Just how bad are drivers, in general?

[Drago]

I think that was the suggestion. If there are less riders, then that perhaps would be why cydling casualties have fallen slightly rather than the roads suddenly becoming safer?

 

[Badger_Boom]

I disagree with the retesting theory. Most bad drivers I see are young rather than old.

I'll wager that most of the bad old drivers were bad young drivers. It sometimes seems like sheer luck that some people go their entire lives without actually killing someone or themselves.

a study was done by a tv news crew and apparently a lot of the public blamed cyclists for cars hitting other cars and pedestrians even if there wasn't a cyclist involved in the incident .

Did this factor in the common 'witty' social media comment of "It was the cyclist's fault" posted regularly on any story involving a road accident?

 

[mjr]

Wasn't it in the news recently that the number of cyclists is again falling?

Yes, based on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cycling-index-england/cycling-index-england which is based on the tiny number of DfT automatic traffic counters. Even so, it strongly suggests the governments have failed to grasp the chance to ride a good pandemic wave:

The higher quality Active Travel Survey stats are usually published mid-September and are a better way to compare. It's just annoying that road casualty counts appear a long time earlier.

 

[matticus]

Did this factor in the common 'witty' social media comment of "It was the cyclist's fault" posted regularly on any story involving a road accident?

Yes (IMO): drivers on social media are so reluctant to accept blame, that's it become quicker to get in first.(even when there isn't a cyclist for miles around)

 

[Vantage]

I've just read this in my news feed. https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/ne...rochdale-officers-crack-down-on-road-offences
Over 300 vehicles checked and just over half the drivers were issued warnings for offences. And the general public thinks cyclists are the dangerous ones

 

[presta]

Wasn't it in the news recently that the number of cyclists is again falling?

The long term consistent trend for the last 20 years is that it's going up, but slowly, at the current rate of progress it'll take over a century to replace half the car journeys. What's needed are policies to curb car use directly.

 

[dicko]

Just drove eighty miles home from our mini break on A roads and everything fine drivers not tailgating or pulling out in front either. Just one BMW idiot had to overtake, as I was sticking to the 50 limit, and overtook over Double White Lines. Caught him up at Melton Mowbray waiting at the lights 😆

 

[mjr]

The long term consistent trend for the last 20 years is that it's going up, but slowly, at the current rate of progress it'll take over a century to replace half the car journeys. What's needed are policies to curb car use directly.

View attachment 743272

Doesn't that graph suggest the last 20 years bikes have been replacing buses more than cars? Makes sense to me with the gutting of semirural and suburban bus services.

 

[Alex321]

Doesn't that graph suggest the last 20 years bikes have been replacing buses more than cars? Makes sense to me with the gutting of semirural and suburban bus services.

Not really. The graph is rather misleading due to the changes of scale on the Y axis.

 

[mjr]

Not really. The graph is rather misleading due to the changes of scale on the Y axis.

Yep, I missed that on the phone screen. Thanks.

 

[mjr]

Just how bad are drivers, in general?

Well, I just read that over 6300 criminal motorists caught were in Norfolk in July 2024 alone. https://www.norfolk.police.uk/news/.../over-100-arrests-made-during-summer-campaign

6268 speeding (6139 caught by camera, 129 by police),
86 not in proper control through use of their mobile phone,
46 positive breath tests,
48 arrested following a positive drug wipe,
39 not wearing a seatbelt,
9 arrested for failing to provide a sample,
9 arrested for being in charge of a vehicle whilst above the limit for drink/drugs, and
7 arrested after being found unfit through drink or drugs.

I'm only surprised that no figures are reported for red light jumping, yellow box blocking or driving on pavements or cycleways. Edit to add: it seems that Norfolk police doesn't care about them because it concentrates only on their "fatal four" of drink, drugs, distraction (including phones), speeding and seatbelts (doesn't that seem like five to you?). Personally, I'd probably let the idiots kill themselves with no seatbelts and worry more about RLJs and pavement driving that kills other road users.

 

[sheddy]

How bad ?
Just visit the school gates at pick up and drop off to witness the stupidity

 

[Drago]

Just how bad are drivers, in general?

In our little nation alone they kill 5 and maim 82 every single day, almost all due to willful negligence or recklessness. That tells us all we need to know about how bad they are.

Lightning strikes, stampeding cattle, trains and aircraft each kill far more people in the UK than cyclists do, yet the howling and baying for cyclists blood by the car driving public tells us all we need to know about how intelligent they are.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It’s the cows on bikes with electric prods you’ve got to watch out for.

 

[Andy in Germany]

In our little nation alone they kill 5 and maim 82 every single day

From memory, it's ca. 11-12 per day here, despite all the 'safety' features on cars.

With this in mind, I often wonder why roads are designed with flowing exits and wide curves to allow cars to go faster, whereas cycleways are designed with bottlenecks and chicanes to make cyclists go slower?