Photo: European Cyclists' Federation.

As a Dutch citizen living and cycling in Malta, I feel the need to put some of Jean Soler’s statements in his letter ‘Road safety rules for all’ (November 16) in perspective.

To portray cycling in the Netherlands as dangerous, by solely stating the number of deaths from cycling (162 in 2010; a fourth of all traffic casualties that year), is painting a picture without perspective.

Over a quarter of all trips in the Netherlands are done by bike and about 85 per cent of the total population of almost 17 million people cycles.

Obviously, there will be some degree of correlation between the number of people cycling and the number of cyclists involved in accidents. That does not mean that the risk – a much more meaningful number than the absolute figures Soler used to support his argument – of being involved in an accident is higher. On the contrary, according to data of the National Cycling Federation, the risk for a cyclist in the Netherlands to be involved in a serious accident is the lowest in the world! This is due to two key factors: the physical separation of cycling lanes from the main road and the large number of cyclists in the country.

For me, and many others, that is the lesson we can learn from the Netherlands: to make cycling safer one has to invest in infrastructural measures to separate cyclists from heavier traffic and empower cyclists to build up the critical mass that is needed to make them equally respected road users. I believe the challenges that Malta presents for cycling as a serious alternative to motorized transport can be overcome.

What I cannot believe is that a medical doctor advocates more and faster motorised transport, which will further aggravate serious national health problems, such as obesity and respiratory disease.