Our submission to the Transport Select Committee on cycling safety

The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain has submitted evidence to the Commons Transport Select Committee's investigation into cycling safety. You can read our evidence here.

We detail precisely why Britain has a cycling safety problem. Our casualty rates are far in excess of the Netherlands, despite a considerable proportion of Dutch cycling being undertaken by people who are more vulnerable.

We argue that the principle issue is a failure to insulate cycling - generally, an intrinsically safe activity - from the dangers posed by motor traffic. In the Netherlands, this is achieved through the design of the physical environment, which separates everyday cycling from motor traffic, and ensures that where interactions do occur, the risk is kept to an absolute minimum.

We explain the principles of Sustainable Safety, which inform this approach, and also how it is achieved in practice.

We also set out why the issue of safety is so important, in light of the fact that perception of danger is one of the biggest barriers to the uptake of cycling in Britain. Demand for cycling is suppressed by unattractive and hostile road conditions.