@@ohhi5237 Literally this. He might have epilepsy or something that might cause him to fall off his bike. Better slow down a bit so I don't run over his head after he falls off. The legislation here is the key part. If you're in a car and you run over a cyclist, you're assumed to be at fault. This acts as an incentive for the people driving around in deadly contraptions (cars) to drive more cautiously. Which in turn results in less accidents. Meanwhile, cyclists are always aware of their mortality in collisions. Because they pull the short end of the stick if there is one.
Cycling in The Netherlands is "so safe" because no matter what happens, after an accident the cyclist is always the one to win in court, no matter what.
Helmets are what car companies would want to be mandatory because they know people will not use a bike as daily transportation if it is. It’s because the helmet does a few things: 1. It makes you feel cycling is very unsafe 2. It makes your hair messed up 3. It adds complexity and the use of extra bags becomes necessary While in some cases a helmet can improve safety on a bike in most cases it doesn’t help a lot. I’m talking about every day cycling, not racing. Car companies also would like pedestrians to wear helmets. Maybe we should make helmets in cars mandatory, see how many people will still take the car for every small trip then…
@@NLTops I am cyclist from Canada and I am fed up with the dangerous car drivers . I now cycle mainly through quiet backstreets, empty football fields, graveyards, school yards, parks , parking lot ,bike trails ,hiking trails and sometimes empty sidewalks . I rarely cycle on the roads with all the nut jobs except early in the morning .
Both are entirely true facts: cyclists understanding drivers and vice versa squashes the conflict. And most people do both - but for sure everyone who drives also cycles, or has done in the past.
@@KryzMasta yeah, but it's less so for the cyclists understanding cars. I hate driving in the city because the cyclists scare the shit out of me. Many young cyclists are not fully aware of the common road laws and this is compounded in Groningen by the massive foreign student population. You need to constantly be aware of cyclists who pop out of junctions unexpectedly, or leave the cycle paths for unknown reasons, or take a sharp left without indicating. Lawfully they should obey the same laws as cars, but they often abuse the cautiousness of drivers even if they know they don't have right of way.
Oli Strik I see your point, but you’ve hit the nail on the head with “you need to constantly be aware”. Yup. You do. I hit a cyclist once with my car. It was completely unavoidable from my point of view, and there was actually a witness who came running and shouted “it’s not the driver’s fault!” because some bystanders who hadn’t seen it got angry. This always goes to the courts, and the judge told me: it really doesn’t matter what happens, you _must_ always be in a position to stop in time. That changed my perspective on driving.
@@KryzMasta Yeah definitely, if It came across that I was implying that it was annoying I didn't mean that. There's no situation when driving that you can be "unaware", that's just irresponsible. It's just very stressful being surrounded by so many cyclists I prefer to avoid it. To be perfectly honest, most of my anxiety is probably due to being a foreign driver myself and cyclists being a rarity in the UK but I've still seen some pretty hairy situations due to negligence and ignorance by cyclists, drivers and pedestrians alike.
If all people who cycle in the Netherlands would instead drive cars, all cities would now be in permanent gridlock. Its rarely mentioned but that is what smart politicians in the 70's realised. We never really had a choice.
You just described Londons nightmare permanent gridlock. Of course, they should also add a new 2nd ring highway and a few new national roads for cars. All that helps getting rid of traffic that shouldn't be there in the first place. And on top of that change double lanes for cars into single lanes with separate bicycle lane. Maybe a few with separate buslanes, but currently the mixture of bus and bicycle is extremely unsafe
@@Aragorn.Strider Problem is that London is simply far far bigger then dutch cities and gong from A to B by bycicle alone would take a long time, perhaps even longer than by gridlocked cars. But maybe if you can change the Public Transport Infrastructure to host bikes then people would be able to take their bikes on the trams and busses which would then be a much faster travel time.
I came across this video while recovering from a leg injury sustained while cycling here in the UK 2 weeks ago. I was knocked down by an SUV despite wearing fluorescent high-visibility gear which apparently wasn't enough to make me visible to the driver. I feel so envious of the Dutch - they can enjoy the simple pleasure of a bike ride every day, with almost no risk to life and limb. When i can cycle again, I'm definitely going to take my next bike on holiday to Holland.
You say black, I say white You say bark, I say bite You say shark, I say hey man Jaws was never my scene And I don't like Star Wars You say Rolls, I say Royce You say God give me a choice You say Lord, I say Christ I don't believe in Peter Pan Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle
Cyclists who wear helmets in the Netherlands generally fall into one of the following categories: - Very young children - Tourists - Race cyclists (Wielrenners) - People who are prone to falling due to medical conditions
Or people like me who had a one sided accident and could have died if it was not for the helmet. Just didn't see a pothole and fell doing 20kmh hit my head on a stone severe head injury thanks to the helmet otherwise it might have been my death. Dutch myself but having an active lifestyle like skating thought me the importance of helmets and that an accident is "around the corner". Yes it doesn't protect you when you get hit by a speeding car.
Yes, I loved that phrase. It exactly describes the attitude towards cycling in The Netherlands. Most Dutch see cycling more as a way of transport, not as leasure.
It does amuse me seeing the "Got All The Gear" brigade out with all their expensive kit! I have ridden for forty years without ever wearing lycra or having a carbon fibre bike!
@@dichi3163 You wrote:"The history part is not entirely correct and goes back a long way further". So what are the historical details that are missing from this video and how are they relevant to the story that is told in this video? I don't expect you want to take us all the way back to the "Hoge Bi" or how our bikes ended up in German hands during WW II.
@@dichi3163 Het gaat over de mentaliteitsomslag qua infrastructuur voor fietsers. En ja, dan klopt zijn verhaal. Zie : BicycleDutch zijn video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XuBdf9jYj7o.html
I came back from the Netherlands last week having crammed in 600km or riding, almost all of it was on the fietspad. When you go and experience it for yourself you will be totally blown away by its effectiveness. Such a liberating experience, the world needs bike paths like these.
japan is also pretty good for riding a bike as far as I have seen. Japanese city planning, just like dutch, is so good because of little space in the country, at least in the big cities.
Demand isn't high enough in other countries for bike riding path on busy streets. Plus bikes are an 1850 thing. Some countries are more advanced like America with cars and space shuttles.
Weird to think that this isn't common everywhere. Here we have a bike-lanes (fietspad) along pretty much every road except highways. It's just part of the road to me, car-lanes with bike-lanes on the side.
2:08 The strong decline in casualties from 1970 until now is even more impressive when you consider that during that same time period the number of inhabitants actually increased from about 13 million in 1970 to 17.5million in 2020.
My advice would be, don't start with London, but start upgrading your smaller cities. Upgrading London would be a huge project, and very expensive. By starting small you can experiment and be an example for the rest of your country.
Have you watched top gear when they raced in London? A boat, a car, a bike and the tube. Who got from A to B first..... The cyclist won. So there is al lot to gain in London. You can start there! Don't start is small towns, bit Liverpool will do as well, or anywhere where there are not to many hills.
+lapland123 Well... I always thought a pilot program made in two towns could set a great example. Connect them with a great separate cycle track through the fields, and make good concitions for cycling in both. Watch what happens with the kids going to school and with people shopping. Caution: potential to be life-changing for those who live there
Couldn't agree more, they think a 2.5m wide strip is suitable for fast moving commuter traffic. The infrastructure is already there, it's called the roads. Banning personal motor vehicles off the roads at peak times (unless disbaled/doctor/health workers etc) would in one fell swoop rid most towns and cities of the problems people on bikes face and reduce deaths/serious injuries dramatically whilst improving pollution levels. It's far too easy though and doesn't make the government any money!
@franklintony What you're suggesting is a war on the motorist. Ain't gonna happen and if it does, will create even more controversy. Keep it joyful and you'll make huge strides in no time
09conrado How is it a 'war'? Surely it is a logical step to rebalance the inequity we currently have. How is reducing death and destruction as well as all the positive benefits of reducing private motoring use brings like lowering pollution, reducing gridlock and giving people more freedom to go about their business without fear of harm? I'd hardly call that a war,
Around the time this was uploaded, I cycled through the Netherlands on my way home from Poland to Ireland. The Netherlands is just an amazing place to travel by bike. So much safer, more civilised and elegant. Getting off the ferry in Harwich and then experiencing London city traffic as a cyclist reminded me how far the UK and Ireland have to go in making streets safer, less congested and more friendly places.
+Dave B That's illegal on the motorways. Polish cops are very quick to stop and fine people. Did you see it more than once or do you think it was some lost tourists? Poland doesn't compare to it's western neighbour in terms of cycling infrastructure, but they are making progress. You can find bike paths in tourist areas, but not so much for commuting in large towns and cities. When I was cycling from my old house in Poland to the German border, I was on a main road with HGVs. I was so happy to cross the Odra / Oder and get away from the traffic.
I saw some on highway A18, in the first few km into Poland from Germany. The second ones I saw on the onramp of the highway, from Pietrzykowice to A4. Was in 2012 ;)
+Dave B Is that actually designated as Motorway already? I thought the upgraded road was still under construction. I have driven the motorway from Berlin to Wroclaw a few times, and once you cross the border the road quality (and speed) drops drastically and doesn't improve to proper motorway standards until you get more than 60 km into Poland. Last time I was on it was summer of last year. Was well below the speed level for about an hour because I wanted the fillings to stay in my teeth. Wouldn't dream of putting my bike on the A4. I wonder it it was some kind of desperate shortcut. The road from Petrzykowice to A4? The S69 Expressway... also forbidden to cyclists. And there is an alternative to cycle to Katowice from Petrzykowice without taking a bike on those roads. Very odd. Oh, the things we see when travelling... also a story to bring back.
Has the potential to change the world? My dad (80) asked his granddad what the biggest change in his life was. It was the bike. Over a 100 years ago, many towns would have only one major employer and they would push their weight around. All employees were expected to worship at a certain church, send their kids to certain schools, and shop at certain stores (price gouging and kickbacks). You would suck it up or be destitute. With bikes, it became a viable option to go work for a like-minded employer 15 KM away. On foot, it meant over six hours walking every day(not an option). But the bike gave people not only an advantage in practical terms, but liberated them in terms of religion, economy and the upbringing of their children. No small deal!
@@texx1985 his dad is already 80, so two generations before that would probably be someone born around 1890, assuming he worked in the 1910's , 1920s and so on this was probably more often the case in the whole of Netherlands rather than not. Many parts of The Netherlands were poor back then.
Absolutely true, also obliged to shop in designated shops that were mostly owned by your employer, against higher prices. It's called "winkelnering" and was very commonly practised, at least here in Noord-Brabant. In other provinces I don't know if it was the case
@@laurasanchez7105 tja ik woon in Utrecht en hier gaat het allemaal smooth. Misschien zijn ze rondom Scheveningen een beetje geïrriteerd om welke reden dan ook 😂
@@floris4988 Nou in Den Haag heb je veel meer auto's en veel minder fietsen. Ik voel me niet zozeer onveilig maar je moet wel oppassen, je hebt eigenlijk helemaal geen straten waar er meer fietsers zijn dan auto's
I started to go to the Netherlands with 8 friends 10 years ago for a cycling long-weekend. The eldest in our party is 82 and the youngest 64. We currently do not use electric bikes. We get the DFDS ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam. We cycle about 50 miles a day on the superb, bespoke, cycle paths. We use the numbered way-point maps that you can buy on-line. They are called FIETSKAART by Falk. They are also available from tourist offices in the Netherlands. I cannot fully explain how brilliant the Dutch cycle network is............ Give it a try, you will not regret it. Duncan McLean.
@@duncanmclean5232 i just came back from a small vacation on one of the dutch islands up north. rented a bike, and it was lovely, riding through dunes, small pine forests, tiny villages... hardly any cars, and cycles for rent everywhere. i highly recommend it if you ever visit the Netherlands again. my favorite island would be Vlieland, Terschelling is great as well a bit bigger. you can even catch a daily boat between the two islands, they are about 5miles apart. you can get there by boat from Harlingen harbor, just past the Afsluitdijk, in Friesland.
@@sdev8317 We had to cancel our cycling holiday to the Netherlands in May......Virus!!! Thank you for your comments. I can recommend cycling in the Hilversum area, South East of Amsterdam and particularly cycling down the River Vecht from Muiden to Utrecht.......It's a wonderful cycle ride. Duncan McLean.
@@duncanmclean5232 Heya Duncan, happy to hear that you're enjoying the country so much! Perhaps you've been before, but I'd recommend the 'Veluwe' area. You can find it close to the city of Arnhem. It's pretty much a pine forest nature area that spans a decent bit of land. A lot of people enjoy walking and cycling here so just something for you to consider!
What an impeccable video! A Dutchman by birth, I grew up in Palo Alto. At 30, I made my way to the UK where I lived outside London for 31 years. Recently retired, I returned to the fatherland, and I now live in glorious, tranquil Middelburg, Zeeland. I no longer have a car. I walk and bicycle. When I make my way to The Hague or Rotterdam, I take the train. What a wonderful life! The Brits and Americans should replicate the magic.
I'm English, and one of the main reasons I left England in 2002 is because I love to commute by bicycle and it was getting worse in the UK. I lived in Stoke on Trent and it took me up to an hour to commute 5 miles by car in the city. I now live in Düsseldorf, Germany, and my commute in 11 miles... however, it takes 40 minutes by bicycle with bike paths all the way. I feel fitter, earn less, but the lifestyle suits me. I would love to return to England one day - but it's no cycling country, so I can't.
England is hopeless when it comes to cycling infrastructure. The english care about is car..car..car... No wonder lots of people here are obese and with heart problems.
The Stoke on Trent experience is enough to make anyone want to leave the UK, I've had it too. Now back in Blackpool where I can cycle off road for 30 miles along the prom and cycleways between Fleetwood and Preston, apart from the short section from Starr Gate and the dunes until St Annes Prom. There are other equally compelling reasons to stay put. Trust me, you're not missing anything in your absence.
I'm German and I just returned from a short trip to Maastricht, Hollland...a real eye opener to what is still missing here in Germany in 2017: an understanding that bike-friendly cities unstead of car-friendly ones will mean an increase in life quality for everybody, cyclists and motorists alike. For the motorists and their children also breathe the polluted air in our urban centers that drives diseases of the respiratory system up. Politics are just too closely connected to economic interests of the car and oil indstry, as the VW-scandal in Germany is clearly revealing right now.
Wel VW is on the frontline,but others like peugeot are also not conform the emision rules. Its inpossible to have almost the same power from a diesel engine like VW did,and not polluting. I gues,there all wrong in that.
In February 2017 there was an article in the national Dutch newspaper AD. The article is: 'Dankzij fietsers bespaart Utrecht 250 miljoen Euro per jaar'. In short the article is about the fact that thanks to the huge number of cyclists there is little congestion in the city, the air is cleaner, the city is less spending on NHS, and cyclists are more productive what is good for the employers. The article is of course written in Dutch, but as you are German I think you can read it pretty easy as well. Try it... Happy New Year and a good, safe, healthy and cycling 2019!
Im dutch and i was in germany and funniest thing id ever saw visiting my ex waa a tree in the middle of a bike lane thats just blew me away. Like wtf xD
I'd listen to Jeremy Clarkson long before I'd listen to a cyclist! I say that as a long distance pedestrian who gets a kick out of walking upon the cycle tracks that cyclists have not paid for! I'd respect motorists a lot more as a pedestrian - at least they pay towards the state who is supposed to maintain road infrastructure and footpaths (walking is a natural right!).
I cycle on a U.S. suburb. I wear a fluorescent vest and have flashing front, rear, and side LED lights. -And yet, I still never assume drivers see me. I will take a longer route if it has fewer cars. I take to the sidewalks if it is a busy street, and yes, this has dangers as well, so I keep an eye out for driveways and always yield to pedestrians. My default attitude is: they’re all trying to kill me. I make it a survival game and enjoy myself, but keep my will up to date.
The historical part in this video surprises me, to be honest. Even before WW2 my grandparents used to do everything by bike. During the war, petrol became scarce, and the nazis used all of it for their own purposes. People started doing even more by bike. Then when the nazis ran out of fuel (not only in the Netherlands), Hitler ordered for hundreds of thousands of bikes to be confiscated from the Netherlands. Which was devastating at that time. Still up to this day, when Oranje has to play against Germany, people shout in German "ich will mein Fahrrad zuruck!" (I want my bike back!)
Whatever you can do Chris, to improve cycling infrastructure in the U.K. will be a blessing 👍 I can email my local council every day, but we need some real persuasive talent.
Some cultures have cars as status symbols. For me it's my bike. Just floating around through the city streets of the Netherlands in my suit makes me feel invincible.
Honestly tho, I've had my bike since I was 12 and to this day (18) that same bike I use every single day still works like a charm. Best €200 ever spent
I don’t get how 50 percent goes to school by bike. At my high school I didn’t know anybody who didn’t go by bike. Okay not true, some people who could walk and there were a few who had a scooter. But still that number should be about 90% or something Edit: Okay I was just thinking about high school. I understand the number more if you also keep all the primary school children in mind. (I still biked there too though. First with my parents, later alone) Edit 2: If you'd include higher education the percentage would be even lower indeed. (I don't think they did that though)
It is true,at our school we have a giant bike parking space for about 1700 bikes. We only have a small car park for maybe 70 cars. This is including teachers who need to travel by car.
@@simonarends7802 Same for mine, 2 scooter racks, everything else is bicycle and then about 120 parking spaces for teachers AND the same places go for the Dentist, Family Physisian, Local gym court (where you can do pretty much all sports), dance school, a pharmacy and a Special Education School for kids with special needs. All places share the 120 parking spaces and all have their own bicycle spaces
It's probably also counting very young children aged 6-12. Especially the younger ones still get driven to school while they can not drive safely themselves because of safety.
The nice thing about the Netherlands is that’s it’s flat ..... this makes cycling so much easier especially for kids and the elderly ....... we have many friends over there and visit quite regularly and we find live is lived at a slower pace than in the UK in general ...... one of our friends grandmother still cycles regularly and she’s in her 80’s. The kids in the Netherlands all cycle or walk to school (from an early age) and as they grow up they will cycle to visit friends and family members without the use of the mum or dads taxi service, in this way they grow up with more confidence, maturity and independence and gain the trust of their parents at an earlier age than their UK equivalents.
Living in the netherland I sometimes take my bicycle to work 15KM (9miles). When im too laze I take out my scooter. Car is standing still at the house hardly being used.
I'm from Utrecht and it's so fun to see where the bike culture originates from. Ive been on those roads before and there is something so freeing about cycling through your life.
A nice, informative Posting .. thanks 👍😊. My Daughter moved from South Africa to the Netherlands last year. She has found the approach to cycling in the Netherlands an absolute eye-opener. Even though she holds a very Senior Position in the Organisation, she currently feels no need to get a motor car. Her weekend wheels .. a very nice City Bicycle. She currently lives in Den Bosch and works in Veghel. Her daily commute (prior virus lockdown) consists of a walk to the nearby local Train Station .. a Bus Ride to Veghel and then Cycle to her place of work. She has bought a 2nd hand bicycle (a 'Tjor' as she calls it 😁) that she leaves at Veghel Station. Being old, not too much chance of it being stolen .. and if it is .. too bad 😏. Once her Partner joins her from South Africa, they plan on getting a Scooter to serve them, in addition to the already excellent Public Transport Infrastructure, for longer leisure trips and such. Here in Switzerland, at age 70 .. no need for a motor car. Living in a small Town with all of the required Amenities .. 'Shank's Pony' .. Bicycles .. Excellent Public Transport and a Honda Scooter as backup .. 👍👍👍. Take care .. stay safe ..
I live in Utrecht and I'm astonished about the bike unfriendly situation in other cities like London and Paris! Biking is so relaxing, it clears your mind after work and keeps you fit!
Indeed. It's as much of a shock for us to go cycling in countries which are less accomodating to cyclists as it is for people from those countries when they come here.
Inspiring stuff! I'm off to visit the Netherlands on a cycle tour next week and this has made me look forward to it even more. We should push for traffic free Sundays in a few UK towns to show what it might do for us. Thank you Chris.
These videos enrage me.I would love to wake up one day and see my town become Utrecht.This country does not give a damn about cycling or the added knock on effect.The car rules full stop.
No helmet and low indicent of head injuries! I love to hear that fact. Speed kills. Ride slow and you are save. Helmets give you a false sense of security.
Never going to happen. Not because it can't be organised, practically. Simply because of the British mindset. That needs to change first and more folk need to think of the common good. Want evidence that we can't manage ourselves out of a paper bag? Look at parliament for the best example of it, right now.
@@JustinBenn Look one country below The Netherlands (Belgium) and you have the same mindset. People go to the bakery half a mile from their home with the car. Neighbours of us take the car to a local dinner thing which is 700metres away! They are both not old. I do like to bicycle but infrastructure is not here in Belgium, well at least where I live it's not good. So it's always an adventure going to the city by bicycle.
UK weather says no. On top of that we have very long narrow roads between our cities and towns taht have speeds exceeding 50mph. Most of our travel is done between those cities and towns. The result is its often too far to cycle for most people, and far too dangerous. Seprate bike paths would be amazing and help but even then folk prefer to drive and be stuck in traffic. Where I live I have about 6 work colleagues who could use bicycles and a canal path to travel to work. It would take em about an hour. Instead they choose to drive a car despite it being flooded and gridlocked at times taking them 2 hours. Also despite our work having showers so they coudl cycle and bring a chage of clothes. Some even go to teh GYM first... The mentality here is too weak for cycling.
Benjamin Whitehead Actuallt, the Netherlands and the UK have comparable average commuting distances, and cyclists are barely allowed on roads with speed limits exceeding 30mph. These roads have fully separated bicycle paths to help connect the towns and cities.
Cycling is so much more than expensive, lightweight tech. You don't need the best to enjoy. Incidental excercise is great you don't even know your doing it. Great video.
everything he says is true! Source: Lived in central Utrecht (not Dutch). Trying to bring the healthy riding habits home and use the car far less, but the infrastructure is so poor it really takes commitment. In Utrecht, it was just the way of life. I will say, the Dutch bike style lends itself to more casual commuting and a traffic flow (this consistent flow is very important), along with sitting upright and the extreme ease and convenience of the rear wheel locks. Chains etc are only for long term stays. I also asked my physio if they had a lot of bike injuries... he looked confused and said almost zero!
In Belgium a network for bike highways is created. Last year 450.000 bikes were sold. Half of them were electric. Electric bikes increase your radius. A lot of people commute on speedelecs. Electric bikes that go up to 45km/u. You also get paid per kilometer you commute to work. I think it's around 0.20€ /km. So some people can Lease a new bike with this money.
Appealing and a bit touching to see the multiple former hour record holder biking as a somewhat older man in 'my' Utrecht. Turns out he /is/ human after all... 🙂
Cycling here in the Netherlands is much easier than back in the UK. I lived in a quiet part of the UK for many years but even though I now live in the big city of Rotterdam cycling is so much easier and I cover way more KM per year.
Thank you for sharing this video I live in Miami Fl U.S.A and my city is building more bike lanes and I hope that one day we could be more like those countries
I'm from London and have lived in Utrecht and I don't feel safe cycling in London - even with a helmet - despite cycling without one almost every day in Utrecht. The differences are pointed out well in this video, the main one being that most motorists do not have the same respectful attitude to cyclists.
As someone grown up in the city of Utrecht in the 70ties and 80ties it is very nice to see how things improved. Nevertheless the nicest things where the old images of tUtrecht, but hat has more to do with getting sentimental then with the traffic situation that has improved so much. The Utrechters even got there "Singel" back, the canal that flowed there but was sacrified and turned into a highway and has now been reinstalled again.
Proud to be born in Baarn, Holland. Where I live in the mid-west of USA has some nice bike paths for an American town. I use them mainly when the weather is warm for exercise, but hit it hard & heavy while it lasts on my vintage Panasonic 12 speed. The bike paths are quite popular & I always marvel how one goes to a bicycle & pedestrian only world when on them for these paths are truly away from most roads.
Thank you. I'm living in the Netherlands and use my bicycle as my means of transportation. Also for bicycle-camping-trips. I thought of going abroad, seeing other parts of Europe .... Now I know England isn't the best choice for bicycle trips
I think Germany and Denmark are decent for bicycle vacations. I have experience outside of NL, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but from what I understand in Germany cycling is more fun outside of the cities, and in Denmark cycling is more fun inside the cities.
Insightful. Thank you very much for the video. Hopefully in the UK and other countries city centres will prioritise pedestrians and bicycles instead of cars.
I live in a city where 90% of the streets of the "old city" are one way streets for cars and motorcycles. But bikes and pedestrians can go both ways in these streets. The result? If I took a car to university it would take me 20 minutes. But on my bike it only takes 13. All of this is just normal for me since I grew up with it so its just mindbogling to me how other countries havent caught on yet
a few cyclist friends of mine live in London, they say it's a dangerous mess and will just get worse. Imagine London being like Utrecht ... would be the coolest big city in the world.
I am Dutch. In more than thirty years of cycling in the Netherlands (about ten years in Utrecht) I got hit by a car once, and got away without any injury. Then I moved abroad, and in the next six years I got hit twice, once with an injury that caused me to see a doctor. It indeed makes a huge difference when cycling is so common that everybody knows what to do when car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians share the roads.
I think it was a video of 'Vox' where they showed that that even in cities as big as New York, had great advantages of having more bikers than car users. The benefits they showed was that the city needed less public roads for the cars (a cars is at least 3 times as big) and that shops profit from bikers, because of the lower speed they have and the flexibility of bikers when it comes to stopping and parking.
But we don't have a president... It is the 'minister-president', aka premier. In English it is prime minister.... But he cycles to work, that is true. Also some ministers and other politicians cycle to work.
Netherlands is a wonderful country for a holiday with your bike. Great infrastructure for cycling with lovely people who are so friendly. Only problem is the expensive ferry crossing from Newcastle to Amsterdam.
You said that in the mid '70 th. the first separated bicycle ways were bild in the Netherlands . In1946, me being 6 years old biked on my little Swiss bike with solid tires(! ) from Pijnacker to Voorburg, all 15km on a bike path , scrubs and bushes on the sides , my dad walking , I mostly ahead on my little bike! later , I did this trip on my own many more times to visit my grandparents and always felt safe as only at the end I had to cross a few streets that had no bike lane, but safe for kids! An uncle gave me his racing bike later when he emigrated to Canada, I was 8 years old and had to pedel with one leg onder the straight bar, that's how we biked on all man's bikes or mounted wooden blocks on the pedels . I was a biker here in Canada, until we had to wear helmets, I tried this with but felt disconnected with the surroundings and stopped when I moved to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island ,where the car drivers don't seem to notice you on the roads! Very Sad!
Very nice video! At 1.45 you tell in the mid 1970's the first separate cycle paths were built. That is only partially true, there were separate cycle paths in the 1960's as well. I was born in 1961, and I can't remember the secondary road between Dongen and Tilburg in the south of the Netherlands without a cycle path... It has been renewed and widened in the 1980's. But a lot of cycle infrastructure, also within the citylimits is built from the mid 1970's. Another example is the secondary road between Dongen and Rijen. Has had a cycle path as long as I know. Was bidirectional and a bit narrow. The second cycle path at the other road side is built in 1976. Was a big improvement!
Yes I was born in 1956 and I remember that too. The provincial road between Waalwijk and Tilburg, passing through Kaatsheuvel, had cycle paths too, at both sides. And cycle paths like those were really very common in that time, I remember seeing them everywhere
I literally go everywhere on my bike, I live near the city and I travel minimal 6500km a year on my bike to school and work alone! So a hell of a lot more is you would count trips to friends, family and vacations. Next holiday is going to be really fun, me and my mates go from my home in Zeist, Utrecht to Paris and then to Disneyland for 1 day and go back the day after. No problem for us😅😄 we will be driving 1,6 week to Paris 1 extra day to Disneyland and then 1.8/2 weeks back😁 you can join us if you like!
I’ve worked snd visited the Netherlands many times, and connect completely with their cycling philosophies. Thanks Chris for producing this and being an ambassador for cycling in general.
Cycling in America is terrifying, especially in major cities. While some drivers have a vendetta against cyclists, most accidents are caused by drivers not paying enough attention or understanding traffic laws. In America, we are told to try and maintain the speed of traffic as closely as possible, making things that much more dangerous. Getting from point A to point B is a serious adrenaline rush. I would love to be able to live in a place where I can casually ride my bike to work.
I've just come home to England from a week in the Netherlands, and I'm also struggling to realise how wrong our approach to cycling is. I cycled everywhere for that week, and it was pleasurable and safe. I couldn't believe cars giving way to me crossing a roundabout. However our lovely little island is too ancient and the roads too small for cycle roads to be installed everywhere. One thing we do have is character in the landscape. The outskirts of all the places I visited in the Netherlands was as bland and formulaic as sim city.
Thinking back to my youth, there were people from 10-20km's away. I wouldn't cycle that far. I'd say cycling is more common until 12 years old until the choice of school usually goes hand in hand with the studies you do.
Phoenix YT bunch of people here on christmas apparently. Happy holidays to you all. I dont know a single person in my high school who doesnt regulary cycle to school, while some have to travel >10km. I think it really is down to lazy adults who have to take their little children to primary school and dont have the time to cycle.
Utrecht-based person here. Though indeed we love our bicyclists, there are unfortunately some new regulations in place that make these picturesque stills of bicyclists in the very city center a thing of the past. It's either walking or not getting there at all when shops are open (8 in the morning to 8 in the evening) - which is unfortunate. Not to mention the horrid bike parking problem. The local government is trying to put a stop to people parking their bikes at their end stop (be it their house, a shop, the library, whichever) and are making parking hubs which are so often fully parked that you regularly have to walk quite a bit to first find a hub where you can park your bike, then get to your actual destination. Of course that's still a "small" problem compared to trying to do the same thing with the same amount of cars. Lovely video, it totally made me smile!
Ok. How does using plastic for something as useless and irresponsible as a road surface tackle the problem? It doesn't. It only creates more problems and pollution in the *near* future. What do You think what happens to that plastic when the road surface wear and tears? Right, it starts polluting the area with *More* plastic. Worst yet, the particles will be Tiny so can not (easily) be cleaned up. Compare that to a simple plastic bag You can actually just pick up. That is just the pollution side of things, Let's not talk about actually using plastic as Any kind of road surface. The idiocy and ignorance behind it is stupendous. Just like solar freaking roadways and plastic roadways. There is a reason we use asphalt for most active roads, and guess what? It's 100% recyclable. Sorry went on to rant a little bit, it's just that these "genius ideas" are so ignorant and misinformed is pisses me off when people fall for it and waste money that could actually solve problems.
I agree, the problem is microplastic. The scientist say the biggest issue is actually all these synthetic clothes that create tons of microplastic. Because we always wash them. It's really unfortunate, because they are quite practical.
@@BillyBoze It is already recycled plastic. What alternative do you propose we use that recycled plastic for? You can't make decent plastic bags out of recycled plastic, you can only make PET bottles out of clear recycled plastic, the list of things you can't do with coloured recycled plastic is quite large. To minimize microplastic wear-and tear you need to minimize surface area per volume. Roads do quite well in that respect. I can't think of alternative recycling options, and burning or landfill are both very bad for the environment.
you don't, you just (accidentally) steal another one. No but all jokes aside. People might think all bikes look alike but for the Dutch it's different. We find it quite easy to spot our bikes xD
It's why a lot of kids in high school or students in university pimp their bicycle; a lot of them are black "opoe-fietsen" or grandma bikes, and generally look the same. If you had one of those you'd usually spray paint them, add stickers, put garlands around your steering wheel, or have an easily recognizable saddle cover (granted that it does not get stolen).
And now that we have e-bikes it is easy to do even more trips by bike instead of car. Not because of the speed as it will take up to 5 times longer by bike, which is mostly because there are not as many bike-highways as car-highways. But because the e-bike allows you to go further then where your muscle power can bring you. Good thing is that you exercise and save a lot of money at the same time.
It is not true that motorized traffic has to always give way to bikes when turning left or right, they are both seen as "drivers of a moving vehicle". In equal crossings the vehicle coming from the right has right of way. In some situations however, bikes may have right of way depending on road markings and traffic signs.
I am pleased you said that because it sounded like a dangerous rule, if a vehicle is turning left slowly and a cyclist comes up faster on the inside, intending to continue straight, who's fault is that in the Netherlands when the obvious accident occurs?
@@Saartje05 you are right. The cyclist is protected by law since a couple of years. The only thing that saves the car driver is that he can prove that the cyclist did it on purpose, but how can you proof that?
the mass immigration didn't come out of the blue. blame your american 'friends' and their reckless policies for a perpetually destabilized middle east. that's why people are fleeing and the europeans ended up paying the price. if you want to blame someone, blame the ones making the destructive policies.
toch niet allemaal, Tino... ik heb twee Gazelles die hier zijn gebleven, eentje uit 1938 en eentje die in september/oktober 1940 is gemaakt! die laatste is vrij bijzonder, het stuur is niet van een opoe-fiets en de bagagedrager is van een 26 inch fiets, ze hebben er twee stukjes metaal tussen gezet om die te bevestigen. het is een van de allerlaatste die gemaakt zijn voordat alle onderdelen in Dieren op waren.... en ik heb ook een van de allereerste Gazelles die na de oorlog gemaakt zijn, in 1947 ging de fabriek weer open na bijna 7 jaar stilstand.
A true ambassador for cycling who campaigns to improve ,keep up the good work and who knows we here could benefit from a safe and better riding experience.
As I understand, traffic in London is at a virtual standstill anyway because of congestion. I read that average traveling speed is about the same as it was during 1900. Because of congestion. If you limit cars in the inner city and allow buses, taxi cabs and cyclists only, the average traveling speed would increase significantly.
Indeed, even with almost everyone cycling in the Netherlands, we still have a lot of car traffic jams. That's just because we are a tiny country with 17+ million people. We don't just have a great cycling infrastructure because it's safer. No, we also have it because our country would come to a complete standstill if everyone just used a car. Luckily in the 1970s we noticed this and we started improving our cycling infra. And now it's the best in the world. And yes, it is.
@@SanderEvers The much improved cycling infrastructure only really gained momentum during the 1990s. In 1980, all we had was painted bikelanes on busy roads with the unspoken message: do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?
As a german living close to the dutch border I do enjoy riding my bike there more than I do „at home“ (when riding street that is) but the situation in germany seems to be somewhere between the uk and the Netherlands as we have quite a lot of dedicated bycicle roads.
You can't change everything at once. But in Germany the people have realized that it is the way to go, but it takes time to change. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have the feeling most Germans want that change.
Learned a bit of history from a non Dutch, excellent! Often I get offered a job with a bigger salary. Most of the offers I decline because in most cases it would mean I could no longer use my bicycle on my way to work. Using my bicycle is part of my life and it is here to stay
The other option is getting a bit more common now: work from home, if only a 1 day or so of the workweek. And not to mention electric bikes are selling like hot-cakes in the Netherlands, so it has become easier to go further if needed.
@@TheMindBolt My prediction? If they don't get the backstop out of the agreement and if every sign is steering to a hard Brexit there won't be a Brexit at all! Simply because they can't afford it.
@@TheMindBolt There won't be a Brexit, mark my words. The parlement is performing a political show where it seems they are doing everything to get rid of Europe, but in the end they're saying the country can't afford a hard Brexit. This show is their way to sell it to the Brexiteers to save face. I can't/won't believe they're so stupid they're steering towards a hard Brexit. That's is going to be catastrophic for the UK.
I love riding my bicycle in the Netherlands. I enjoy the exercise and the fact that it hardly costs any money. I also like that it's environmentally friendly. I take it mostly anywhere in a 50km radius from where I live. Though it has to be said: I think they should spend a lot more on bicycle infrastructure. We have bike lanes, but not always physically separated, and hardly any thought goes into long-distance travel by bicycle (10-100km). What we really need is some good bicycle highways, with good quality asphalt, without unnecessary turns, and without traffic lights. I believe the bicycle should be the preferred form of transport because of health and environment benefits. Unfortunately at the moment, the preferred form of transport is still the car.
This looks like a fantastic way of life. I enjoy biking, but I have to put my bike in my car and drive 30 minutes to get to a bike path to ride it. Bicycling is the event itself, not just part of something else.
@@eleo_b Yes this. And that's still true. Not just for bikes though, it counts for all traffic. If you turn, and someone who crosses you goes straight, the straight traffic always goes first.
Before I became a mobile engineer I used to cycle to work. I used to cross a busy M4 junction ( very fast roundabout) and travel a busy dual carriageway to another huge roundabout. As a super confident cyclist I took my life in my hands every day, less confident cyclists would be terrified of the route. To get to work you need somewhere to shower when you arrive, somewhere secure for the bike, somewhere dry for your work clothes. I'd arrive at work wide awake and ready to go after listening to the dawn chorus, instead of bleary eyed from a short car journey. Come home time, whilst my colleagues were queuing to get out of the car park, I'd be immediately on my way, and 20 minutes later, those same cars would eventually catch up with me just as I approached home. The UK has a huge cycling population, therefore there would be a demand for car free zones, less pollution, fitter population, safer travel, whats holding us back ???
Unfortunately you are wrong about the UK having a huge cycling population. it's virtually at the bottom of the European charts. Only 1.4% of journeys are made by bike....As opposed to 51% in the Netherlands. It might have something to do with the fact that Dutch cyclists are never expected to cross motorway junctions in the way you describe, or take their life in their own hands at any point. That's what made cycling popular there & is what is holding us back here. Oh, & Dutch cyclists rarely need to shower after their commute. Far less breaking & accelerating on the continuous separated lanes. Nice smooth ride all the way. & you'd drive home well ahead of your driving colleagues without having to race about like a lunatic in lycra. Currently fit males between the ages of 18 & 50 are virtually the only people on bikes in the UK. In Holland & Denmark, it's everyone, from kids to pensioners & the disabled, to MAMIL's on racers, & yes the less confident too.
