London has experienced a cycling boom since the turn of the 21st century, with the number of bicycle journeys made in the city having doubled from 2000 to 2012 to over 540,000 per day, according to the Department for Transport. And in 2008 around 2 per cent of all journeys in London were by bike (compared to 28% in the bike capital Cambridge).
Whether it’s because of the long hot summer we’ve just had, or as a result of the lasting effects from the Olympics or from Ride London or Boris’s bikes, London has seen an influx in the number of commuters hopping on bikes. Sadly this has led to a high number of fatal cycling accidents, with the total in August already at 6, 4 of which were collisions with a HGV.
A study of deaths of cyclists in London published in 2010 stated that "the biggest threat remains freight vehicles, involved in more than 4 out of 10 cycling accidents, with over half turning left at the time of the crash." The London Cycling Campaign and others strongly recommend that cyclists should never undertake a lorry, especially in front of red lights.
Emergency doctors who work on the air ambulance called for urgent road safety measures after three were killed in three weeks in bicycle accidents in London. The air ambulance, which flies a surgeon and paramedic straight to crash scenes, has been called to more than 30 critical incidents involving cyclists this year. According to Transport for London figures, fourteen cyclists were killed on the capital’s roads last year and 16 in 2011. A further 657 were seriously injured, up from 555 in 2011.
With these figures it’s not surprising that around 5,000 riders, including families of victims and injured survivors, took part in the “Space for Cycling” protest in September organised by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC). Part of the three-mile long parade included a 65-year-old wheelchair-bound man, who broke a leg and arm in a crash with a 4x4 in Holborn during the summer. He urged London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to spend some of £386million he promised over the remainder of his term earlier this year on new infrastructure so cyclists could be kept separate from other traffic.
And this is the message behind Space for Cycling; to pressure Boris Johnson, into speeding up a programme to make the city's roads more cycle-friendly; and also to remind MPs and ministers in the Commons chamber that there is an appetite for change among two-wheeled voters nationally. The LCC are calling for London-wide 20mph speed limits in residential streets, at least £10 to be spent per head on cycling, the separation of cyclists from traffic on main roads and at junctions and a more sustainable approach to policy-making.
Other demands include setting out timetables to upgrade Cycle Superhighway 2 to international standards of cycle tracks along its entire length and for the creation of the central London BikeGrid of safe routes in Zone 1.
Cycling Accidents
Each year, hundreds of cycling accidents are reported on roads in London and in almost all instances the cyclist is the innocent party in a collision. If you were injured in a cycling accident as the result of someone’s negligence then you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation. See our previous post on cycling claims.
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http://info.mayiclaim.co.uk/personal_injury_compensation_claim_news/bid/320384/Will-London-s-Cycling-Legacy-be-Bicycle-Accidents
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