Fear of Cycling

Abstract

Cycling has formed part of UK society for over a century. For much of that time, the bicycle was the most numerous vehicle on the roads, a major means of everyday mobility (Alderson, 1972; McGurn, 1999). But the amount of cycling in the UK has fallen dramatically and more or less continuously over the last half century; it accounted for 37 per cent of all journeys in 1949, but accounts for only around 1 per cent today (Department for Transport, 2002). The number of cycles bought has never been higher, yet the number of cycling trips made on UK roads has never been lower.