Survey reveals where cyclists have the best relationships with drivers

A survey has found that there is a “clear disparity” between the relationships of cyclists and drivers in the UK.

Car leasing company Cars on Demand surveyed 2,000 cyclists and drivers in the UK.

A spokesman said: "When asked how they would rank their relationship with the each other out of ten, ten being the most harmonious and one being the least, the drivers seemed to think things were much rosier than the cyclists did.

"On average, British drivers ranked their relationship with cyclists as a fairly healthy 6.1.

“However, the cyclists weren’t quite so reciprocal, rating their relationship with drivers at a lowly 4.8.”

London came out with the worst overall relationships between cyclists and drivers, with a combined average of 4.5 out of ten, and the East Midlands appeared to have the most harmonious relationship, averaging a score of six.

The spokesman added: "While there is a clear disparity between the relationships of drivers and cyclists, the survey did find that three quarters, 74.4 per cent, of drivers in the UK do empathise with cyclists and the frustrations that they must feel on the roads, perhaps when someone overtakes too closely, or brakes suddenly without seeming to see a cyclist in their mirror.

"Cyclists are in agreement with the drivers here too, with 65.2 per cent stating that they empathise with the frustrations of drivers on the roads when they come across someone on their bike."

The survey also found that just 16.4 per cent of people would feel confident cycling around a town or road in the UK if they did not know the area, and just one in ten would feel confident cycling around a town or city abroad.

When it comes to road rage, 39 per cent of drivers said they had got angry with a cyclist on the road and more than half of drivers believe that laws should be passed which require cyclists to have insurance to ride Britain’s roads.