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Cyclists hurt seven times more often than figures show
Cyclists hurt seven times more often than figures show
Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent May 17 2018, 12:01am, The Times British cyclists are four times as likely to be killed as those in the Netherlands The number of cyclists being injured on British roads could be almost seven times higher than previously thought. Huge under-reporting of cycling injuries, often involving minor collisions with cars and other vehicles, has been found by researchers. About a third of incidents did “not involve anyone else”, suggesting that they were linked to potholes in the road or other obstacles such as bollards. The report by Rachel Aldred, a reader in transport at Westminster University, will fuel demands for an increase in the number of segregated cycle lanes. She said that British cyclists were four times as likely to be killed as those in the Netherlands, where cycle lanes are far more common. The study also unearthed great under-reporting in the number of people injured while walking, with pedestrians three times more likely to be hurt than official police accident figures show. It revealed that people with disabilities and those from poorer homes, who are less likely to be able to afford their own car or public transport, were more likely to be injured than the national average. Dr Aldred analysed feedback from the National Travel Survey, an annual poll of the transport habits of 147,000 people. She compared this with road accident figures based on police reports, which recorded 18,477 cycling casualties on roads in 2016, including 14,978 slight injuries and 3,499 people who were killed or seriously injured. Analysis of the National Travel Survey showed that the risk of cycling injuries was much higher, although most of these additional injuries were likely to be slight, Dr Aldred said, suggesting that the true scale of injuries could exceed 125,000. Figures published by the Department for Transport at the start of the year showed that the number of people cycling has flatlined over the past decade as traffic has risen steeply. The average adult made 15 journeys by bicycle in 2016, two fewer than ten years earlier. The number has fluctuated between 14 and 18 trips since the mid-1990s. The government has launched a review of cycle safety to increase the use of bicycles. It is likely to consider imposing mandatory passing distances to prevent motorists overtaking too close to cyclists on busy roads. It could also investigate the possibility of fines for “car dooring”, when motorists or car passengers negligently swing open doors and hit passing cyclists. |
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