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The bicycle—Can we all benefit?
Public Health (1992), 106,251
© The Society of Public Health, 1992
Editorial The Bicycle--Can we all Benefit?
Cycling as an aid to health has been much c o m m e n d e d , recently, in medical circles. There has been a report from the B M A , 1 a n u m b e r of papers in journals, and a certain a m o u n t of public debate, perhaps not enough. The particularly interesting aspect is not the scientific basis for commending it, which is irrefutable but, as Godlee points out in a recent editorial in the BMJ, 2 why, apparently, nothing has been done about it. Your editor has just returned from a teaching trip to the Netherlands. H e has been struck, like every other visitor, by the widespread and sensible use of the bicycle. Apart from a general, rather unformulated, belief that it was a 'good thing', his only view previously of this means of transport was that, in towns, it was an extra hazard to pedestrians and that cycle lanes did not particularly contribute to the urban environment. The only advantage that bicycles had in towns, for pedestrians, was that the impact was less. W h e r e motor vehicles were concerned it is usually apparent when the pedestrian has right of way but cyclists seem to suffer no restriction, even if they gain this privilege by intimidation rather than law. Where it was clear that proper provision for cyclists had great benefit for all was in the country or on the outskirts of towns. The simple provision of cycle lanes to busy single carriageway roads converted them from a hazardous, unpleasant experience for drivers of m o t o r vehicles to an acceptable and even relaxing way to get from A to B. The benefits to cyclists were so great as to transcend just safety and health. Safe cycling restores mobility to rural communities. It adds an extra dimension to the lives of e v e r y o n e - - y o u n g and old. The practical point is that cycle lanes are a cheap m e t h o d of increasing the capacity of roads for motor vehicles. Why don't we follow this example in this country? Well, there are more hills, of course, but there are many flat parts of England: places where the bicycle has been driven out by the hazards of cycling along windy roads with an articulated lorry passing one foot from one's handlebars. It is clear that the only obstruction is official inertia. With the encouragement of properly engineered roads there would be a mass return to cycling. The Editor might even try it himself! References
1. BMA (1992). Cycling towards Health and Safety. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 2. Godlee, F. (1992). Editorial: on your bikes. British Medical Journal, 304, 588-589.
© The Society of Public Health, 1992
Editorial The Bicycle--Can we all Benefit?
Cycling as an aid to health has been much c o m m e n d e d , recently, in medical circles. There has been a report from the B M A , 1 a n u m b e r of papers in journals, and a certain a m o u n t of public debate, perhaps not enough. The particularly interesting aspect is not the scientific basis for commending it, which is irrefutable but, as Godlee points out in a recent editorial in the BMJ, 2 why, apparently, nothing has been done about it. Your editor has just returned from a teaching trip to the Netherlands. H e has been struck, like every other visitor, by the widespread and sensible use of the bicycle. Apart from a general, rather unformulated, belief that it was a 'good thing', his only view previously of this means of transport was that, in towns, it was an extra hazard to pedestrians and that cycle lanes did not particularly contribute to the urban environment. The only advantage that bicycles had in towns, for pedestrians, was that the impact was less. W h e r e motor vehicles were concerned it is usually apparent when the pedestrian has right of way but cyclists seem to suffer no restriction, even if they gain this privilege by intimidation rather than law. Where it was clear that proper provision for cyclists had great benefit for all was in the country or on the outskirts of towns. The simple provision of cycle lanes to busy single carriageway roads converted them from a hazardous, unpleasant experience for drivers of m o t o r vehicles to an acceptable and even relaxing way to get from A to B. The benefits to cyclists were so great as to transcend just safety and health. Safe cycling restores mobility to rural communities. It adds an extra dimension to the lives of e v e r y o n e - - y o u n g and old. The practical point is that cycle lanes are a cheap m e t h o d of increasing the capacity of roads for motor vehicles. Why don't we follow this example in this country? Well, there are more hills, of course, but there are many flat parts of England: places where the bicycle has been driven out by the hazards of cycling along windy roads with an articulated lorry passing one foot from one's handlebars. It is clear that the only obstruction is official inertia. With the encouragement of properly engineered roads there would be a mass return to cycling. The Editor might even try it himself! References
1. BMA (1992). Cycling towards Health and Safety. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 2. Godlee, F. (1992). Editorial: on your bikes. British Medical Journal, 304, 588-589.