10% fall in number of cyclist fatalities welcomed

A CYCLING organisation has welcomed two government reports which revealed that the number of cyclists killed on the roads dropped 10 per cent in 2009.

CTC, which campaigns for the rights of cyclists, hailed the Department of Transport reports, which also showed that more miles were cycled in the UK in 2009 than in the past 20 years, as "good news".

The first report, Road Statistics 2009: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion, showed 3.1 billion miles were cycled in the UK last year, up 5 per cent on the 2.9 billion in 2008.

The second, Reported Road Casualties Great Britain Main Results: 2009, showed a 10 per cent drop in cyclist fatalities, from 115 in 2008 to 104 last year.

However, it also showed the number of seriously injured cyclists rose 6 per cent, from 2,450 to 2,606. Overall, there were 17,064 cyclists involved in road accidents in 2009, a 5 per cent rise from the 16,297 in 2008.

Chris Peck, CTC's policy officer, said: "While this rise in cycle casualties may seem a bad thing, there is no greater risk than previously, because levels of cycling have also gone up.

"In fact, the more cyclists there are, the safer cycling becomes. We know from countries and cities experiencing cycle growth that places with higher levels of cycling have a lower risk of injury from cycling.

"This is the safety in numbers principle, where more cyclists means drivers are more aware of cyclists; and are more likely to be cyclists themselves, and therefore more likely to understand how their driving may affect other road users."

Mr Peck said it was more dangerous to not cycle than to cycle – "the life expectancy of non- cyclists tends to be two years shorter."