Make roads safer for cyclists, says charity

The number of cyclists killed on Britain’s roads increased by ten percent in 2012, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport. The increase has led the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to call for action to tackle the problem.

The annual road casualty figures for Great Britain in 2012 show that overall road deaths fell by eight percent to 1,754 in 2012, but deaths among cyclists rose by ten percent to 118. There was also an increase in the number of seriously injured cyclists (3,222).

The increase in deaths was mainly among the young with the number of child cyclists killed doubling from six in 2011 to thirteen in 2012, although the number of seriously injured fell by a fifth.

“We need to redouble our efforts to make sure that cyclist deaths and injuries are reduced as the popularity of cycling increases,” said Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, an accident prevention charity with a history stretching back nearly 100 years. “It is vital to create a coherent safe network for cyclists by introducing appropriate cycle lanes and tracks.”

“We also need to hammer home the message to drivers to keep their speed down, watch out for cyclists and give them enough room on the road.”

The figures also reveal:

• There were 61 children killed on the roads in 2012, one more than in 2011.
• The number of seriously injured children fell by six percent to 2,211 in 2012.
• There were 420 pedestrian deaths in 2012, a fall of 7% on the previous year.
• The number of seriously injured pedestrians rose by 2% to 5,559.
• The number of motorcyclists killed fell by 9% to 328 in 2012.
• The number of seriously injured motorcyclists decreased by 5% to 5,000.

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