The Anonymous Widower

A Curious and Tragic Fact About Women Cyclists

I just spotted this on the BBC’s web site.

Men do about three times more journeys by bicycle than women, but in accidents causing deaths with lorries in London last year, seven out of the eight victims were women.

I’m writing this in Holland, where I suspect that the ratio of women cyclists to men is not as low as in the UK.  I wonder if the Dutch have the same anomaly with their accidents?  The figures in Holland would probably shed some light on those for the UK.

I do wonder though, whether a lot of the difference is due to the fact that the average man rides a bicycle much more aggressively than does the average woman.  I’m also constantly looking out for traffic on the lanes where I ride around Suffolk and make sure that when I meet a lorry, I either get them to slow down or I time it to meet them in a safe and obvious place.  I’m also pretty fit, so I can get out of the saddle to sprint to get out of the way. 

But this is only conjecture. 

None of the researchers in the article seem to have a clue.  And it’s not for want of trying.

October 9, 2009 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Cycling, The Netherlands