Cycling in the Netherlands is so safe that it's seen as weird or "those funny tourists" when someone is wearing a helmet on their bike ride

People in the Netherlands are biker friendly,because the people in the car are also bikers!They are just temporally not biker.

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.

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

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.

For anyone wondering the protest signs say things like: No screwing around more public transportation and Stop childmurder

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.

"Dressed for the destination not for the journey" ~cboardman

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.

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.

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.

Wow finally a non Dutch person gets it right. No inaccuracies in the narration in this video. Cudos.

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!

British bicycles have the handlebars to the right! That is big difference.

This makes the Netherlands look so wholesome lol

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chris Boardman seems like a really nice bloke. I wish the government would listen to him.

The carfree sundays were great. Rollerskating on the road. Too cool.

Thank you Chris Boardman for sticking up for bikes. Simply one of the best inventions ever - good for you and good for the planet!

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)

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!)

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.

Semi-proud to be half-Dutch.

It feels good to get on your bike in the morning and go to work.

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.

So healthy no pollution and keeping body fit . Wish we had more bike lanes in UK 🇬🇧

Wel leuk dat fietsen, behalve dan als 't kut weer is

What a great film, every key point distilled into four minutes and fifty one seconds

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

Chris, you are a true champion!

It is a brilliant summary of many of the main points concerning those who want to see increased cycling participation. Chris Boardman is such a pro.

I live in Dublin Ireland ,where anytime you get on your bike you are taking your life in your hands

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.

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.

so nice to see this, makes you appericiate your living space much more.

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.

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.

wish uk cities were like this

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.

Bravo Chris. Spot on.

Has anybody noticed, the people on bikes are much slimmer than counterparts in the USA. Think about it.

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!

There's nothing so refreshing in the morning as taking a short bicycle trip to work

5 years passed, nothing changed in GB.

The Dutch: Clean air. Good roads. Beautiful people. Good food. Yeah, I'll sign up for that.

50% cycle to school? pretty sure if you dont count little kids it should be around 90%

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 ..

Brilliant video!

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.

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... 🙂

The best bike film I have ever seen, all politicians should BE MADE to watch it and learn.

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.

This is one reason why I would love to live in Netherlands

Excellent vid by the legendary Chris "Boardroom" Boardman

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

This channel is proper good

Thank you.

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.

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’m so glad to live in The Netherlands 🧡

Even the president of The Netherlands is comming to work by bike. (No joke)

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.

The bike is revolutionary. Great job on this vid

Excellent!

But the challenge remains: How to find your bicycle again after going drinking for a night?

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

Could agree more.. great video

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.

so what we need to organise in the UK is mass demonstrations to get things to change here

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 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.

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!

Nobody travelling within a city has any bussiness of using a car.

Not left or right priority for a bike, just the same as between cars now. If you coming from the left on your bike, you really do not have priority.

Great review

It's a magical place.

0:35 Contrary to what the man said, the Dutch were massively into bikes before the seventies and long before WWII in fact.

The dislikes are from the auto industry executives.

my father of 95 is still cycling without fear

The bike sheds at my grammar school were crowded in the 60's, but on a visit in 2013, I noticed they were empty.

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.

In my town here in holland (zwolle) we even have a bike lane made out of recycled plastic,thats how we tackle 2 problems in one go ❣

“Car free Sundays” were introduced because the Middles East applied a ban on oil exports to Holland due to the Kippur war. Drove once to Brugge to find an hotel and it was a total nightmare. Drove around and around for almost an hour. Most European cities stopped cars on Sundays but returned to normality after the end of the oil ban.

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.

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.

L A N G L E V E F I E T S E N

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!

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.