The use of bicycles in Dublin is being impeded by the perception that cycling in the city is unsafe according to research from Trinity College Dublin.
A survey of almost 2,000 regular cyclists found that nearly two thirds thought bus, taxi and car drivers had a reckless attitude to cyclists and around half of those thought drivers were “always reckless”.
The study led by Anneka Lawson of the TCD school of engineering, determined that the behaviour of other road users had more effect on cyclists’ perception of their safety than the quality of cycling infrastructure.
Regular, confident cyclists preferred using the road instead of segregated lanes the study showed. Almost 80 per cent of respondents said the presence of pedestrians in lanes which were off-road or combined with footpaths were likely to cause accidents.
Just over 80 per cent identified poor road condition and poorly maintained on-road cycling lanes as contributing to a lack of safety.
Respondents cited lanes which ended abruptly, cars parked in cycle lanes, and broken road surfaces as increasing the dangers of cycling.
Almost one third said they would alter their route to avoid poor road surfaces, a similar number said they would take a route which avoided high speed limits.
Cyclists under the age of 25 were more likely than older cyclists to see cycling as dangerous.
This, the study said, was a cause for concern as these cyclists were the group most likely to contribute to the growth of cycling.
Dublin cyclists had a comparatively high rate of use of safety accessories, the survey found. Nearly 54 per cent claimed to wear a helmet and 88 per cent to use lights or reflective accessories while cycling at night.
Similar surveys in other cities showed helmet use in Boston at 31.5 per cent, and in Paris at just 2.2 per cent. Bicycle light use in Boston was at 14.8 per cent and 46.8 per cent in Paris.
However 87.5 per cent of respondents admitted to breaking the rules of the road, with more experienced cyclists the more likely offenders.
The study recommends that the National Road Authority and city and town councils concentrate on improving the quality of on-road cycling lanes and improving the road surface in general instead of building off-road cycle lanes.
It also recommends that policy makers encourage “better cyclist-driver cooperation” to help combat Dublin’s “road rage problems”.
