{"id":10313,"date":"2021-02-11T11:42:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T11:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discerningcyclist.com\/?p=10313"},"modified":"2024-01-15T01:06:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T01:06:50","slug":"is-cycling-more-dangerous-than-walking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discerningcyclist.com\/is-cycling-more-dangerous-than-walking\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Cycling More Dangerous than… Walking, Football, Tennis, Gardening!?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Like almost everything we do in life, cycling – to a certain extent – contains an element of risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you choose to sit “safely” on the sofa and avoid all danger, you’re actually taking the biggest risk. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death in humans (around 9 million people died from this in 2019<\/a>) and too much sitting has been shown to significantly increase this likelihood<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, there\u2019s certainly been a case for making cycling safer, particularly since COVID-19 struck and simultaneously seemed to trigger a global bike boom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at how safe cycling should be in 2021, and compare it to a number of other physical activities – some of which may shock you by being statistically more dangerous than riding a bike?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skip Ahead:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Is Cycling More Dangerous than…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nowadays, cycling is probably a lot safer than you think<\/a>. The advent of cycle paths<\/a> and pop-up bike lanes, for instance, during the coronavirus pandemic has given cyclists their own designated space and should keep any brushes with cars or other vehicles to a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The safety in cycling is backed up by the stats, too. Numbers from the National Travel Survey showed that a cycling fatality occurred once every nine million bike rides, and that the risk of any injury while riding was just five per cent for 1,000 hours of cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So yes, it can be dangerous, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not worth doing. The benefits, not just for your physical health but your mental wellbeing, should hugely outweigh your fears, added to the fact it\u2019s probably never been safer to cycle in your area than it is now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Is Cycling Dangerous?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n