Do you think cycling locally is too dangerous?

June 24, 2022, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Some of the saddest personal injury cases we see are the result of cyclists being struck by car drivers. Regardless of who is to blame (statistics show that the motor vehicle drivers are the at fault party more than 50% of the time) it is the cyclist that ends up injured every time. The physics of the collision are simple.

A new Ipsos poll finds that 52% of people worldwide think it’s too dangerous to cycle locally. This is problematic for many reasons. It points to the real fear of being hit, the costs and potential death or serious injuries that can result in expensive medical care and sometimes lifelong impairment.

The pool results come at a time when governments are trying to encourage most of us to cycle more locally in order to reduce green house gas emissions, to become more fit (global increases in obesity are concerning) and to make cities more liveable.

Nations like The Netherlands that have high rates of cycling share certain characteristics that make cycling safer and make cyclists feel safer. These include:

1. Fully separated bicycle lanes
2. Cultures of cycling and drivers who are accustomed to looking for cyclists at intersections and laneways.
3. Climates that allow for cycling for much of the year
4. Well designed and plentiful bike paths that allow cyclists to travel throughout urban areas safely

What do you think? Do you cycle to work? Do you cycle recreationally? What holds you back?

If you have been seriously injured in a cycling accident you should contact one of our experienced personal injury lawyers to make sure your future is secured. Don't face this alone. We're here to help.

Here are some of the key findings of the poll. You can find more information here.

52% globally say cycling in their area is too dangerous

A new Ipsos survey finds that most adults across 28 countries consider cycling plays an important role in the reduction of carbon emissions (on average, 86% do so) and in the reduction of traffic (80%). However, half (52%) say cycling in their area is too dangerous. The prevalence of cycling to run errands or to commute is highest in countries where it is most widely perceived as a safe mode of transportation such as China, Japan, and the Netherlands. In most countries surveyed, a solid majority of citizens are in favor of giving bicycles priority over automobiles in new infrastructure projects.

Globally, fewer adults report typically using a bicycle for a 2-kilometer/1-mile trip in their neighborhood (14% on average) than walking (37%) or driving (25%). However, cycling is the most common mode of transportation for short local trips in the Netherlands (45%) and China (33%) and is also widely used in Japan (27%), India (21%), Germany (21%), and Belgium (20%).

As many as 30% of adults in the Netherlands, 22% in China and India, and 20% in Sweden report riding a bicycle to get to their place of work or education. In contrast, only 4% in Canada, and 5% in South Africa, the United States, and Great Britain do so.

On average globally, twice as many say they ride a bicycle for exercise (28%) than for commuting (12%). Cycling for exercise is most widely practiced in Poland where 61% report doing it.

Across the 28 countries, almost two-thirds (63%) of adults say they know how to ride a bicycle and 42% report owning one. The Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden show the highest levels of bicycle ownership. Usage of public bicycle-sharing systems averages at 8% per country, but it is much higher in China (38%), India (19%), South Korea (15%), and Turkey (15%).

The proportion of cyclists does not differ greatly among major demographic groups. The prevalence of weekly cyclists is only slightly higher among those who are male, younger, urban, more affluent, and highly educated than it is among those who are not. However, one group stands out: business decision-makers. On average, 55% of them ride a bike at least once a week vs. 35% of all adults.

These are some of the findings of a survey of 20,057 adults under the age of 75 conducted between March 25 and April 8, 2022 on Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.

Cycling as a solution

Large majorities in all countries agree that cycling plays an important role in the reduction of carbon emissions (from a high of 94% in Peru and China to a low of 77% in Germany) and the reduction of traffic (from 94% in Peru to 62% in the U.S.).

Furthermore, cycling enjoys a higher level of favorability than do all other forms of transportation – a global average of 82% view bicycles favorably vs. 74% for automobiles, 73% for e-bikes, 59% for motorcycles or mopeds, 53% for standup scooters and 43% for trucks.

Countries where bicycles are most favored over cars are Turkey, the Netherlands, Hungary, Chile, Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, and Peru (all by 15 percentage points or more). Only four of the 28 countries show a significantly higher level of favorability for automobiles than for bicycles: Australia, the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada.

Bicycles are viewed favorably in all countries (from 93% in Poland to 64% in Great Britain) as are e-bikes (from 84% in India to 57% in Great Britain). In contrast, other types of vehicles are not viewed as kindly in some countries: standup scooters are seen favorably by only 17% in Japan (vs. 79% in India), motorcycles and mopeds by only 23% in South Korea (vs. 85% in India and 79% in Malaysia), and trucks by 24% in Turkey and 28% in China (vs. 70% in the U.S.).

Prioritizing bicycles

In this context, twice as many agree as disagree (64% vs. 36%, on average per country) that new road and traffic infrastructure projects in their area should prioritize bicycles over automobiles. Support is higher than average in all emerging countries surveyed. The only countries where fewer than 50% agree are Canada, the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Great Britain while opinions are evenly split in Belgium and Norway.

Support for prioritizing bicycles in infrastructure prevails where large majorities agree that “cycling from one place to another in my area is too dangerous”, including all countries surveyed across Latin America and Southern Europe as well as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

About the Study

These are the findings of a 28-country Ipsos survey conducted March 25 – April 8, 2022, among 20,057 adults aged 16-99 in Norway, 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, and 16-74 in 22 other countries, via Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.

Each country’s sample consists of ca. 1,000 individuals in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States, and ca. 500 individuals in Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

 

 

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.