking about how dangerous it is on the roads. The thing is it is still actually quite rare to get a cycling accident round here that they get reported in the local press as being unusual. It is a popular cycling area and drivers round here expect to see cyclists and do modify driving. Still some nutters but not as many as other places I have cycled.
So I kind of think that there is something to the perception of cycling risk being linked to the amount of conversation about how dangerous drivers are or how bad drivers are on the roads these days. I personally think they are no worse or better than of old, well possibly better but offset by size of cars perhaps. So I do wonder if all these threads that highlight risk, whether founded or not, are self defeating in creating a climate of public fear about cycling. Assuming critical mass is significant with improving cycling safety and access then giving an excuse not to cycle on saferty grounds is self defeating.
