Provisional stats, released today, show that car use is down but risk for cyclists has risen.
Provisional DfT figures confirm that numbers of people killed in road 'accidents' between July and September 2011, fell to 500, a reduction of two per cent on the previous year. Road casualties fell to 55,105, down five per cent.
However, cyclists are the only road user type not to see a reduction in casualties. There were 5,466 cyclist casualties - of all types, including slight injuries - in the same period of 2010 rising slightly to 5,470 in 2011.
The total number of reported bicycle casualties rose by 4 per cent, and the number killed or seriously injured rose by 8 per cent compared to the 12 month period ending September 2010.
Based on a comparison of the three quarters for both years, there has been a 17.5 per cent increase in cyclist casualties between 2007 and 2011.
There were 12,373 cyclist casualties between January and September 2007, this rose to 14,540 for the same period of 2011.
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The Insitute of Advanced Motorists has joined the clamour for more safety for cyclists.
IAM director of policy and research, Neil Greig, said: “It is extremely concerning that cyclists’ casualties are not reducing and this is something the government and local councils must act must act on. This will mean changes to road layouts, more cycle training and promoting better awareness among drivers.”
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3 comments
This is based on simple total numbers rather than as KSI per mile travelled though isn't it? So if cycling is growing in popularity (especially for commuting in London etc) as it appears to be then this may actually represent no increase in KSI or even a fall?
George French Feb 2nd 2012 at 4:16PM
0 0Spot on - we need to be talking casulty rates, not absolutle numbers, (and let's avoid the word 'accident' with its connotations of unavoidability) . Nevertheless, something needs to be done, but, as the Times seems to have spotted, it's not helmets (which haven't made any difference - see cyclehelmets.org ) nor necessarily infrastructure (which in this country is usually so shoddy it makes things worse). It's getting cultural, training and attitudes improved. And we need to stress that even now cycling's health benefits outweigh risk 20 to 1, and walking per mile is just as dangerous, and in some case driving can be as well (google Malcolm Wardlaw's research). So not too much cycle-scaremongering please - it depresses cycling wheras it's more people cycling which really reduces casualty rates.(Smeed's Law) John Mallows, Cyclenation
John Mallows Feb 3rd 2012 at 12:37PM
0 0All praise to the Institute of Advanced Motorists. I'd happily share the road with their members, just as I've happily shared some good converstaions with them. One such was with the author of the IAM's book on cycling. It's a gem on postive, assertive and considerate cycling taking its rightful place, unfettered, on the roads. Very different, as far as I can gleen, from the messages from the other motoring organisations (ETA excepted, Scottish Road Haulage and even road safety minister Mike Penning -whatever their pro cycling protestations.
John Mallows Feb 3rd 2012 at 12:48PM
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