One in eight drivers on Irish roads have either had a near miss or collision with a cyclist within the last two years, a new study by AA Motor Insurance has revealed.

The study which looks at incidents involving vulnerable road users, also indicates that 11% of motorists have been involved in similar incidents involving a pedestrian or an animal.

The AA Motor Insurance study, which polled a sample of more than 12,500 drivers in Ireland, equally reveals that 5% have either hit or almost hit a motorcyclist, while 0.7% said they’d done the same with someone on horseback.

Without exception, across all categories of vulnerable road users included in the AA Motor Insurance study (cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and animals), a higher percentage of men than women stated they had a near miss or collision within the last two years. 14% of the male drivers polled, compared to 11% of females said they’d collided or had a near miss with a cyclist.

The AA Motor Insurance study also looks at incident rates by county and by light and weather conditions. Most notably in relation to weather hazards the highest number of incidents, 17%, occurred when raining, while 4% occurred during fog or mist, according to poll results. “Naturally road surfaces are slicker and visibility can be affected during downpours, cyclists may swerve to avoid a puddle you won’t necessarily see, and pedestrians will be anxious to get out of the rain so motorists should exercise extreme care and expect the unexpected,” says Conor Faughnan, Director of Policy, AA Ireland.

48% of incidents reported to the AA occurred during daylight, 20% at dusk and 28% during darkness. “Given that the peak traffic volumes occur during daylight hours, the number of incidents occurring after dark is disproportionately high,” says Faughnan. “Cyclists travelling after dark should make sure to wear reflective clothing or accessories and have lights at the front and the rear. Pedestrians should also stay visible after dark with reflective and light coloured clothing, stick to footpath where possible and avoid distractions such as texting while walking.”