Pollution has become a real issue in the past several decades and we’re now dealing with levels of pollutants in the air which we’ve never seen before. This only really becomes a health issue if you’re living in a city and you spend a lot of time near or on busy roads outside of a vehicle. A lot has happened recently to try to restrict these levels of pollution but the fact is that people need cars to get to work. No one is going to pass a law which stops a lot of people working. As such a lot of suggestions have been made for vehicles. People are being advised to use public transport or bicycles.
A lot of the issue with public transport is that it’s notoriously overcrowded and unreliable. This may not be the case everywhere but in the UK we have transport systems which very few rely on. It doesn’t take much to throw them all off, trains can be cancelled and buses simply don’t turn up. Even in the worst traffic on the worst day, at least with a car you’re in control. Cycling is a much more viable alternative especially if you’re not travelling too far. It’s great in urban areas where the ground is level and there might be cycle lanes. More and more people are bringing collapsible bikes on the train with them so that, on arrival into the city, they can cycle to the office.
Cycling has its own risk factors. Cyclists are exposed to vehicle fumes more than anyone else is as they’re right in the traffic with the vehicles. Unless they’re travelling in an area with intense cross winds they’re going to get continual lungful’s of what is essentially gaseous poison. A recent study has shown that it’s much safer for these people to take slightly less traveled routes so as to avoid the rush hour traffic. This is fairly obvious but should be something you aim to do should you be cycling to work through the city!
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