The research suggests that people will avoid an activity that seems as though it might kill them, but also that their perception of the threat is emotional not rational. Nothing new there.
The researcher points out that, in avoiding the thing they dread, people might stumble upon a different activity which has a different risk profile.
The BBC report does not mention the longevity gains and health boost from cycling (2 years on your life expectancy plus the health of someone ten years younger, according to CTC), although this may be a criticism of the journalism rather than the academic research that it reports.
Critically, the theory that people are motivated by irrational fear also seems to explain the aversion to road cycling among a population that doesn't ride bikes. This researcher seems to belong to that population. The research certainly considers cycling to be risky, rather than considering cars to be a threat.
...the bomb-dodgers didn't just faceplant on their own.
Although the cause of the casualties could not be established conclusively, academics were "unable to identify any other plausible possibility".
Did former tube and bus passengers start driving to work at sleepy o'clock?
