Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Cyclists are 15 times more likely to be killed on the road than drivers

Latest figures suggest the current focus on pedestrian deaths may be misplaced

Cyclists are 15 times more likely to be killed on the road than drivers, according to the government’s new figures.

Despite doing many fewer miles per year than drivers, cyclists take on far more risk on Britain’s roads.

Statistics released by the Department for Transport show 102 cyclists died in Britain last year - a slight increase (of 2 per cent) on the previous year. In terms of casualty rates, for every billion miles cycled, there are 5,353 accidents and 29.5 deaths.

That compares with just 262 accidents and 2 deaths per billion miles for car drivers.

But the public debate currently centres on whether cyclists are being adequately penalised for occasions when they kill or maim pedestrians - a rare occurrence.

Tim Williamson, a driver defence expert and criminal lawyer at Blake Morgan, who specialises in representing motorists in court, told the Independent he supported tougher laws for dangerous cycling. But he said existing legislation was “ill-equipped” for cases where a pedestrian was responsible for a collision with a bicycle.

The paper notes: “For cyclists, the Road Traffic Act 1991, which created cycling offences parallel but not equal to those of careless and dangerous driving, imposes maximum fines of £1,000 for careless cycling and £2,500 for dangerous cycling. If bodily harm is caused by the cyclist, they can be prosecuted for wanton and furious driving, which carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment; compared with 14 years for death by dangerous driving.”

Chris Boardman, British Cycling’s policy adviser, told the paper: “Laws should be developed so the penalties are proportionate to the ability to cause harm. This means basing them on evidence not headlines. I’m all for tougher penalties if they lead to actual reduction in casualties on the road.”

In 2015 two pedestrians were killed and 96 seriously injured after being hit by a bicycle.

But every year more than 100 cyclists are killed and more than 3,000 seriously injured on British roads – the majority by motorists.

As we reported earlier this month, the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured by cyclists in Britain has doubled in a decade, according to new analysis.

The Daily Telegraph looked at government data and concluded that in 2016, “three pedestrians died in such incidents across Great Britain while a further 108 sustained serious injury.”

This compares with “50 pedestrians who were killed or seriously injured a decade earlier in 2006.”

But importantly, the newspaper notes that its data “does not apportion blame for the accidents in question”.

 

Add new comment

18 comments

Avatar
cyclisto | 6 years ago
1 like

Nobody said that cycling is safe. But first of all with proper infrastructure, law and education these stats can change. Second when I cycle I cause danger only to myself (ok mr briggs, and to some very very very rare occasions to pedestrians, lets say 1 or 2 in around 50 million of UK active pedestrians per year). Driving a motor vehicle can be dangerous for other road users and is 100% dangerous for all people's lungs that they cannot avoid. There is too much attention given to road safety compared to the health damage EVERYBODY gets from internal combustion engines.

Avatar
davel replied to cyclisto | 6 years ago
1 like
cyclisto wrote:

Nobody said that cycling is safe. But first of all with proper infrastructure, law and education these stats can change. Second when I cycle I cause danger only to myself (ok mr briggs, and to some very very very rare occasions to pedestrians, lets say 1 or 2 in around 50 million of UK active pedestrians per year). Driving a motor vehicle can be dangerous for other road users and is 100% dangerous for all people's lungs that they cannot avoid. There is too much attention given to road safety compared to the health damage EVERYBODY gets from internal combustion engines.

I largely agree with your other points, but cycling IS pretty safe, and plenty of people say that. Example: around 100 cyclists die in the UK each year... 650 people die from falling down the stairs.

Ok, more people use stairs than bikes, but let's not peddle the myth that cycling in itself is dangerous. It isn't. What is dangerous is being hit by distracted or risky DRIVERS - the greatest cause of cycling KSIs.

Avatar
wycombewheeler | 6 years ago
0 likes

unreadble due to ad on autoplay at top and bottom of page

Avatar
embattle | 6 years ago
0 likes

So out on my motorbike just for an hour doing some bits and pieces and I had car drivers trying to overtake and cut in late for a off-ramp, a matt black audi doing about 70 in a 50 zone on the A3, a pedestrian deciding to cross on a pedestrian crossing but not using it and seemed to just stroll across the road in front of an oncoming car and then one cyclist ignoring a red light and at the next traffic light she ignored another and a whole pack of cyclists ignored it coming from a different direction. It is just another day on our roads where the vehicle isn't the problem but the attitude of the person using it is.

Avatar
Stef Marazzi | 6 years ago
1 like

Would be good to compare these figures to Holland or Copenhagen so we can see the true cost of the UK Government not spending money on safe infrastructure

Avatar
embattle | 6 years ago
1 like

Last time I looked at deaths per billion miles my motorcycle was 4 times more likely to result in my death than my bicycle.

Avatar
aracer | 6 years ago
2 likes

Dodgy stats to calculate deaths per mile in that way, as it's not comparing like with like. More useful would be to exclude motorway miles - a better comparison with cycling, and would result in a significantly higher deaths per mile for driving.

Avatar
davel replied to aracer | 6 years ago
0 likes
aracer wrote:

Dodgy stats to calculate deaths per mile in that way, as it's not comparing like with like. More useful would be to exclude motorway miles - a better comparison with cycling, and would result in a significantly higher deaths per mile for driving.

... and even if they were spot on for road travel, to mean anything to anyone evaluating lifestyle choices they'd have to be thrown in with a load of other effects.

How much does regular cycling elongate your life by? How much does sitting in a car, fuming at the traffic caused by OTHER PEOPLE and BIKES and BUSES shorten your life by?

But our government is averse to dot-joining.

Avatar
kie7077 | 6 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

The Daily Telegraph looked at government data and concluded that in 2016, “three pedestrians died in such incidents across Great Britain while a further 108 sustained serious injury.”

One thing news had noted is a sudden uptick in motorists deaths in the USA after years of declining deaths. The smart phone is quite likely a factor with motorists checking social media and chatting/texting etc.

How many of these pedestrians injured by cyclists were injured because they just stepped in to the road without looking, glued to their phones? They notice the noise of an approaching vehicle but cyclists are pretty silent.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to kie7077 | 6 years ago
0 likes

kie7077 wrote:

Quote:

The Daily Telegraph looked at government data and concluded that in 2016, “three pedestrians died in such incidents across Great Britain while a further 108 sustained serious injury.”

One thing news had noted is a sudden uptick in motorists deaths in the USA after years of declining deaths. The smart phone is quite likely a factor with motorists checking social media and chatting/texting etc.

How many of these pedestrians injured by cyclists were injured because they just stepped in to the road without looking, glued to their phones? They notice the noise of an approaching vehicle but cyclists are pretty silent.

Two examples here on one ten minute ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY71I_YuYSY&feature=youtu.be

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
1 like

The shocking thing is that the discrepency isn't higher given the multiple airbags, seatbelts, crash protection beams, steel shell etc. (Conservatively) take 90 of those cycling deaths out caused directly by the criminal act of motorists and even similar% for fault/reason for serious injury and immediately you have a solution.
Ban motorvehicles, force the driving std much higher, penalise/remove errant drivers or those simply not capable of reaching the std or last option segregation.

Avatar
pjm60 | 6 years ago
1 like

If my dodgy maths is right, then deaths as a percent of accidents is 0.5% and 0.7% for cyclists and cars respectively. So proporionately more likely to die in a car accident (where there is injury) than a bike accident. /dodgy maths

Avatar
jonathing | 6 years ago
5 likes

Clearly the solution (if one can call it that) for these statistics is that for every cyclist killed we execute 15 drivers.

Avatar
Grahamd replied to jonathing | 6 years ago
8 likes

Jonathing wrote:

Clearly the solution (if one can call it that) for these statistics is that for every cyclist killed we execute 15 drivers   government ministers.

Fixed that for you.

Avatar
HalfWheeler | 6 years ago
2 likes

Only takes a moment to tweet this to Jesse Norman;

https://twitter.com/Jesse_Norman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%...

Avatar
burtthebike replied to HalfWheeler | 6 years ago
2 likes

HalfWheeler wrote:

Only takes a moment to tweet this to Jesse Norman;

https://twitter.com/Jesse_Norman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%...

That nice Mr Norman is presenting at the Cycling and Walking Innovations conference:

http://landor.co.uk/cyclingandwalking/conference.php#Programme

"10.30 John Major Room 

Morning keynote: How local, regional and national government is driving innovation in active travel

Jesse Norman, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Department for Transport "

I almost wish I was going so that I could heckle.

 

Avatar
neilmitchuk | 6 years ago
4 likes

And yet the government is not releasing money for segregated cycle lanes whilst considering compulsory Hi viz and helmets.

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to neilmitchuk | 6 years ago
4 likes

neilmitchuk wrote:

And yet the government is not releasing money for segregated cycle lanes whilst considering compulsory Hi viz and helmets.

Hmmm! Is that because one is a cost to the govt while the other is a cost for the victim end user. Apportioning blame is likely to be a factor too.

Latest Comments