The dangers of cycling in Worcester

Guest post by County Councillor Matthew Jenkins.Twice in the past 8 months I have been hit by a car whilst cycling. Both times I ended up on the road with various injuries. In the most recent case a few days ago, I ended up in the back of an ambulance.In both cases, the car driver claimed that they didn’t see me, despite in both cases it being during the day in bright, clear conditions.The first time I was cycling down London Road and someone pulled out from a side road (Marlborough Street) a couple of car lengths in front of me, giving me no chance to avoid them. I hit the side of their car, buckling my front wheel and ended up on the road. The driver asked if I was okay and then drove off. After reporting the incident to the Police, I was glad to see that the driver went on a driver awareness course.The second time, earlier this week, I was turning right from Spetchley Road into Nunnery Lane. A car driver on Nunnery Lane turned right straight into the side of my bike. I ended up on the bonnet and then on the road. I hit my elbows and head on the road. It was good I was wearing a helmet. It is a few days later now and I am unable to cycle as my elbow is swollen and painful.I want Worcester to be a cycle-friendly city and for more people to enjoy the benefits of cycling. It is difficult to persuade people to choose the bike when an experienced cyclist like me finds the roads in Worcester so dangerous. Whenever people hear about how dangerous it can be to cycle in Worcester, I know there will be some who will be put off from cycling.Conservative-run Worcestershire County Council always talks about supporting all forms of transport “at the expense of none.”  What this means in practice is that there will be little change from the status quo. In other words, the car is still king in Worcestershire. We need investment in cycle infrastructure to allow people who want to cycle to be able to safely make their way around the county. We are nowhere near this at the moment. We need a drastic change to our approach to active travel and cycling in particular. Otherwise, we will never achieve the shift away from driving as the default, with congestion and pollution just getting worse.We need to make cycling in the county a safe, viable alternative to the car. At the moment we are a long way from this.Original post on Matthew's website.