Why Netherlands and Denmark are successful cycling countries
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Resources
Powerfull video Message on Government cycle promotion policy
(13 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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"It makes you wonder why no one in the United States even seems to be aware that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14."
How similar is it here?
That must include (and probably mostly) children in cars.
Posted 12 years ago # -
chdot - Very similar (for England & Wales) for 5 - 19 year olds car crashes are the leading cause, for 20 - 34 year olds the leading cause is suicide and for 35 to 49 it is an even split between heart disease, suicide and liver disease. Happy stuff.
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-235172
If only there was some way to reduce the number of cars on the road, reduce stress and increase moderate physical exercise to tackle these issues... (still b*d on the liver front though)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Thanks peterbr - excellent video.
chdot - one child pedestrian (i.e. under 16), one child cyclist and one child car passenger were killed on Scotland's roads in 2010. The age that a cyclist or pedestrian is most likely to die on Scotland's roads is between 30 and 49, while drivers aged 17 to 24 and 50 to 59 most likely to be killed.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Does "most likely" control for exposure? Is it just that the 'old guard' of cycling, the ones who do most of it, are currently between 30-49 (which seems unlikely to me, as cycling has been sh*t for much longer than these people have been mobile)?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Dave - you are of course correct, us oldies also do the most cycling. I suspect the cycling stats are too ropey to provide a decent analysis of likelihood of being involved in an accident by age and distance travelled.
Odd, isn't it that even the new cycle campaigners (I'm thinking PoP people here) are possibly slightly too old to be considered student radicals.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Meanwhile -
"Young Dutch teenagers remain the most satisfied with life in Europe, according to a new international survey of child health and behaviour carried out by the World Health Organisation."
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/05/dutch_young_teenagers_remain_t.php
Posted 12 years ago # -
"possibly slightly too old to be considered student radicals"
That could be a whole conversation.
'Young people aren't into politics' some people moan. Well they may well be less interested in party politics - if many people ever were.
There's still the NUS - MP route still intact.
It's not really about age - though you might as well start young. As has been mentioned, there were quite a few really young people there on Saturday 'on a demo for the first time'. Some will see such things as 'normal' and want to help make cycling on roads 'normal'.
There have also been discussions on here about Spokes' longstanding reluctance to recruit student members for admin and commitment reasons.
Students (especially in central Edinburgh) are highly likely to cycle. Perhaps some of them should start 'Student Cyclists for Edinburgh" or something.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I expect there is a certain amount of acceptance among students that this is how things will be until they can get a car. We mustn't forget that some people really are only cycling until they can get a car. It is a surprisingly common reason given by contestants for wanting to win money on quiz shows I have noticed.
My feeling is that the reason most of the action is among older people (older than students anyway) is that a lot of these people have children and they are really starting to realise the importance of decent cycling facilities for them. This is how the Dutch got theirs after all, isn't it?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Speaking as a student, I know a lot of my coursemates don't feel safe enough to cycle. The number 1 comment I get from them is that they think i'm mad for cycling in Edinburgh because it doesn't look safe or that I must have a death wish.
In response to Min's comment regarding waiting to get a car in my age group - the story I'm hearing from people is changing.
Sure 3-4 years ago we were all just waiting till we could afford to learn to drive, but I think many of us now are realising that we may NEVER be able to afford to drive.
Lets face it petrol costs are unlikely to fall anytime soon. It's a limited resource that is fast running out. Driving lesson costs are sky high. You have to start by forking out £50 just for the piece of paper that gives you permission to start learning.
According to the AA the average cost of a lesson is £24 but that on average you need 47 lessons in order to pass the test. So you're already spending close to £1200 before you even start to consider insurance.
My partner and I were discussing our future and how much a car would feature in it. Previously we both wanted cars but now we're thinking that we may only ever have one for long distances where lots of kit is needed. (My partner is a dark age reenactor and travels to show with lots of heavy kit including sometimes 9ft spears.)
In the city we're seriously considering one of these: http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/cargotrike.htm#hard for using to transport kit and shopping etc around the city.
Maybe we're eccentric or maybe we're part of a generation waking up to the realisation that petrol is fast becoming the preserve of the wealthy.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Maybe we're eccentric"
Nothing wrong with that...
"or maybe we're part of a generation waking up to the realisation that petrol is fast becoming the preserve of the wealthy"
And/or any 'disposal income' might be better spent on housing costs, better (maybe local) holidays, more bikes, longer spears etc.
Posted 12 years ago # -
zenfrost, try a trailer first before going the cargo bike route. much smaller/handier/maneuverable/storable and you can swap it between your two bikes. better cornering, and better suited to our uneven streets.
Posted 12 years ago # -
zenfrost - click here to see some of the stuff I've done with mine. Very much cheaper than a cargo bike.
Posted 12 years ago #
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