Research conducted in Greater Manchester has concluded that cyclist training should be packaged as part of wider, cohesive measures such as infrastructure improvements, driver education and enforcement and traffic reduction.
The study, carried out by Salford University on behalf of Bikeright, shows that training is valuable to cyclists of every experience or skill level, not just the unconfident or inexperienced.
By providing progressive levels of cycle training many riders would not only feel more confident on the roads but would cycle longer distances, cycle more often and feel safer in traffic, no matter what their current level of experience and skill, the reesearch shows.
Dr Graeme Sherriff, from the Sustainable Housing and Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) at the University of Salford, comments on the findings: “Whilst cycling offers many benefits, relatively few people cycle to get to work, education or the shops.”
“Cycle training is one response to a lack of confidence in cycling in traffic and its provision could overcome this significant barrier. Communicating this effectively to a range of audience is a challange, and this is what we set out to understand in the focus groups.”
Liz Clarke, MD at BikeRight! adds: “Cycle training enables cyclists and would-be cyclists to build skills and confidence that better equip them to cycle in current traffic conditions rather than expecting them to wait for traffic-free cycle highways to be rolled out.”
“What’s more, whilst cycle training is important in building skills and confidence so that more people feel able to cycle on the road, a parallel issue is the behaviour of those who already cycle. It is not necessarily the case that confidence or experience equates to a good standard of cycling.”
