'Women cyclists don't feel safe on West Yorkshire's roads'

BBC News

2 hours ago

Verbal abuse, sexual comments and motorists passing too close in their vehicles have become all too regular features of riding a bike in West Yorkshire, female cyclists have warned. In fact, one rider says the situation on the county's roads is so bad that a lot of women will no longer go cycling "because of safety"."I wouldn't say I feel safe on the road," says Frankie Leveton, from Huddersfield, who gets on her bike up to four times a week. "This war on cyclists is just perpetuating everything and making everything very dangerous for us out there," she explains.Ms Leveton, 30, says the abuse she has personally received while riding in areas such as Holme Moss and Dove Stone Reservoir has included sexualised comments shouted from passing cars."I don't know what their motivation is," she shrugs."Is it because I'm a cyclist and the culture at the moment is that they are the worst people on the road? Or is it because I'm a woman?"It's a testament to how much I love cycling, and how much cycling helps my mental health - that's my relief, my escape - that I'm still willing to go out."
But the verbal abuse is not the only problem Ms Leveton has faced.She says that last year she reported at least 100 incidents of close passing by drivers to police, with action taken against the drivers involved in 82 of those cases.According to the Highway Code, drivers should leave a gap of approximately 5ft (1.5m) when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph (48 km/h), and they should give cyclists more space when overtaking at higher speeds."If I reported every driver that didn't give me 5ft, I wouldn't have time to ride my bike or go to work," Ms Leveton says.According to West Yorkshire Police, between April 2024 and April 2025, 3,561 close passes of cyclists by vehicles were reviewed by officers.Of those, action was taken in 2,547 cases, with the driver being eligible for a retraining course, receiving a fixed penalty fine or a court summons.
Jillian Egan is also a keen cyclist, but she says the level of abuse she receives on the roads of West Yorkshire "is enough to put you off".Ms Egan, 39, whose regular routes take her around Huddersfield, where she lives, as well as Hebden Bridge and Holmfirth, says: "The other day, I went for a ride and thought, 'I only had one person shout at me today'. "Then I thought to myself, 'Isn't that a ridiculous thing to say?'"Ms Egan says that while there are "probably some cyclists out there that don't abide by the rules of the road", the abuse faced by female cyclists from motorists remains "a big problem".Both Ms Egan and Ms Leveton agree that women are being put off cycling by the abuse riders receive both in person and online."The safety in terms of cars especially is just a barrier for so many women getting into cycling," says Ms Leveton."The comments on Facebook posts about cyclists are quite terrifying."But, despite the abuse and safety concerns, Ms Egan says getting on a bike is still a "great way to get about" and she continues to "love cycling".
Judith Brough, who is originally from The Netherlands and has lived in West Yorkshire for almost 30 years, says she experiences "some kind of harrassment" on one out of every three cycle rides."Close passes are really common," she explains."They are scary and, on top of that, you have someone rolling down their window and shouting inappropriate language at you."Ms Brough says incidents have included being followed, comments about her appearance and her body, and being flashed at by the occupants of vehicles."That's scary and not on," she says."If we want to encourage women to cycle more, it's not good enough to say you should cycle with a club or in a group."It should be okay to cycle on your own."
West Yorkshire Police told the BBC that all submissions to its online portal for reporting driving offences, known as Operation SNAP, were reviewed by experienced officers.A force spokesperson said: "Where there is evidence of an offence, a notice of intended prosecution/requirement to furnish driver details is sent to the keeper of the vehicle concerned."Changing driver behaviour and attitudes through education was the "preferred option", however more punitive measures could be applied in more serious cases or in instances of repeat offending, they said.The spokesperson added that West Yorkshire Police's JogOn initiative, launched in Bradford to tackle the abuse and harassment of female runners, was being expanded to include all sports - including cycling."Women and girls should be able to take part in sport without the fear of harassment and abuse," they added."We have zero tolerance for this kind of unwanted behaviour."
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