Livingston jogger dies after being hit by cyclist

A jogger has died following a collision with a cyclist on a footpath in Livingston, reports the BBC. West Lothian police have described the incident as ‘a tragic accident’.

Peter Craig, 49, was jogging on the Loan Footpath at its junction with Fergus Avenue at 9am on Saturday when he was knocked down by a cyclist. His injuries initially appeared minor, but after being taken to St John’s Hospital and then the Western General, it transpired that he had suffered brain damage and he died the following day.

Sergeant Gary Taylor of West Lothian police said: “This was a tragic accident and our thoughts go to Peter’s family at this very sad time.”

The cyclist has now been traced. When appealing for information police had earlier said that they were not expecting to bring charges as there was “no suggestion of any criminality”.

Craig was a member of West Lothian Triathlon, who paid tribute on their Facebook page.

“Peter was involved in a collision on Saturday while out training for Aberfeldy and suffered brain injuries. Peter had been a member of the club for two years and his enthusiasm for the club and for triathlon was infectious. He had recently become a committee member and had also taken the lead on the Wednesday night run sessions. He will be sadly missed.”

The dangers of pavement cycling have been to the fore in the news this week. Earlier today, Radio 4 held a phone-in entitled At Risk From Cyclists in response to a recent incident in which a pavement cyclist in Blackpool was captured on CCTV footage colliding with and injuring a three-year-old girl. Despite this, it is worth noting that pedestrian fatalities due to collisions involving cyclists are actually very rare.

Figures obtained by CTC, the national cycling charity from the Department for Transport (DfT) revealed that one pedestrian was killed in an incident involving a cycle on a pavement or verge between 2009 and 2013. In contrast, 34 pedestrians were killed by vehicles on the pavement or verge each year over the same period.

In all, around 98 per cent of serious or fatal pedestrian injuries in urban areas are due to collisions with motor vehicles. This is influenced by traffic volume, but taking into account distances covered, mile for mile a motor vehicle is still 2.5 times more likely than a bike to be involved in a fatal collision with a pedestrian.