Female cyclists are almost twice as likely as their male counterparts to be subjected to harassment or bad driving, according to a study that describes such frightening events as an everyday experience for most UK cyclists.

Much of this gender imbalance appears to be caused by drivers’ impatience with the fact that women tend to be slower cyclists, according to the research, a finding that runs contrary to the media stereotype of speedy, Lycra-clad riders being a focus of hostility.

The study, published in the Journal of Transport and Health, involved more than 1,500 cyclists completing an online diary of their cycling experiences during one day of a two-week period last October, answering questions about frightening events. On average, women reported about 0.42 “near miss” or harassment incidents per mile, compared with 0.24 per mile for men.

More widely, the study chronicles events such as overly close overtaking by motorists, or vehicles turning across their path, whether deliberate or not. While an average rider is injured about once every couple of decades, near misses described as “very scary” can be a weekly event, with harassment occurring on average once a month, the research found.

Rachel Aldred, a transport expert at the University of Westminster who led the study, said the difference between genders seemed mainly linked to the lower average speed reported by female respondents, compared with the men who took part.

The study, titled the Near Miss Project, indicates drivers are more hostile or careless towards riders perceived to be holding them up, with almost a third of the reported incidents involving alarming overtaking manoeuvres.



“As I arrived at the pinch point, a driver attempted to overtake me, but was forced to abandon this attempt at the last second,” reads one rider’s diary entry. “Just after the pinch point, the driver revved their engine and overtook in an impatient fashion.”

Other submitted incidents range from inconsiderate driving, for example blocking a cyclist’s way, to turning across the rider’s path, or yelling abuse. Some involved other cyclists or pedestrians.

The overall picture is symptomatic of a macho road environment in which female riders and older cyclists are often too scared to take to the roads.

Aldred said: “That did come up in the comments, when people reflected and said, ‘You have to go really fast.’ And that is my experience, too. If you’re cycling more slowly, more sociably, you potentially do face greater hostility than if you’re able to keep up with motor traffic, and not be overtaken quite so much.”

Such a road environment makes it unlikely the current low level of cycling in the UK – about 1% to 2% of all trips – will increase significantly, despite government efforts, Aldred said. Other studies showed many new riders are soon scared away. “There’s a load of people who take it up but stop. These near-miss experiences must be part of that,” she said.



Those who took part in the study, recruited via social media and other promotion, selected their chosen day in advance and were urged to submit a diary, based on a series of questions, even if nothing notable happened. The self-selecting approach had drawbacks, the report notes, but was nonetheless useful in describing how cyclists experience road conditions.



Almost 5% of the reported incidents involved deliberate harassment or aggression from drivers, whether involving things like tailgating or over-close “punishment” overtakes or verbal abuse, some of it sexist.

The report found the overall number of incidents “startlingly high”, with the great majority of respondents experiencing at least one. The only likely remedy for this, Aldred said, was building a proper cycling infrastructure to separate cyclists from motor traffic: “I’m sceptical that education on its own could achieve so much.”