Last year in the UK we saw a record breaking fall in the number of casualties resulting from accidents or incidents on the country’s roads – in fact the numbers dropped to the lowest levels since records were first collected almost 90 years ago. This was incredibly encouraging, both for the UK’s road users and for those who have spent many years tirelessly campaigning to try and reduce the numbers of people dying on the roads in this country. However, whilst this is certainly good news for most road users, a recent set of statistics indicates that for cyclists in the UK the same has not happened. In fact, deaths and injuries among cyclists in this country have taken the opposite route, rising sharply over the past year. Cyclist deaths rose 10% in 2012 and serious injuries jumped for the eighth year in a row, with the percentage rise in 2012 at 4%.
The statistics come from a report by the Department of Transport, which showed that the number of recorded accidents in which someone was injured on the roads was 145,571 in 2012, a figure much lower than numbers from the majority of the 20th century, other than the years 1926 and 1927. This is in spite of the fact that there are many more vehicles on the road now than there used to be in the earlier part of the 20th century. This drop in numbers was fairly consistent across most types of road users – other than cyclists – and even motorbike users saw a drop in deaths of 9% and a drop in serious injuries of some 5%.
The numbers for cyclists were quite alarming in contrast, with a rise from 107 to 118 deaths occurring in the category and serious injuries rising to 3,222. These figures come even in the light of circumstances such as the spring and summer of 2012 being one of the rainiest on record, which in theory should have pushed down the numbers of casualties as many cyclists would have chosen other, more rain safe transport options.
Policy director of the organisation British Cycling, Martin Gibbs, said: "Although the number of people cycling is increasing, the number of casualties is increasing at an even faster rate. If the government is serious about getting Britain cycling we need to ensure that cycling is built in to all new road developments and junctions." Most road safety and cycling charities obviously agree, but there is some confusion as to why the numbers of deaths and injuries among cyclists are increasing, particularly as cyclists are now regularly adopting the tactic of cycling in numbers to make road journeys safer. Although there is often a tendency among pedestrians and other road users to blame cyclists for accidents, statistics actually indicate that reckless or risky behaviour among cyclists is rarely the cause of serious deaths or injuries and is unlikely to be at the heart of the upward spike in casualty numbers.
In the light of these figures, it’s good news that there are a number of campaigns under way to try and make the roads safer for cyclists, and MPs even released an all party report earlier this year including recommendations such as segregated lanes and other safety measures. For the moment, the recommendations of the report have not yet been taken on by the government and so it remains up to cyclists to watch out for their own safety on the road.
If you are a cyclist and you have been injured on the roads, Stephensons has experienced personal injury solicitors who can help you make a cyclist accident claim.