Cycleplan - Cyclists Vs Drivers

Cyclists

Drivers

Top 5 worst driver behaviours according to cyclists

Speeding Driver

1 25% East Midlands
2 22% Highlands and Islands
3 22% East Wales
4 22% West Midlands
5 20% Yorkshire and Humberside

Within the East Midlands, 22% of all posts from Leicester were concerning speeding drivers, with Nottingham similarly on 21%. Surprisingly, the next highest location was way up in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, with 44% of Wick users showing concern about speeding drivers. Third in the list? Over one side of the UK in East Wales, Swansea (24%) – while the fourth highest was in the West Midlands (Birmingham –23%) and fifth up in Yorkshire (Sheffield – 20%).

Bad drivers

1 29% Greater London
2 28% North East Scotland
3 24% South West Scotland
4 23% Yorkshire and the Humberside
5 23% South East

Bad Driving in general? It should come as no shock to commuting cyclists that the biggest weight of complaints came from Greater London. However, close behind were both North East and South West Scotland – with Aberdeen (29%) and Ayr (19%) respectively the cities in each region with the highest proportion of complaints.

Rounding off the UK were Leeds (23%) and Scarborough (14%) from Yorkshire, and Reading (22%) and Portsmouth (21%) from the South East.

Hit and run

1 14% South West
2 14% South East
3 14% Yorkshire and the Humberside
4 13% Greater London
5 12% East Midlands

Concerned about hit and run accidents? So are plenty of people in the South.

Firstly, the South West – currently the area with the highest proportion of complaints, specifically in Bournemouth (where 22% of all posts were about Hit and Runs), Plymouth (18%) and Bristol (14%). Secondly, the South East, where Portsmouth (18%), Reading (14%) and Oxford (9%) stand out the most.

Outside of the top two is Yorkshire, where York (17%), Sheffield (14%) and Leeds (14%) show high levels of concern about ‘Hit and Run’ accidents, followed by Greater London and the East Midlands.

Cycle lanes

1 14% Northern Ireland
2 14% West Wales and the Valleys
3 13% Greater London
4 12% East Scotland
5 9% South East

Whether it’s parking in a cycling lane or stopping in a cycling box, Northern Ireland tops the charts in grievances around both – specifically in Belfast – where 15% of the complaints were about cycle-specific areas being blocked. Closely behind is the West of Wales, the hotspot being Cardiff (14%).

Elsewhere, there were similar issues in Greater London, East Scotland (Edinburgh – 13%, Dundee - 8%) and the South East (Reading & Portsmouth – both 8%).

Proximity

1 6% East Scotland
2 6% Yorkshire and the Humberside
3 6% Highlands and the Islands
4 6% West Midlands
5 5% West Wales and the Valleys

Cars nipping at your heels? The chances are you’re probably in East Scotland, where the highest proportion of cyclists were concerned about it – specifically in Perth (10%) and Edinburgh (6%).

Alternatively, other locations with significant levels of worry were Scarborough (8%) and Leeds (5%) in Yorkshire, as well as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Birmingham (6%) in the West Midlands – and finally Cardiff (6%) in West Wales.

Top 5 worst cyclist behaviours according to drivers

High-Visibility Gear

1 5% North East Scotland
2 4% East of England
3 4% South East
4 4% West Midlands
5 4% Yorkshire and the Humberside

Although cyclists not wearing high-visibility clothing is a large concern nationwide, our statistics show it has the highest proportion of complaints in North East Scotland, especially Aberdeen (5%).

Outside of North East Scotland, the other main problem areas are East England (Peterborough – 7%, Southend-On-Sea – 6%, Luton – 5%), South East (Reading – 6%, Oxford – 5%), the West Midlands (Stoke – 5%) and Yorkshire (Scarborough – 14%, Leeds – 4%).

Headphones

1 12% Highlands and Islands
2 10% North East
3 10% South West
4 9% East Midlands
5 9% West Midlands

The biggest proportion of concerns around cyclists wearing headphones while riding comes from Inverness (12%) in the Scottish Highlands, narrowly beating Middlesbrough (12%) and Newcastle (9%) a little further south in the North East.

Making up the rest of the top 5 is the South West in third, specifically Bournemouth (10%) and Bristol (8%), as well as Nottingham (9%) in the East Midlands and Stoke (11%) and Coventry (9%) in the West Midlands.

Bad cyclist

1 14% South West Scotland
2 13% North East
3 13% North West
4 13% Northern Ireland
5 12% East

In the case of general poor cyclist standards, statistics place the hotspot of mentions on social media in South West Scotland, with Ayr (16%) and Glasgow (13%) seeing large spikes.

Outside of Scotland, there are also big issues in the North East and North West, with Newcastle (14%), Liverpool (14%) and Manchester (12%) standing out.

That’s not to forget Londonderry (18%) in Northern Ireland and the biggest areas of the East of England (Cambridge – 14%, Southend-On-Sea – 8%).

Undertaking

1 9% Stoke
2 8% Plymouth
3 7% Coventry

Despite there not being any specific regions where undertaking is an enormous issue, there were several cities where it is pretty bad.

Biggest of these is Stoke – where 9% of the social posts were concerned with cyclists passing on the right or undertaking. Also worth noting were the cities of Plymouth (8%) and Coventry (7%).

Running red lights

1 2% East Wales
2 2% Yorkshire and the Humberside
3 2% North East
4 2% North West

If you ever needed proof that cyclists going through red lights was a grievance shared equally across most of the nation’s biggest towns and regions to the same degree – here it is.

Every top region and city that showed concern came out at a steady 2% (2261 posts) across the board, from Swansea in East Wales, Sheffield and Leeds in Yorkshire – right through to Newcastle in the North East and Liverpool in the North West.

Top 5 worst driver behaviours according to cyclists

25k

50k

51,146

Speeding Driver

47,262

Bad Drivers

34,352

Hit and Run

26,533

Cycle Lanes

20,759

Proximity

Speeding Driver

Lizzie says:

When I’m driving, it’s very important that I’m adhering to the Highway Code because it’s not just about my safety it’s about everybody else’s safety. You have a responsibility to keep to the speed limit – if you hit a cyclist at speed, they’ll be the ones more likely to get hurt rather than you in your car.

When you’re cycling, there’s nothing worse than a car speeding past you at the speed of light – leaving you shaken and covered in a cloud of dust.

28% of cyclists have identified speeding drivers as their biggest issue when on their bike, making it the highest concern overall!

Most of the time when cycling on the road, street lights mean a 30mph speed limit (Highway Code Rule 124).

Drivers, please be aware of the speed limits, particularly with cyclists around.

Bad drivers

Lizzie says:

If you scare a cyclist by driving badly, that could set their nerves on edge and mean they make a dangerous mistake later on. At the end of the day, driving badly isn’t going to make your journey any quicker and one mistake could ruin someone’s life.

There are many variations of a bad driver – but cyclists often encounter plenty of poor practice on their travels, from drivers being on the phone behind the wheel to braking suddenly.

As a cyclist, it’s hard enough making sure you’re doing everything correctly, without having to worry about bad drivers. We all have to take due care and attention (Highway Code Rule 144) to make sure the roads are a safer place for everyone!

More than a quarter of cyclists posted about bad drivers – making it a crucial issue in the struggle to share our roads.

Hit and run

Lizzie says:

If you hit a cyclist, the likelihood is that they are seriously injured. Whether you hit them because you were driving badly, or they hit you by mistake, it’s irrelevant. You need to stop and make sure they are ok and if they aren’t you need to call for medical assistance – it might be a case of life or death.

One of a cyclist’s biggest fears when getting on their bike is getting injured, or worse. With statistics showing over 900 cyclists are injured every year in hit-and-runs in London alone – it’s easy to see why bike users might be worried.

With nearly one in five cyclists in our study (34,352) mentioning a hit and run accident, that number could in fact be a lot higher.

Highway Code Rule 286 dictates if a driver hits a person or vehicle, they must stop and provide details. Drivers, if you make a mistake, please do the right thing and stop.

Cycle lanes

Lizzie says:

As a cyclist it’s already intimidating enough that our roads are full of cars. So, when we finally come across a cycle lane that we should be able to cycle in safely, it can be frustrating when cars drive or park in them as well. Just as we wouldn’t drive or park in a bus lane, we shouldn’t drive or park in cycle lanes either.

Whether it’s parked cars in the cycle lane, or coming up to the lights and seeing a car so far forward they’re in the cycling box – the road can be full of frustrations for those on two wheels.

15% of the cyclists in our study have complained about access to cycle lanes or that cycling areas have been blocked – so it’s definitely a cause for concern.

Sharing the road is only possible with a little give and take – meaning cyclists should always be able to use the few marked areas solely for bikes (Highway Code Rule 178). A little understanding goes a long way.

Proximity

Lizzie says:

When you’re out there cycling on the road with no protection from the road other than your helmet and clothes, it can make you feel really vulnerable. So, when a car passes you too closely from behind it can make you feel really anxious and throw off your concentration for the rest of your ride.

Drivers: put yourself in a cyclist’s shoes. You’re pedalling along, doing a fair clip. Then, out of nowhere, a speeding bullet of metal weighing well over a tonne roars narrowly past you – the air pressure forcing you suddenly sideways.

Perhaps you can start to see why cyclists get so upset about drivers not leaving enough room when passing. We accept cyclists aren’t always perfect either – but as Highway Code Rule 212 reinforces – they’re entitled to a safe amount of room.

11% of cyclists in our study agree. It can be a scary world on a bike in traffic, so we could all stand to be a little more considerate.

Top 5 worst cyclist behaviours according to drivers

25k

50k

44,115

Visibility

42,287

Headphones

41,237

Bad Cyclist

23,801

Undertaking

8,480

Red lights

High-Visibility Gear

Lizzie says:

There’s so many really good, high quality visibility kit now - I don’t think there’s any excuse for you not to. I feel so much safer when I’m wearing the bright kit.

If you’re expecting drivers to leave you enough space when passing, then it would help if they could see you.

To prove this, more than a quarter of drivers identified cyclists not wearing high-vis gear as their biggest issue on the roads.

We all know how cloudy, rainy and foggy the UK can be most of the time – so cyclists, help drivers see you easily by making sure you wear ‘light-coloured or fluorescent clothing’ (Highway Code Rule 59) when cycling! It’s only fair.

Headphones

Lizzie says:

Hearing is such an important sense – you may hear something coming from behind you before you see it, and it can give you an extra five seconds to make sure you’re out of the way of danger.

Emergency sirens and peripheral awareness. Just two of many things you lose track of when cycling with headphones in. Every cyclist should be aware of how important it is to be focused at all times when on your bike. If you’ve got loud music blaring in your ears – it’s probably distracting.

26% of drivers have an issue with cyclists wearing headphones – with many concerned that the cyclist won’t hear them coming.

Even if you’re compromising with one headphone in and one out – there’s still the potential to be distracted, which can be dangerous for you and other road users.

Bad cyclist

Lizzie says:

It’s important that if you’ve been riding two abreast for five minutes and there’s a queue of cars behind you, that you stop, pull over, and let them past. It’s about the wider community – I always think of myself as a representation of other cyclists, rather than just myself.

Whether it’s cycling too wide, too slowly or just generally ignoring the rules and etiquette of the road - even cyclists will acknowledge that there are cyclists that need to take greater care on the roads.

As for drivers’ opinions? Well, let’s just say it’s no surprise that one in four drivers in our study complained about general poor behaviour of cyclists they had seen.

Whether you’re a driver or a cyclist, we all want to use the roads safely and sensibly – so do make sure you’re making the effort to cycle properly. In particular, please don’t cycle on the pavement (Highway Code Rule 64)!

Undertaking

Lizzie says:

It’s essential that you give cars around you as much information as possible about what you’re going to do. Overtaking and undertaking in traffic should only be done if it’s safe to do so, as well as appreciating that drivers have blind spots.

We appreciate there is a bit of confusion over when is best and safest to undertake or pass through traffic when on a bike – and it’s not helped by the vagueness of the Highway Code either.

Rule 72 suggests that drivers should ‘check for undertaking cyclists’ when turning left or right. Rule 73, however, tells cyclists to ‘be aware that drivers may not see you’. As such, you have a situation where neither side is quite sure who has the responsibility for safety. That’s why, wherever possible, we’d hope that each will take the initiative.

Running red lights

Lizzie says:

It’s only going to anger drivers if they finally manage to pass you and then you’ve gone straight through a red light while that car is left behind. Again, it’s about mutual respect and obeying the laws of the road.

With one in every 20 drivers raising concerns about cyclists cycling through red lights, we’re sure many of you thought it would have been an even bigger number. However, it is still an extremely serious issue that needs addressing.

As Highway Code Rule 176 puts it, ‘you MUST NOT move over the white line when the red light is showing’. In order to ensure equal respect for drivers and cyclists on the road, it’s essential for cyclists to ensure they follow all the rules of the road equally to avoid causing unnecessary danger – especially when it comes to red lights.

Behaviours

Regional Overall

Top 5 emotions of cyclists and drivers on the road

Anger

1 44% East
2 43% North East
3 43% Northern Ireland
4 42% North West
5 42% South East

Looking for the angriest region in the UK? Look no further than the East of England – in particular, Cambridge – where 51% of complaints were found to be angry.

Outside of the East, there’s a trend of ‘Northern’ areas that seem to be angry too, whether it’s the North East (Newcastle – 45%), Northern Ireland (Lisburn – 58%) or the North West (Manchester – 45%, Liverpool – 39%). Finally, don’t forget about the South East, where the cities with the highest proportion of anger were Brighton (45%), Reading (43%), Portsmouth (38%) and Dover (32%).

Fear

1 25% Greater London
2 22% West Midlands
3 21% East
4 19% Northern Ireland
5 19% North East Scotland

You won’t be surprised to know that Greater London has the highest proportion of fearful social posts in the UK. As a recent Transport for London study showed – conflict amongst cyclists and drivers is one of the biggest reasons people don’t cycle in London, which is a terrible state of affairs, and something we hope a greater focus on sharing the road can help to improve.

Away from Greater London, the West Midlands (Birmingham – 21%, Stoke – 18%) take second spot on the fear rankings, followed closely by the East (Norwich – 20%, Southend-On-Sea – 19%, Peterborough – 17%), Belfast (19%) in Northern Ireland and Aberdeen (19%) in North East Scotland.

Joy

1 33% East Wales
2 30% Highlands and Islands
3 25% South West
4 25% Northern Ireland
5 25% East Scotland

Wales is statistically the ‘happiest place to live in the UK’, so it should come as no surprise that East Wales comes out top for its proportion of ‘joy’-themed social posts. Within East Wales itself, Swansea stands out in particular, where 35% of all posts are full of joy.

Following hot on Wales’ heels are the Scottish Highlands, where Wick (55%) rates highly, as well as Exeter (33%) and Bristol (25%) in the South West, Belfast (25%) in Northern Ireland and Edinburgh (25%) in East Scotland.

Sad

1 15% North East Scotland
2 11% West Midlands
3 11% South West Scotland
4 10% Yorkshire and the Humberside
5 9% North West

While Edinburgh may be one of the most proportionately joyous cities in Scotland, Aberdeen (15%), by contrast, is proportionately the saddest – with the surrounding region of North East Scotland coming top in the rankings.

Second in the table comes Birmingham (12%) in the West Midlands, followed by Glasgow (12%) in South West Scotland, Yorkshire in fourth and finally the North West – specifically Manchester with 8%.

Disgust

1 4% Greater London
2 3% South West

The biggest hub of ‘disgust’-themed posts? Greater London comes top of the list, closely followed by the South West – especially Bristol, where 3% of social posts displayed disgust.

Don’t forget about the South East either – where disgust from Dover makes up 9% of social posts.

Top 5 emotions of cyclists and drivers on the road

25k

50k

48,238

Anger

20,368

Fear

16,731

Joy

12,121

Sad

4,978

Disgust

Anger

Lizzie says:

I’ve been quite shocked at how severe anger on the roads can be. If you don’t react with anger back, they’ll quickly look at themselves and think “actually, why am I intimidating this person”. By keeping calm, I think it diffuses the situation quickly.

With 53% of the social posts from both cyclists and drivers showing signs of anger, it’s clear that highlighting the importance of sharing the road is more critical than ever.

Don’t get us wrong, we fully understand why anger is so high – whether commuting or travelling in general – both driving and cycling can be stressful experiences. But if everyone on the road wants to stay safe, it’s essential to try and reduce the rage they can create, which can easily lead to a loss of focus and control, making the roads ultimately more dangerous.

Fear

Lizzie says:

If you jump a red light and a motorist sees that and gets frustrated by you, they could pass the next cyclist that little bit too closely and really scare them. See yourself as part of a wider community.

At a fifth of the emotion expressed on social media, fear is the natural response to anger – so it makes sense that it would be the next highest. As you can see from the example posts, whether it’s a cyclist terrified of a bad driver, or a driver worried about accidentally hurting a cyclist, fear should have no place on our roads.

That’s why we’re trying to encourage greater sharing of the road, to make sure everyone can feel safe when pedalling or driving.

Joy

Lizzie says:

It’s about maintaining perspective. There are always going to be angry road users, but there’s many encouraging drivers as well – I often get beeps of encouragement too!

Thankfully, there are still a great number of people who get a sense of joy when behind the wheel or the handlebars – 14% of you, in fact.

Whether it’s the ‘brilliant’ driving weather or the ‘air quality’ when out on a bike – it’s an inspiration to all of us that cyclists and drivers can both recapture their passion if we all work to share the road properly.

Sad

Lizzie says:

It’s a horrible part of my job that I hear about people dying from people being hit by cars and it is incredibly sad. It just reemphasises why a campaign like this is so important.

There are many reasons that drivers or cyclists could be sad, and one in 10 in fact are. Whether it’s hearing about or witnessing an injury or fatality on the road, or even sadness that they are no longer able to drive or cycle – everyone has a responsibility. If we all contribute to a better shared experience, travelling will be a better, and happier, experience overall.

Disgust

Lizzie says:

I think being disgusted is when something happens to you and you just think “wow that person could’ve killed me, and they don’t care”. Try and channel that feeling in a positive way.

Disgust is an extremely powerful emotion, reserved for the most shocking of occasions – which might help to explain why only 3% of cyclists or drivers have shown it.

When it’s unleashed, it often ties in with anger and fear too – to highlight when an extreme piece of driving or cycling has occurred. Whether it’s a hit and run, or a close call, you’ll see from the social examples that Disgust is especially vivid when someone is ruining the experience for everyone – and there’s simply no place for it. We want us all to share the road safely and calmly, with everyone contributing so everyone can benefit.

Emotions

Regional Overall

Time of Day

From the chart, we can see that cyclists and drivers posting on social media peaks around 8am with 11,755 posts. Since rush hour is at its highest in the UK between 7am and 9am, logic would suggest that the two are clearly related – particularly as the majority of the posts are sent once people arrive at work, having seen or experienced an issue while on their commute.

But why does it remain consistent during the afternoon, peak at 5pm and only start to drop off late in the evening?

We would suggest that, during the day, a lot of the social media ‘chatter’ is from those in and around cities witnessing incidents between drivers and cyclists second-hand and posting about it, before the evening rush hour kicks in at 5pm (11,446 posts). Late in the evening, once most people are home, the volume naturally dies down.

The solution? If we all follow simple steps to share the roads more effectively, we’d hope the majority of social media traffic would either reduce, or be largely positive.

Day of the Week

As first glance, we can instantly imagine why the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) would be the lowest days for drivers and cyclists expressing their frustration on social media. While plenty of people do work at the weekend, the volume of commuter and general traffic will be at its lowest – meaning everything should be slightly more bearable and less stressful.

During the week, the volume of posts peaks on Wednesday – suggesting that not only is ‘hump day’ the most congested on the roads and cycle paths, there’s a good chance it could also be accumulated frustration from Monday and Tuesday boiling over. Once that frustration is vented, both cyclists and drivers alike can start to relax, with Thursday and Friday starting to dip, leading back into the weekend again.

Our hope? If more drivers and cyclists resolve to follow our suggestions and share the road better – we want to see every day be like Saturday and Sunday!

Time

Time of Day Day of Week

Conclusions

We’ve analysed the top 5 behaviours and emotions of both cyclists and drivers and put together 5 top tips for sharing the road safely. What’s more, our ambassador, and Olympic medallist Lizzie Deignan has put together her own top tips for staying safe whilst cycling on the road.

1) Remove the blame

Every cyclist has a story about a dangerous driver, and every driver has a story about a careless cyclist. What we must all acknowledge up front is that it’s not the method of transport that makes a small minority cycle or drive badly, it’s down to an individual lack of care and attention.

Crucially, to make the roads a better and safer place for cyclists and drivers alike, we need to remove the blame attached by each side. The more understanding we all have in sharing the road, the less stressful travelling on them will be!

I think it’s important when you’re driving or when you’re riding that you go out on every ride with fresh eyes and mindset.

You don’t want to already have a fear of cars or a frustration with cyclists. You must see everyone as individuals – whether they’re driving or cycling.

Lizzie Armitstead

(now Deignan)

2) Recapture the joy

Perhaps the most unexpected result we found from analysing the thoughts and feelings of over 500,000 cyclists and drivers was how few looked forward to being in the saddle or behind the wheel. Whether it’s commuting to work or going out at the weekend – many suggest that other people on the road make driving or cycling a chore, and that is unacceptable.

For the amount of time we spend doing one or the other, shouldn’t we at least enjoy it? Only by everyone taking responsibility to share the road and be considerate, can we have a situation where we start to recapture some of that lost joy.

It’s about consideration from both sides.

I would encourage cyclists who have lost the joy of cycling because of traffic and aggressive car drivers, that if there is the opportunity to take a quieter route or not go out at rush hour then that’s a good choice – it’s about making choices that are going to make your ride more enjoyable.

Lizzie Armitstead

(now Deignan)

3) Stay alert

Whether it’s wearing headphones while cycling, or being involved in a hit and run after losing concentration while driving – we can’t stress enough the importance of staying alert at all times while on the road. Neither cyclists nor drivers want to get hurt or be involved in an accident – so it’s in everyone’s best interests to keep their concentration while sharing the road.

On both sides of the situation, whether you’re driving or cycling, you have a responsibility to stay alert because things can happen in seconds that can be life changing.

You can’t let yourself lose focus for any amount of time. One second can change somebody’s life.

Lizzie Armitstead

(now Deignan)

4) Respect the road

It’s an inherent fact that both cyclists and drivers need to appreciate more: just being on the road is dangerous. There are risks attached every time you get in the car or on your bike, so it’s more important than ever not to add to them by fully respecting the road. Stay alert, obey the Highway Code and be safe!

I think this rule applies to everybody.

You might think that jumping lights and not looking properly when you overtake cyclists is fine when you’re in a rush, but everybody’s in a rush, so the rules must be respected by everybody.

Lizzie Armitstead

(now Deignan)

5) Get insured

Driving insurance may be mandatory by law, but to truly share the road equally – we think it’s essential that every cyclist has cycling insurance too.

Naturally, we here at Cycleplan want to help, which is why we’re offering all cyclists an EXCLUSIVE 10% discount on all cycle insurance today. Help cyclists and drivers share the road equally with cycling insurance.

It’s very important.

Insurance is there to protect you but it’s also there to make you accountable if you’re in the wrong and that should be the case for both cyclists and drivers.

Lizzie Armitstead

(now Deignan)

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Twitter - Drivers

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"Slow hand clap for the red light jumping cyclist who almost knocked me and a kid down just now. The cars all stopped, why didn’t you?"

Twitter - Drivers

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"When will cyclists learn it won't hurt me when I plough my car into you because you have no lights on your bike and you jump red lights?"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Cyclist had a go at a car for being slightly in the cycle lane then proceeds to jump a red light #typicalcyclist"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Hate it when drivers won't go past u on a bike and are right up ur ass."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"******off ain't the feeling. Just been knocked off my bike and the car driver didn't even stop."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"******** idiot driver, bikes ****** up now??"

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Bus driver anger, I love it. They are rude & ignorant sometimes. A lot of my cycle rage can be blamed on them ??"

Twitter - Cyclists

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"New cyclist terrified of bad motorist behaviour. Change required to take fear out of equation + encourage new riders."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"I don't belive People fear cycling. They fear wreckless drivers."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"If cycling on the road feels scary, remember what it was like when you first passed your driving test (if you have). The fear does pass.

Twitter - Cyclists

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"A car is suddenly heading your way at speed, the driver has obviously not seen you, your body automatically pumps extra adrenaline, its fight or flight response kicks in!"

Forum - Cyclists

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"Amazing bike ride today, good food, good friends..."

Instagram - Cyclists

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"I don't ride a bike to add days to my life , I ride a bike to add life to my days."

Instagram - Cyclists

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"Lovely blustery day for a Bike-It breakfast ride. Thank you to all the drivers who stopped for us to cross."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Happy 200th birthday to the bicycle...we love you very much. Switch from cars to bicycles for better health and air quality."

Instagram - Cyclists

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"Another #cyclist killed by a car. RIP ***** *******. This is so frightening and sad. Keep safe everyone."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Terrible news. Another cyclist taken by a careless driver who wont get more than a fine!!! There's no justice."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"A cyclist has sadly died after a car crash.."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Sadly destroyed by a motorist. I walked away with bruises. Will miss u my steed."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Appalling and absolutely disgraceful piece of driving."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"Cyclist hit by driver not paying attention, that's the cyclists responsibility? Disgusting."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"... Child injured by a car while riding a bike. Sickening, disgusting..."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"SCUM 100% PURE SCUM !!!!!........ driver detained for injuring cyclist."

Twitter - Cyclists

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"...I was waiting at a traffic light, unstable cyclist SCRATCHED MY CAR…"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Hate how a cyclist can veer into my lane without looking but it's my fault because I'm a motorist."

Twitter - Drivers

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"Some people should drive a bike not a car!!! #annoying #parking #AreYouKiddingMe."

Twitter - Drivers

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"#Cyclist are bloody annoying too. Get a car!!"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Had roundabout panic today when driving when a cyclist with a baby in a trailer thing suddenly appeared."

Forum - Drivers

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"Have 100 panic attacks anytime a cyclist comes near me when I'm driving."

Twitter - Drivers

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"...cyclist my greatest fear when bus driving in city centre."

Twitter - Drivers

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"Bicycles are terrifying vehicles"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Great day out, weather was brilliant and cars even better!"

Forum - Drivers

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"Always makes me happy when a nice cyclist stays in the cycle lane!"

Forum - Drivers

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"Cars make life easier"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Thanks for a brilliant morning - reigniting my love for cars afresh!"

Twitter - Drivers

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"I hate driving. I miss my bike."

Twitter - Drivers

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"Last week my son fell off his bike a car swerved to miss him - if the car I saw today had gone past at its +50 he would be dead #dontspeed..."

Twitter - Drivers

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"London Road crash: Motorcyclist who died is named"

Blog - Drivers

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"Young Driver killed in hit and run"

Twitter - Drivers

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"A guy on a bike nearly crashed into my car earlier, then winked at me as he cycled past…"

Twitter - Drivers

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"Hope the cyclist gets fired for not following the signs and causing disruption to the poor old motorist again."

Twitter - Drivers

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"Don't complain when you get knocked off your bike for being on the road where cars are."

Twitter - Drivers

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"To the angry cyclist behind: yes, traffic happens; yes, cyclists use pavements; yes, drivers stall. We waited 20 seconds, it was ok."

Twitter - Drivers

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Cyclists Vs Drivers - Sharing The Road

Top 5 worst driver behaviours according to cyclists

Speeding Driver

Bad drivers

Hit and run

Cycle lanes

Proximity

Top 5 worst cyclist behaviours according to drivers

High-Visibility Gear

Headphones

Bad cyclist

Undertaking

Running red lights

Top 5 worst driver behaviours according to cyclists

Speeding Driver

Bad drivers

Hit and run

Cycle lanes

Proximity

Top 5 worst cyclist behaviours according to drivers

High-Visibility Gear

Headphones

Bad cyclist

Undertaking

Running red lights

Top 5 emotions of cyclists and drivers on the road

Anger

Fear

Joy

Sad

Disgust

Top 5 emotions of cyclists and drivers on the road

Anger

Fear

Joy

Sad

Disgust

Most popular times to post on social media

Time of Day

Most popular times to post on social media

Day of the Week

Conclusions

1) Remove the blame

2) Recapture the joy

3) Stay alert

4) Respect the road

5) Get insured