simon l& and a half
New Member
- Location
- Streatham Hill
Briefing from CTC on illegal cycling and its effects on road safety
CTC, the national cyclists' organisation, was founded in 1878. CTC has
70,000 members and supporters, provides a range of information and legal
services to cyclists, organises cycling events, and represents the interests
of cyclists and cycling on issues of public policy.
CTC is opposed to illegal cycling. We believe that first offender cyclists
should, as an alternative to a fixed penalty notice, be offered a course of
cycle training under the National Standards for Cycle Training, known as
'Bikeability'. The offer of an alternative driver retraining or behaviour
modification programme is standard practice for motorists.
Deaths and injuries to pedestrians - cyclists vs. motorists
1. What are the risks of red light jumping?
· In the years 2001-05 (the most recent data we have), there were 3
cyclists, 7 pedestrians and 7 motor vehicle occupants killed in London due
to motorists jumping red lights.
· Two cyclists got themselves killed by red light jumping (i.e.
fewer than the number of cyclists killed by red-light-jumping drivers),
while 7 motorcyclists got themselves killed the same way. Jumping a red
light on a bike is illegal and can be dangerous; jumping a red light using a
motor vehicle is just as illegal but causes a lot more death and injury.
2. What are the risks from pavement cycling?
In London between 2001-05 there were 17 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles
on pavements or verges, and not a single cyclist.
In Britain as a whole there are typically around 40 pedestrians killed on
pavements or verges by motor vehicles - that's getting on for 1 a week. By
contrast there has been just 1 pedestrian killed by a cyclist on a pavement
this decade. Yet it was the latter (an incident in Cornwall in 2006) which
made headlines.
3. Who injures pedestrians?
· In the years 2001-5 in London, there were 101 times as many
pedestrians injured - and 126 times as many seriously injured - in
collisions with motor vehicles than cyclists. There were 534 pedestrians
killed in collisions with motor vehicles, and just 1 involving a cyclist
(and no reason to believe that the cyclist in the latter case was breaking
the law).
· For the whole of Britain's road network, there were 3894
pedestrians killed in collisions in 2000-04. Just 9 of these involved
cyclists, none of them on the footway. The remainder of these deaths
involved motor vehicles.
· Per mile travelled, drivers are about 50% more likely than
cyclists to be involved in injuring a pedestrian, and 3.5 times as likely to
be involved in killing them. N.B. This calculation makes no allowance for
the fact that (a) drivers accumulate a lot of their mileage on motorways and
trunk roads where there are very few pedestrians to injure and (
a lot of
cyclists are children and teenagers.
CTC, the national cyclists' organisation
January 2008
CTC, the national cyclists' organisation, was founded in 1878. CTC has
70,000 members and supporters, provides a range of information and legal
services to cyclists, organises cycling events, and represents the interests
of cyclists and cycling on issues of public policy.
CTC is opposed to illegal cycling. We believe that first offender cyclists
should, as an alternative to a fixed penalty notice, be offered a course of
cycle training under the National Standards for Cycle Training, known as
'Bikeability'. The offer of an alternative driver retraining or behaviour
modification programme is standard practice for motorists.
Deaths and injuries to pedestrians - cyclists vs. motorists
1. What are the risks of red light jumping?
· In the years 2001-05 (the most recent data we have), there were 3
cyclists, 7 pedestrians and 7 motor vehicle occupants killed in London due
to motorists jumping red lights.
· Two cyclists got themselves killed by red light jumping (i.e.
fewer than the number of cyclists killed by red-light-jumping drivers),
while 7 motorcyclists got themselves killed the same way. Jumping a red
light on a bike is illegal and can be dangerous; jumping a red light using a
motor vehicle is just as illegal but causes a lot more death and injury.
2. What are the risks from pavement cycling?
In London between 2001-05 there were 17 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles
on pavements or verges, and not a single cyclist.
In Britain as a whole there are typically around 40 pedestrians killed on
pavements or verges by motor vehicles - that's getting on for 1 a week. By
contrast there has been just 1 pedestrian killed by a cyclist on a pavement
this decade. Yet it was the latter (an incident in Cornwall in 2006) which
made headlines.
3. Who injures pedestrians?
· In the years 2001-5 in London, there were 101 times as many
pedestrians injured - and 126 times as many seriously injured - in
collisions with motor vehicles than cyclists. There were 534 pedestrians
killed in collisions with motor vehicles, and just 1 involving a cyclist
(and no reason to believe that the cyclist in the latter case was breaking
the law).
· For the whole of Britain's road network, there were 3894
pedestrians killed in collisions in 2000-04. Just 9 of these involved
cyclists, none of them on the footway. The remainder of these deaths
involved motor vehicles.
· Per mile travelled, drivers are about 50% more likely than
cyclists to be involved in injuring a pedestrian, and 3.5 times as likely to
be involved in killing them. N.B. This calculation makes no allowance for
the fact that (a) drivers accumulate a lot of their mileage on motorways and
trunk roads where there are very few pedestrians to injure and (
a lot of cyclists are children and teenagers.
CTC, the national cyclists' organisation
January 2008
