IES Blog

Image Credit *Sally M* Under Creative Commons

IES runs a Cycle to Work scheme, I have taken the opportunity to buy two bikes through the scheme and I now cycle to work pretty much every day.  After getting hit riding to work on my bike by a white van the one thing that pretty much everyone asked me is why don’t you wear a helmet.

The website http://cyclehelmets.org/ gives some good information on the helmet use for cycling.  The data in this blog is taken from that website.

People’s view on the relative risk of cycling is far off the mark.  It is viewed as very risky to mix bicycles with motor vehicles but the data shows a different story.

Data giving risk relative to cycling based on fatality rates per participant in the UK shows perhaps unsurprisingly that you are you are 137 times as likely to die climbing as cycling.  Horse riding is also more risky, you are 29 times more likely to die.  More surprising though is the risk of tennis and football.  You are 4.2 times as likely to die playing tennis as cycling, for football the figure is 4.9 times.  Golf is safer though, only 0.83 times as likely to die as compared to cycling.

In the US there has been studies done on risk per time doing an activity which shows that you get 0.26 fatalities per million hours of cycling.  As I my commute is about 1hour a day I reckon it will take a while for me to reach a million hours of cycling.

Fatalities per million hours for other activities run at:
0.027 fatalities per million hours of living at home
0.15 fatalities per million hours of flying
0.26 fatalities per million hours of cycling
0.47 fatalities per million hours of passenger car use
1.07 fatalities per million hours of swimming
1.53 fatalities per million hours of living (all causes of death)
8.8 fatalities per million hours of on-road motorcycling
128.71 fatalities per million hours of sky diving

So cycling is 10 times more dangerous than being in your own home but it is 6 times safer than what people do with their time on average.  That sounds to me as if cycling is not dangerous at all.

The department of health have some statistics for the amount of head injuries for hospital admission the 2002/2003 period.

Proportion of all injuries that involve head injury:
All causes: 34.2%
Cyclists: 37.6%
Pedestrians: 43.7%
So cyclists being admitted to hospital are only slightly more at risk of a head injury than the average of all accidents and less likely to have a head injury than pedestrians.

The Highway Code in the UK advises the use of helmets without making it a law.  There is much debate with many non-cyclists to make helmet use law but I feel this would be a mistake.  In countries where helmet use is made law there has been a drop off in the number of people cycling.  Western Australia saw a 26% to 38% drop in overall cycle use but in children this rose to more than a 50% drop.  British Columbia in Canada saw a 28% drop in cycle use after their cycle helmet law was introduced.  Melbourne, Australia has invested in a bike hire scheme as Paris and London have done.  In Melbourne the bicycles lie in their dock stations unhired because of the helmet laws.  Who is going to carry a helmet with them just in case they want to hire one of the cities bicycles?  The only other option is to wheel the hired bike to a cycle shop to purchase a helmet.

By the way when I got hit by the van I didn’t hit my head.  My ribs were hurt though.  Plus helmets ruin my hairdo.  I rest my case

For more blogs on cycling laws see Treehugger and for more on this debate see Planet Green.

No Comments

Tags:Australia, cycle to work, cycling, cycling helmet, IES, safety

Does your typical workday look like a scene from this video “Planes, Trains and Automobiles?”

Next question, is there anything better than working from home in your PJs? How about working from home while helping the environment?

Climate Care Day is today, Friday, March 26, and as we’ve only just come across it unfortunately we won’t be taking part…shame (just think I could be sat at home in bed writing this right now)!!

But what exactly is it?  It’s a day which has been created to encourage businesses worldwide to replace all corporate travel with remote meetings for one day in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of climate change - the 21st century’s number one environmental issue - and demonstrate how simple choices can make a significant difference to the environment.  Following the success of Earth Hour (which is this tomorrow, FYI), Climate Care Day was created as a business initiative.

The thing is, while I like the ethos behind the idea, I can’t help but think it’s missing the sustainable transport element.  Sure staying at home one day and promoting video conferencing etc. is a great way of raising awareness, but what’s the point if we all go back to the same carbon intensive travel choices the next?

Imagine a world in which people choose to travel to work or meetings in ways that benefit their health and the environment.  There are many options; public transport, cycling, walking, electric/hybrid cars, and car sharing for example.

We have a pretty active “cycle to work” group here in the Glasgow office, which is supported by tax free discounts on purchase, as well as the ability to claim business mileage on expenses!  In fact we promote cycling so much that we’ve just been recognized as a Cycle Friendly Employee by Cycling Scotland.

While many others here car share on a regular basis – but as none of us are perfect there is a great practical guide on changing travel behaviour within your business on the Business Link website.

So can one day really make a difference?  Some of the stats on the website are shocking enough to make me want to try…  Hopefully next year we can convince our CEO to let us all work from home…

No Comments

Tags:Climate care day, cycle to work, earth hour

National Bike Week

Hello everyone,

It’s the UK’s National Bike Week starting from tomorrow, and we thought it would be really nice to join in!

On Wednesday morning we will provide breakfast for all members of staff who cycle to work that day, which will be good for all those hangovers from the birthday party on Tuesday night, although we’re not encouraging drunk cycling!!

If you are interested in taking part in any other cycling events in Glasgow here are the best of the bunch:

On the 21st of June there is a Heaven or Hell Charity fundraising ride. One route, two options! You can enter the event either do a 25 or 50 mile ‘CHSS Canal Cycle Challenge’, or you can take on the ‘CHSS Ultimate Duathlon’ the longest duathlon in Scotland!

For some family friendly fun why not head to Pollok Park for a cycle and a picnic.

For those that want to join in but don’t have a bike - why don’t you “celebrate life, music and saddle burn” with the folks at the Admiral Bar.

For more events in your area take a look at the Cycling Scotland website, it is FULL of fun activities!

No Comments

Tags:bike week, cycle to work