After Bradley Wiggens’ cycling accident this week, cyclists may be more than usually aware of dangers on the road.
Employees cycling to work could look with envy across the channel to their Dutch counterparts who may be in line to benefit from heated cycle lanes in winter.
A recent report by the BBC stated that towns, such as Utrecht and Zutphen, in Holland are considering heating cycle lanes to encourage more people to use bicycles.
Arien de Jong, a spokeswoman for the Dutch Cyclists Unions said: “We are very excited about the heated paths, because they could prevent so much misery.
“If cycle lanes are frozen over for four weeks, that results in about 7,000 more accidents involving cyclists. So, of course, we welcome all ideas to improve road safety for cyclists.”
The use of geo-thermal energy will prevent ice forming on cycle lanes, but comes at a cost of between £26,000 and £52,000 per mile.
The man behind the proposal, Marcel Boerefijn, said there would be savings from fewer accidents, less salt needed to grit roads and reduced car expenses.
Mr Boerefijn said it was possible that the final net cost would be less than putting straw down on the paths.
Employee Benefits wonders if commuter cyclists here would ever get such heat treatment, or if we have the wrong type of ice…?