Mayer Hillman wrote:"..the health benefits of regular cycling in terms of life years gained through increased longevity, far outweigh the loss of life years in cyclists' deaths."
In fact he cites a ratio of 20:1. We have no reason to suppose that this ratio doesn't still hold good.
Yes, the gains for health far outweigh the losses.
Pete Owens wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 11:18am
There is a finite risk of collision associated with riding a kilometre on a country lane then if you increase the number of km ridden (as happened during lockdown) then you would expect to see a proportional increase in casualties.
This is not news; it is advertising by an insurance company. The BBC should really be taking rather more care with their journalism and explain the context of the statistics, rather than simply cut and paste press releases like a local rag. There really is no way to tell from the story whether cycling became safer or more dangerous - or even whether the figure is statistically significant or just the sort of fluctuation you expect to see with series of small numbers.
Because "long term trend for cycling to be safer continues for with another small improvement recorded last year" doesn't make for a sensational headline.
Pete Owens wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 11:18am
There is a finite risk of collision associated with riding a kilometre on a country lane then if you increase the number of km ridden (as happened during lockdown) then you would expect to see a proportional increase in casualties.
This is not news; it is advertising by an insurance company. The BBC should really be taking rather more care with their journalism and explain the context of the statistics, rather than simply cut and paste press releases like a local rag. There really is no way to tell from the story whether cycling became safer or more dangerous - or even whether the figure is statistically significant or just the sort of fluctuation you expect to see with series of small numbers.
Completely agree - especially with my bolded bit.
Have you looked at their campaign, partners & materials?
My impression, and it is only that, is that the NFU has a deal more integrity in its business model & behaviours than the 'average' insurer. Sadly they didn't give me the job though, so all that candidate research was wasted
axel_knutt wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 12:03pm"This was despite fewer vehicles using rural routes, and a marked drop in the amount of traffic during the pandemic restrictions."
axel_knutt wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 12:03pm"This was despite fewer vehicles using rural routes, and a marked drop in the amount of traffic during the pandemic restrictions."
I'm in the Scottish Borders, 10th most dangerous roads in the UK - beautifully quiet roads, often only see half a dozen cars in a 30 mile ride, but some really crazy dangerous driving, the quieter the road the faster they driver, the more they play with their phones.
My impression, and it is only that, is that the NFU has a deal more integrity in its business model & behaviours than the 'average' insurer. Sadly they didn't give me the job though, so all that candidate research was wasted
robing wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 9:26am
Doesn't surprise me either.
Not just cycling either. I am a runner and run on some rural lanes and have almost been run off the road.
I have a friend who is mainly a runner but does a little cycling, he maintains that cars are much more careful around cyclists than they are around runners - would you agree or disagree with him ?
I do both and I Agree. Cyclists take up more room on the road and travel faster than runners. This results in motorists showing more caution when passing cyclists than runners, though by far still insufficient caution. This is borne out by the report linked in the original post, which states that overall deaths on rural roads increased by two-thirds and deaths of cyclists by 50%.
robing wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 9:26am
Doesn't surprise me either.
Not just cycling either. I am a runner and run on some rural lanes and have almost been run off the road.
I have a friend who is mainly a runner but does a little cycling, he maintains that cars are much more careful around cyclists than they are around runners - would you agree or disagree with him ?
I do both, running and cycling, and I Agree. Cyclists take up more room on the road and travel faster than runners. This results in motorists showing more caution when passing cyclists than runners, though by far still insufficient caution. This is borne out by the report linked in the original post, which states that overall deaths on rural roads increased by two-thirds and deaths of cyclists by 50%.
I’ve noticed an increase in the size and speed of tractors charging around country lanes quite often occupying all the available width of the road. Not sure if this is just me being paranoid or whether it’s actually supported by fact and others’ experiences
Yes it could have said Cyclist deaths rose by 20 despite hundreds of thousands more miles ridden last year during lockdown, or similar. Of course every death is one too many. That said, I’d like to see a 50 mph speed limit on rural roads except where otherwise stated rather than the current 60.
Pete Owens wrote: ↑1 Dec 2021, 11:18am
There is a finite risk of collision associated with riding a kilometre on a country lane then if you increase the number of km ridden (as happened during lockdown) then you would expect to see a proportional increase in casualties.
This is not news; it is advertising by an insurance company. The BBC should really be taking rather more care with their journalism and explain the context of the statistics, rather than simply cut and paste press releases like a local rag. There really is no way to tell from the story whether cycling became safer or more dangerous - or even whether the figure is statistically significant or just the sort of fluctuation you expect to see with series of small numbers.
Completely agree - especially with my bolded bit.
Have you looked at their campaign, partners & materials?
You found that link where I had failed. It looks to me a bit like an updated version of the Country Code from the 1950s(?) Unless you take the view that cyclists should be able to do as they like, then at least the advice here is from British Cycling and there's nothing about helmets, (or oilseed rape :wink: )
https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/news-and-st ... -cyclists/
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I may have missed it, but one thing that seems to be missing is advice to people like tractor drivers. Perhaps the National Farmers' Union thinks farmers are perfect road users