28 June 2012

British Cycling today responded to the Department for Transport’s latest figures on road casualties in Great Britain.

The statistics show that whilst the overall number of people killed on the road has increased, the number of cyclists killed has dropped by 4% in the past year.

Martin Gibbs, British Cycling’s Director of Policy and Legal Affairs, said:

“If we compare these recently released figures to the situation in 1994, that’s a 40% reduction in the number of people killed while cycling, and cycling participation figures have increased. But we can and must do better so that cycling is as safe as it possibly can be. That is why we are calling on the government to embed cycling in all road policy decisions so that we create a safe cycle-friendly environment. The Department for Transport needs to make cycling central to their transport strategy.”

Data around number of people killed at 20mph compared with 30mph indicates that reducing road speeds in urban areas would significantly reduce the number of casualties. This is a key action in British Cycling’s manifesto [download].

In a survey at the end of last year, British Cycling’s members told us that that a public awareness campaign similar to the THINK Bike! Campaign would really improve cyclist’s safety. This is borne out in the statistics released by the Department for Transport today. Motorcycle injuries and deaths have dropped significantly over the past ten years especially since the introduction of the campaign. British Cycling is calling on the government to implement a similar campaign for cyclists, as well as considering cycling in all relevant Department for Transport policy decisions in order that a culture of mutual respect on the roads can be effectively developed and cycling seen as a mainstream activity.