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Report warns UK falling behind on cycling safety following three deaths on Bristol roads

By LouisEmanuel  |  Posted: November 24, 2013


The UK is falling behind with cycling safety

Comments (13)

RECENT deaths following cycling collisions on Bristol roads have been put into perspective by new data showing the UK is falling behind in cycling safety.

An annual road safety report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows the number of serious injuries to be increasing at a faster rate than the number of miles travelled.

The report shows death rates have been reduced by 17 per cent in the UK in the past 10 years while death rates for car passengers and pedestrians fell by almost 50 per cent each.

The UK fall in cycling death rates is dwarfed by Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, France, Belgium and Denmark which all recorded decreases close to 50 per cent.

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The report was published after three recent deaths on Bristol roads following cycling collisions.

A man in his 40s died after colliding with and oil tanker on Tuesday in Failand, a 63-year-old man died in a collision on Gloucester Road the previous week and a pedestrian in her 60s died after colliding with a cyclist on Bell Hill Road in the same week.

Six cyclists have died on London roads in recent weeks prompting questions over cycling provision.

Police were out in force on main cycling commuter routes this week to warn cyclists and motorists to follow rules.

Bristol is set to benefit from a network of new cycle lanes after the council agreed to take on a campaign group's ambitious proposals.

A strategic cycle network will be developed based on plans published by Bristol Cycling Campaign this year.

Mayor George Ferguson has repeatedly committed himself to improving cycle safety and increasing the number of cyclists on Bristol roads.

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  • bethechange  |  December 05 2013, 8:26PM

    @Charlespk I have only just started cycling in Bristol due to being too scared to do so until now. However since doing so I have found that cycling is not only quicker than driving or catching the bus around the city, but it is also cheaper and healthier (except for all the fumes), providing a fantastic means of exercise that so many of us lack in this day-and-age and is so much less stressful than sitting in traffic pumping out fumes and going no-where fast. I am certain that if there were more cycle ways and cars stayed out of the cycle box at many junctions and gave bikes space on the roads, then many more people would choose cycling rather than their car as a mode of transport, decreasing congestion and making travel more bearable for the majority. To say that bikes are a liability is just naive, give them space and plan your own travel, then there is no need to rush and push cyclists off the road. I understand that there are some cyclists less careful than others, but you can say that about drivers and I have experienced that when being pushed along/off the roads by drivers can result in quick maneuvers in fear of personal safety.

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  • katachua  |  November 25 2013, 4:20PM

    "Mayor George Ferguson has repeatedly committed himself to improving cycle safety" If he's serious, let's start with compulsory Cycling Proficiency training and tests, helmet wearing, high-vis clothing, and lights. Yes, I know the last is a legal requirement - let's enforce it!

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  • katachua  |  November 25 2013, 4:11PM

    @Rosebud76 "The chap that died on Gloucester Road had a brain haemorrhage, his death wasn't car related #justsaying" Careful, mate. One of the regular posters here got banned for saying just that.

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  • Charlespk  |  November 25 2013, 2:32PM

    If they banned bikes, removed bus lanes and cycle lanes and removed most of the traffic lights and other obstructions, the traffic would start flowing again. It always does when ever there is a power failure as long as they don't fail stuck on RED. http://tinyurl.com/35cj5do (open in a new window)

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  • Rosebud76  |  November 25 2013, 2:17PM


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  • JoeFrankie  |  November 25 2013, 1:57PM

    What's your solution then? Outlaw bikes and have thousands more cars on the road? Get a grip. We need bikes on the road. If Bristol grinds to a halt, then companies will relocate to soulless out of town office blocks which will then clog up the motorways. Just look at Axtec West at rush hour already. And yes, my wife and I both have cars.

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  • Charlespk  |  November 25 2013, 12:22PM

    In central Bristol, and on busy commuter routes bicycles are just a a danger and a liability. Far more people rode bicycles back in the 50s and 60s where it wasn't quicker to walk. And you didn't have to worry about someone stealing it if you left it any where; even over night. Bicycles will not save our High Streets.

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  • JoeFrankie  |  November 25 2013, 12:06PM

    Yes mate I know exactly why bikes are not allowed on the motorway. The speed limit on the motorway is 70 mph, which would make it far too dangerous for bicycles. Motorways were designed to allow traffic to travel quickly between major cities. Have you ever thought why motorways do not go through cities? The speed limit in urban areas is 30 mph, 20 mph in some residential areas, which should allow for cars and bikes to share the road in perfect harmony. Absolutely no argument that cyclists should ride responsibly and obey the highyway code. Any person who argues otherwise is either an idiot or a wind up merchant.

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  • Charlespk  |  November 25 2013, 11:42AM

    But there were gradually fewer and fewer bicycles and more and more motor vehicles. It is YOU who are blinkered. . Has it never occurred to you that is why cyclists aren't allowed on to the motorways? . If people treated their bicycles as 'vehicles' not as as extension of their legs in the 'playground', and cycled accordingly, we wouldn't have this problem. http://tinyurl.com/3ddlcoy (open in a new window) Cycling deaths have been steadily increasing as motoring accidents have fallen.

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  • JoeFrankie  |  November 25 2013, 11:07AM

    Cycling and vehicles do mix and have continued to mix since the motor car was intrduced to the roads in the early part of the last century. With some non blinkered thinking we can make the two co-habit easily. For the sake of business in Bristol we have to. If all those cyclists got back in their cars........blah blah blah

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