The Secret Cyclist: The RSA and the Gardaí don't have the resources to keep us safe
Pic: iStock
It will not come as a shock to anyone to learn that someone who writes a cycling column enjoys cycling.
I cycle as much as I can; to work, to the shops, and for enjoyment.
If I’m not cycling, I might be watching cycling on TV or planning a long cycle route.
There’s nothing unusual about any of this, we all have our hobbies and interests. It just so happens that cycling is mine.
As much as I enjoy cycling, I often feel like there is a dark cloud on the horizon. This is the fear of getting knocked down.
The strength and depth of this feeling varies between people depending on their own personal experiences and attitudes.
Some people like to talk about it, others prefer to shrug it off.
The fear of getting knocked down becomes a reality for many people.
A fatal collision not only steals someone of their life but also devastates the lives of the victim’s friends and family.
The news headlines will mention ‘pedal cyclist’ but this fails to capture the true humanity of the victim.
It’s someone’s parent, someone’s best friend, someone’s employer, or someone who wanted to grow old with another.
For every fatal collision in Ireland, an additional 25 people have serious injuries following a collision while cycling.
These incidents rarely make the news but can be life-changing for the person involved and their families.
Imogen Cotter, an Irish professional cyclist, was hit by an oncoming vehicle that was attempting to overtake another cyclist on the other side of the road in 2022.
Anyone who followed Imogen’s path to recovery from her injuries on her social media or watched the story she made with the RSA and Skoda Ireland earlier this year will be aware of the trauma, both physical and mental that follows following a serious collision.
People often say cycling is dangerous and will point to stats of injuries as proof of this. I disagree.
If cycling is on one side of the coin, the other side of the coin isn’t less cycling and fewer injuries.
The other side of the coin is less cycling and higher rates of death and disease due to less exercise.
Higher rates of cycling lead to better public health. For every 1,000 people who take up daily cycling, there are fifteen fewer cancer diagnoses and four fewer cardiovascular events over a ten-year period.
The fear of getting knocked down manifests itself in decisions like what to wear while cycling, what time to go cycling, where to cycle, and how to cycle.
Society places a huge responsibility on people who cycle to avoid being knocked down. Victim blaming is rife despite the fact that over 80% of collisions occur on straight stretches of roads and in the daytime.
In almost one in ten collisions involving a person cycling, the driver of the other vehicle fled the scene. The most frequently noted action by the driver of the vehicle was a failure to observe.
Many countries are working hard to reduce road traffic collisions whilst also increasing the number of people who walk and cycle.
The ‘Vision Zero’ concept is popular in many cities and countries and its goal is that nobody should die or be seriously injured in a road collision.
Ireland has set a target of 2050 for this objective. 23 years to wait.
The fear of getting knocked down isn’t just in my head. Almost every time I cycle on roads in Ireland, I experience a close pass.
At least once a month, a car driver beeps their horn at me aggressively.
Once every other month, I need to take swift action to avoid a car that pulls out in front of me or decides to overtake and then immediately turn left.
In the past week in Ireland, a car crashed into a group of school children in Antrim, resulting in one death.
Two children cycling in Cork were involved in separate collisions and were taken to hospital, one remains in a critical condition.
These are just the most upsetting headlines, many other serious and fatal collisions occurred.
It’s time we accept that the RSA and An Garda Síochána do not have the resources or skills to keep us all safe on the roads.
We need a new approach.
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