Newcastle one of most dangerous biking cities
NEWCASTLE has been ranked as the second most dangerous place in the UK for cyclists.
The number of bike accidents, average steepness of routes, surface quality and lighting across cycling routes were all analysed to assign a danger score to 41 cities across the UK.
According to the findings, Birmingham was the most dangerous city, followed by Newcastle and then Plymouth. Sunderland, the only other North East city to feature, was ranked 17th.
Cycling in the UK has surged by almost 200% since Covid lockdowns were put in place and it shows no sign of slowing down.
However, Newcastle received a danger score of 7.21/10. The authors of the report said not only are roads majorly steep (9.75/10), cyclists stand a relatively high risk of being involved in road crashes as the bike accident score averages 8.67/10 - only 0.91 lower than London (the worst-performing city in this regard).
Redemption for Newcastle comes from satisfactory road conditions, with smooth pathways (3/10) and optimal lighting along more than 70% of cycling routes.
Meanwhile, Sunderland had an overall danger score of 5.17. It has steep routes (10/10), a low average bike accident score of 2.33; a surface quality score of 6.5 and a dim lighting score of 7.5.
Birmingham is the most dangerous city for cyclists, racking up an overall score of 7.38/10. Bikers there are most likely to suffer from poorly maintained road surfaces (9/10), and steep pathways, with fewer than half of routes equipped with optimal lighting. These city’s was given a bike accident score of 6.75/10.
The work, by claims.co.uk, was based on data ‘scraped’ from more than 12,000 cycling routes from a reputable cycling network site.
STEEP ROADS AND RISK OF CRASHES TO BLAME FOR POOR RATING