What Are We Really Risking By Not Cycling?
Mikayla Weber | Communications Officer, Pedal Power ACT
A powerful video has been making the rounds lately, turning some of our most common assumptions about cycling safety upside down, and stirring up real questions about how we define “danger” in the first place.
Are We Asking the Wrong Question?
The video makes an eye-opening point: if we’re trying to understand the real risks of cycling, why do we always compare it to car travel per kilometre? Most people don’t think in kilometres, they think in time. “How long will this trip take?” “How long will I be on the road?” If we shift our lens to risk per hour travelled, cycling suddenly looks much safer than the media (and our gut instincts) would have us believe—closer to walking than to driving, and far safer than riding a motorcycle.
But here’s the catch. When someone’s deciding whether to drive or ride for a specific trip—to work, to the shops, to school—the distance is usually set. So yes, risk per kilometre still matters. And when measured that way, cycling currently carries more risk than car travel. That’s an uncomfortable truth, and also a call to action.
It’s Not Just About the Numbers
One of the most powerful messages from the video is this: risk is real, but so is benefit. We often get caught in the fear; the stories of crashes, the danger, the statistics. But what about the bigger picture?
Cycling isn’t just a mode of transport. It’s a form of exercise, a mental health tool, a climate solution, a way to reconnect with our neighbourhoods. Studies suggest that the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks, but we need to interrogate that further. Do the studies account for differences between those who already cycle and those who don’t? Are the better health outcomes because of cycling, or because healthier people are more likely to get on a bike in the first place?
Even with those questions, one thing remains clear: cycling has the potential to dramatically improve public health, reduce emissions, and transform our cities—if we let it.
We Can Do Better
The real issue isn’t whether cycling is perfectly safe. It’s that it could be so much safer—and that the barriers holding people back are mostly political and structural, not personal.
People aren’t irrational for being scared to cycle. They're reacting to a system that hasn’t made space for them. We’ve designed cities around cars, not people. And until we change our mentality—no matter whether we’re driving, riding, or walking—to one that recognises that roads are for everyone (how can we be inclusive, aware, kind, and keep everyone safe?), we’ll continue to fall short of what’s possible.
We don’t need to assign blame to make change. Instead, we can focus on shifting our collective mindset and reshaping our streets so that choosing a bike feels not only possible, but obvious.
Because we shouldn’t just be talking about the risks of cycling.
We should be asking: what are we risking by not cycling? Poorer health, more traffic, rising emissions, and a lost opportunity to build the kind of city many of us actually want to live in.
