Bristol named 9th ‘most dangerous’ city for cycling in UK

A recent study has named Bristol one of the most dangerous cities for cycling in the UK.

Cycling has surged by almost 200% since the Covid lockdowns, most likely down to quieter roads as motorists stayed at home when restrictions were at their height.

But traffic has more or less returned to normal, prompting Claims.co.uk to reveal the safest - and riskiest - cities in which to get behind the handlebars.

After analysing 12,000 cycling routes across the UK as well as their number of bike accidents, average steepness, surface quality, and lighting, experts were able to assign a ‘danger score’ for each of the 41 UK cities examined.

And despite boasting the unofficial title of ‘The Cycling City’, Bristol did not come out tops for safety on the results.

In fact, it turned out to be the ninth most dangerous city for cycling, as of April 2022, with an overall danger score of 6.08/10.

According to experts, cyclists in the city have to deal with steep pathways (7.25/10), which could contribute to Bristol’s bike accident score of 6.67/10.

A total of 184 ‘slight’ accidents and 16 serious accidents involving cyclists occurred between 2016 and 2020, along with one tragic fatal incident.

Despite this, Bristol fared well when it came to surface quality with just over 98% of its 368 cycling routes boasting ‘acceptable or better surface quality’. Around 70% of pathways were also found to have lighting.

Responding to the report Ian Pond, chair of the Bristol Cycling Campaign, said: “Every day tens of thousands of Bristolians use their bike go to work, go to the shops, visit friends, or enjoy some leisure time, helping to reduce traffic congestion, carbon use and air pollution.

“We hope that this report highlights that it is the responsibility of us all to be patient and considerate on the road, particularly when passing cyclists to reduce road danger.”

Mr Pond added that the group were busy campaigning for measures to make cycling in the city safer, such as for potholes to be repaired faster and no vehicles parked in bike lanes, along with new and protected cycleways on main roads.

The study doesn’t seem to take population into account - Bristol’s is much higher than Chelmford’s for example, which was deemed the ‘safest’ city for cycling in the UK.

Pair this with the city’s hilly terrain and it does call into question the study’s results and if Bristol has been scored fairly.

It also comes after international transport infrastructure firm Colas recently declared Bristol to be the most cycle-friendly city in the UK, stating it had ‘more than 107,084km of mapped cycleways and 1,942 cycle routes at present’.

Do you agree that Bristol is dangerous for cycling? We’d love to hear your thoughts - email [email protected] or leave a comment on our social media pages.