Cycling Stockholm syndrome: Are we all hostage to car culture?

Proclamations on social media kicking off with the words "I'm a cyclist myself, but..." almost always follow with proof the author is nothing of the sort. Our fault for spending time on Twitter you might say, but one particular thread this week got us thinking about a phenomenon we're going to christen cycling Stockholm syndrome.

We suggest it's hard to avoid becoming a hostage to a domineering car culture. Sufferers of cycling Stockholm syndrome form such a close psychological connection with motorists, they begin to sympathise with them. In the most serious cases, cyclists can end up believing they are authors of their own misfortune on the roads.

Let us explain further. Here's the Twitter thread that set the alarm bells ringing.

The secret to more harmonious roads, according to the above post (which has since been deleted) is for we cyclists to:

1. Stop posting "close pass footage"

2. Banging on the side of a car

3. Always assuming the worst

4. Control our controllables*

*Apparently 'controlling your controllables' isn't a reference to correctly sized Lycra, but making sure a bike has lights etc.

We're not going to dismantle each piece of advice. Suffice it to say, it smacks of victim blaming. The recently imposed hierarchy of responsibility on the road is there for good reason. In the dynamic between motorists and cyclists, drivers not only hold the power, but are responsible for the road harm that plagues the streets where we live, play and work. It's not just misguided to place responsibility for road danger reduction on cyclists, it entrenches the view held by many drivers that they own the road.

Perhaps its hardly surprising such views prevail. One of the first things we teach toddlers is to fear traffic. We forbid them to approach the street for fear of road danger. Cars may promise freedom, but most of us become their hostage at an early age. And in adulthood many go on to develop full-blown cycling Stockholm syndrome.

The answer needn't be for everyone to stop driving. It's part of the reason we've always sold car breakdown cover alongside cycle insurance. We need to prioritise people over cars. After all, the Dutch own more cars per head than the British and yet they've managed to prioritise walking, cycling and public transport above cars in their towns and cities. They simply redressed the imbalance - an altered dynamic that allows more people to avoid becoming hostages to car culture.

{{cta-cycling}}

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