Cycling in Britain is a safe way of getting around and exercising. According to road safety charity Brake, one cyclist dies for every 33 million miles cycled. They sound like good odds, and they’re getting better. The casualty rate has been falling over the past decade, reports Cycling UK (even after discounting the impact of the pandemic, when there were blissfully few cars on the road).

Despite all this, many people say they’re too frightened to cycle on Britain’s roads. If you’re inexperienced, a busy urban road understandably feels like a scary place. And most accidents happen at junctions, rather than on the open road. Ironically, I have found central London one of the most enjoyable places to ride a bike, even in the rush hour, as the city now has many miles of segregated cycle routes, where bikes and cars are kept apart. There’s little chance of that luxury where I live in the Chilterns.

There are things cyclists can do to improve the odds, regardless of where we cycle. Cycling UK has plenty of tips. Meanwhile, I have had two positive results over the past month in the small steps I have taken to make my local roads safer for cyclists.

Report those potholes

Potholes are a serious danger for cyclists, while causing expensive damage to bikes and cars. They are a particular danger in bad weather – when you can mistake them for mere surface water – and at night. I recently rediscovered Cycling UK’s brilliant tool for reporting potholes: Fill that Hole. (Anyone can use it – car drivers as well as those on bikes.) I got an informative response confirming that the huge hole on the A355 where it crosses M40 junction 2 would be repaired in the coming month or so after others reported the hazard. In my experience, potholes do get repaired when you report them. It takes just a couple of minutes to file a report, which can include photos.

Report dangerous drivers

My biggest concern when cycling is drivers who pass far too closely. The Highway Code requires drivers to allow a passing distance of at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking cyclists, but few drivers follow the rules. Out on the roads of Buckinghamshire and neighbouring counties, I’ll usually experience at least one car or van passing closer than I’d like on most rides. It’s rarer for me to experience a sense of danger – but two years ago I decided to report the serious cases to the Thames Valley Police. It’s very easy to do this online: the form requests the necessary information, and you can upload video.

I’m very selective about those I report. I only act against those close passes where I felt in danger. To capture the evidence, I use a Cycliq Fly12 Sport front camera, which contains a front light as well. In my first 18 months, I have reported two drivers, and on both occasions Thames Valley Police has taken action against the driver. You can see the latest overtaking case above.

I decided at the beginning not to report every incident. As an experienced cyclist, I am not fazed by traffic, and my view is that if I’m not unduly bothered at the time there’s no reason to file a report, even if the driver hasn’t left the required passing distance. Others, notably CyclingMikey, who has reported over 1,000 errant drivers, including Chris Eubank and Guy Ritchie, are more interventionist. I am more likely to report commercial drivers as they are likely to drive further than private motorists, putting more cyclists in danger, although the first person I reported was in a private car who ran me off the road on a single track road.

I have found the Cycliq a brilliant bit of kit, especially as it is largely ‘fit and forget’. It records over earlier footage when the memory card is full, so you don’t have to worry about replacing the card, and it records for up to seven hours between charges. You can flag incidents you want to save by pressing the Q button to keep the relevant video segments.

Cycliq is the subject of negative comments online about its customer service, but I have found the camera very reliable.

The cycling revival

As I mentioned at the start of this post, cycling is far safer than many think. Modern bike brakes and lights are vastly better than when I started cycling as an adult over 35 years ago. Better still, there are far more people on bikes today, compared with when I was growing up in the 1970s – possibly the low point for cycling in Britain, when car ownership was booming and cycling was seen as a poor person’s way of getting around. Long may the cycling revival continue.