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Cycling is a ubiquitous mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 31.2% of the people listing the bike as their main mode of transport for daily activities (as opposed to the car by 48.5% and public transport by 11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips (urban and rural) nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/Media-Centre/city-hall/dossier-cycling/Cycling-facts-and-figures )〕 though the smaller Dutch cities well exceed that: for instance Zwolle (pop. ~123,000) has 46% and the university town of Groningen (pop. ~198,000) has 59%, possibly the highest modal share in the world. This high modal share for bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ubiquitous bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter, quicker and more direct than car routes. In the countryside, a growing number of inter-city bicycle paths connect the Netherlands' villages, towns and cities: some of these paths are part of the Dutch National Cycle Network, a network of routes for bicycle tourism which reaches all corners of the nation.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/en/long-distance-cycle-routes )〕 ==Overview== Cycling became popular in the Netherlands a little later than it did in the United States and Britain who experienced their bike booms in the 1880s, but by the 1890s the Dutch were already building dedicated paths for cyclists. By 1911, the Dutch owned more bicycles per capita than any other country in Europe.〔 After World War II, however, much like it had in other developed nations, the privately owned motor car became more affordable and therefore more ubiquitous and the bicycle started to be squeezed out. Even so, the number of Dutch people cycling was very high compared to other European nations.〔 The trend away from the bicycle and towards motorised transport only began to be slowed in the 1970s when Dutch people took to the streets to protest against the high number of child deaths on the roads: in some cases over 500 children were killed in car accidents in the Netherlands in a single year.〔 This protest movement came to be known as the ''Stop de Kindermoord'' (literally "Stop the Child Murder" in Dutch). The success of this movement — along with other factors, such as the oil shortages of 1973–74〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/car-free-sundays-a-40-year-anniversary/ )〕 — turned Dutch government policy around and the country began to restrict motor vehicles in its towns and cities and direct its focus on growth towards other forms of transport, with the bicycle being seen as critical in making Dutch streets safer and towns and cities more people-friendly and liveable. Besides the history and social movements, there is no single reason as to why cycling remains so popular in the Netherlands: many bicycle friendly factors reinforce each other: * ''Bike-friendly infrastructure'' * * There is a continuous network of cycle paths, clearly signposted, well maintained and well lit, with road/cycle path junctions that often give priority to cyclists. This makes cycling itself convenient, pleasant, and safe. * * There is also a good network of bicycle shops throughout the country. * ''Bike-friendly public policy, planning and laws'' * * The needs of cyclists are taken into account in all stages of urban planning. Urban areas are frequently organised as woonerven (living streets), which prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over motorised traffic. * * The Netherlands employs a standards-based approach to road design, where conflicts between different modes of transport are eliminated wherever possible and reduced in severity as much as possible where elimination is not possible. The result of this is that cycling is made both objectively and subjectively safe. Towns have been designed with limited access by cars and limited (decreasing over time) car parking. The resulting heavy traffic and very limited car parking makes car use unattractive in towns. * * A form of strict liability has been law in the Netherlands since the early 1990s for bicycle-motor vehicle accidents. In a nutshell this means that, in a collision between a car and a cyclist, the driver's ''insurer'' is deemed to be liable to pay damages (''n.b.'' motor vehicle insurance is mandatory in the Netherlands, while cyclist insurance is not) to the cyclist's property and their medical bills as long as 1) the cyclist did not ''intentionally'' crash into the motor vehicle, and 2) the cyclist was not in error in some way.〔 If the cyclist was in error, as long as the collision was still unintentional, the motorist's insurance must still pay ''half'' of the damages — though this doesn't apply if the cyclist is under 14 years of age, in which case the motorist must pay full damages.〔 If it can be proved that a cyclist ''intended'' to collide with the car, then the cyclist must pay the damages (or his/her parents in the case of a minor.)〔 * * No compulsory bicycle helmet laws. In the Netherlands, bicycle helmets are not commonly worn; they are mostly used by young children and sports cyclists who ride racing bikes or mountain bikes. In fact, the Dutch ''Fietsersbond'' (Cyclists' Union) summarized existing evidence and concluded that, ''for normal, everyday cycling'' (i.e. not sports cycling), a compulsory helmet law would have a negative impact on population health. *''Geography, built environment and weather'' * * The Netherlands is a relatively densely populated and very flat country, which means that journey distances tend to be short, even between towns. (It can be very windy though.) * * The cool climate of the Netherlands means that one can cycle short distances without breaking into a sweat. This means that people can cycle to work or school without having to shower or wash straight afterwards, as they more often might have to do in warm, hot or humid climates. *''Practical bicycles and equipment'' * * The long-standing ''bike culture'' has meant that most bicycles are utility bicycles rather than sports bicycles (though all types of bikes are to be seen, from racing bikes, to recumbents, right through to velomobiles.). The Dutch mainly choose to ride roadster bicycles, like the ubiquitous and infamous ''Omafiets'', which are practical, low-maintenance and suited to load carrying, with mudguards and skirt-guards, and where the rider is seated in an up-right position, making for a comfortable, leisurely ride with the best spatial awareness. * * Bicycle baskets, panniers and load-carrying trailers are common for carrying items to school or work or for carrying shopping items back home from the shops. *''Training'' * * The Dutch train their children to ride so they can confidently ride in the roads when they are around 12 years of age, just before they start secondary school. Only if they pass their traffic exam are they awarded their ''Verkeersdiploma'' (traffic certificate).〔 This training is deemed necessary as 75% of secondary school students cycle to school, rising to 84% riding for those living within 5 km of school. Even for distances of or over, some 8% of secondary school children cycle in each direction to school, though this is mainly in rural areas where the closest secondary schools can be a fair distance away.〔 (Some 49% of primary school children ride to school, but distances are shorter and adults often accompany the younger ones.) * * Dutch motorists are also trained for interaction with cyclists as part of their driver training when going for their driving licence. For example, trainee motorists are trained to check and re-check their right-hand side for cyclists before making a turn to the right. These factors together far outweigh the negative factors of wet and windy weather, strong headwinds due to the flat terrain, and frequent bicycle thefts. Nearly a third of all journeys made in the Netherlands are made by bicycle. Even the over 65 age group make nearly a quarter of their journeys by bicycle — though, among this age group, electric bikes are very popular. In some cities over half of all journeys are made by bicycle. By 2012 cycling had grown tremendously in popularity. In Amsterdam alone, 490,000 ''fietsers'' (cyclists) took to the road to cycle 2 million kilometres every day according to statistics of the city council. This has caused some problems as, despite 35,000 kilometers of bicycle paths, the country's 18 million bicycles (1.3 per citizen old enough to ride) sometimes clog some Dutch cities' busiest streets. This is being addressed by building even more bike lanes to tackle a problem many other cities in the world would envy, that of ''bicycle traffic congestion''. In 2012, the Dutch ''Fietsersbond'' (Cyclists' Union) said that a quarter of all deadly crashes in the Netherlands involve cyclists. Research in 2013 showed that 60% of fatal cycling accidents took place at junctions and in two out of five of those accidents, cyclists were not given priority by the driver. What must be taken into account in understanding these figures, is the high rate of cycling in the Netherlands: people are, in fact, statistically more likely to die by drowning in the Netherlands than by cycling.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2008/10/16/bicycle-death-statistics-in-amsterdam-and-the-netherlands/ )〕 Also to be taken into account is that overall traffic safety in the Netherlands is the best in Europe with 45 deaths per million inhabitants per year.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cycling in the Netherlands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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