Cyclist fatalities down in London, however number seriously injured rises as Transport for London pledges "more action"

Transport for London has published its official road safety data for 2022, showing that 101 people lost their lives on the roads of the English capital last year, seven of those cyclists, while the number of bicycle riders seriously injured is up significantly.

Once again pledging "more action" to prevent death and serious injury on London's roads, TfL noted that progress had been made, with the fatality figure the lowest on record when you exclude 2021 and 2020, years where the Covid pandemic and lockdowns had an impact on traffic levels.

This is why while TfL reports the number of people killed on London's roads is up 35 per cent compared with 2021, it also highlights that it is down 18 per cent and 52 per cent when compared with the 2017-19 and 2005-2009 averages respectively, rather than comparing with years "heavily affected by pandemic restrictions and changes to travel plans".

With that said, the number of cyclist fatalities fell from 10 to 7, compared with 2021, and is now 58 per cent below the 2005-2009 baseline average that is used to measure progress as outlined in the Vision Zero Action Plan.

However, people killed whilst walking, cycling or motorcycling account for 68 per cent of all fatalities and the number of cyclists seriously injured has increased by 42 per cent against the 2005-09 baseline.

TfL suggests this is linked to the fact that during the same period, cycling journeys increased by 88 per cent, suggesting that "cycling trips have become safer overall, but clearly there is a need to continue to roll-out safe cycle infrastructure, lower speeds and initiatives such as Direct Vision Standards (DVS)."

Overall, the number of people killed or seriously injured increased by 11 per cent compared with 2021, rising from 3,580 to 3,974, but a decrease of 37 per cent when compared with the 2005-09 baseline. Compared with 2005-09, serious injuries were up one per cent.

TfL notes that "cars continued to be the main vehicle type involved in collisions in 2022", and "speeding remains the biggest risk to road users with around half of the 2022 fatal collisions in London (48 out of 99) reporting speed as a contributory factor".

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Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman said: "Every death or serious injury on our streets is devastating, bringing heartache and tragedy to all those involved. This data shows that while significant progress is being made, further action is needed to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London's streets.

"That's why we have accelerated our 20mph speed limit programme, are tightening the Direct Vision Safety standard for HGVs and working with the boroughs to deliver high-quality cycle routes."

The publication of the figures came hours after a cyclist was killed in a collision with a lorry being driven in central London at around 7:30am.

The collision is reported to have happened in Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, near the junction with Maple Street, witnesses saying the tipper truck had been turning left.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson confirmed: "We were called at 7.41am to reports of a road traffic collision on Fitzroy Street. We sent two ambulance crews, a medic in a fast response car and an incident response officer to the scene. We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance.

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene."

Commenting on the "devastating news", the London Cycling Campaign said "yet again a tipper truck involved in a fatal collision with someone cycling".

"It's too early yet for any clarity on why this collision happened — but incidents like this should be designed out of London. Our hearts go out to family and friends of the victim."