Cyclists in Ireland find their daily commute has become “routinely dangerous”, an extensive new survey has found. 

The research, carried out by Cycling Ireland, asked 2,191 people from across the 32 counties about their experience of travelling around by bike. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, the organisation's President, Ciaran Cannon, said the results made for difficult reading. 

“It shows something very simple, something very worrying, that cycling on Irish roads has become what you might describe as routinely dangerous,” he explained. 

“Most people are telling us that clearly and consistently. 

“Over half of our cyclists are experiencing, for example, close passing every day.

“So, close passing is not rare - it's become routine.”

A cycle lanes in Fairview. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie.

51% of respondents reported a serious near miss within the past 12 months, although only 11% reported what had happened to them to An Garda Síochána or the PSNI. 

Most believe that the roads are becoming more and more dangerous every year. 

“What we're seeing is people are changing their behaviour,” Mr Cannon continued.  

“People are feeling deeply unsafe; they're altering their routes, they're avoiding certain streets or roads completely and more really worrying. 

“They're reducing their cycling, their time on the bike due to these safety concerns. 

“So, it's not just about people being inconvenienced.”

Cyclist on Nassau Street in Dublin. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Mr Cannon noted that 96% of respondents also have a driving licence, meaning they also understand the perspective of car users. 

“When it comes to dangerous overtaking or close passing, these are cyclists who have been on their bikes for years,” he said. 

“You know, the greatest cohort, the largest cohort in this survey are cyclists aged 40 to 55.

“So, they've been doing this for a very, very long time and their experience now, compared to 20 years ago, is vastly different. 

“Those close passes are becoming routine.”

For Mr Cannon, the only solution is for the Government to increase the number of Gardaí rostered on road policing duties. 

“In 2009, we had over 1,000 Gardaí assigned uniquely to roads policing in Ireland - we've just 640 now,” he said. 

“ If we are serious about addressing a problem that sees somebody dying every 48 hours, we have to resource our Gardaí adequately.

“Currently, they don't have the resources, they don't have the vehicles, they don't have the people to adequately enforce our existing road safety legislation.”

So far this year, two cyclists have been killed on Irish roads.

Main image: A cyclist and a car. Picture by: Alamy.com.