Northamptonshire pedestrians six times more likely to be injured by a cyclist

Data obtained by a Freedom of Information request made by Claims.co.uk shows Northamptonshire Police attended 39 serious incidents in 2017 where pedestrians had been struck by passing cyclists.

The national average in 2017 was six, meaning that pedestrians in the county are more than six times more likely to be struck by a cyclist than anywhere else in the UK.

Despite the figures, charity Cycling UK maintains that cars, vans and lorries remain the biggest threat to all vulnerable road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.

Head of campaigns at Cycling UK, Duncan Dollimore, cites a report from Department for Transport that shows 99 per cent of pedestrians fatalities on roads are a result of motor vehicles, not cyclists.

"When considering the safety of people cycling or walking it’s essential that people look at the evidence about the source of the danger," said Mr Dollimore.

"In the last 10 years, the casualty statistics from the Department for Transport reveal that 99.4 per cent of pedestrian fatalities on our roads involved a motor vehicle, with a 10 per cent increase in overall pedestrian fatalities in 2016 as a consequence of the large rise in pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle collisions.

"Similarly, it is motor vehicles that pose the greatest risk to cyclists, with a five per cent increase in the number of cyclists seriously injured last year."

The news comes as the figures also show that injuries to cyclists by vehicles has declined steadily over the past three years.

In 2017, 129 cyclists were involved in collisions with cars across Northamptonshire, which was a decrease form 242 in 2016 and 227 in 2015.

While the statistics are an improvement for the region, cycling campaigners across the country suggest that there is still a long way to go to make the roads safe for all vulnerable road users.

"If we want to improve road safety for all of our most vulnerable road users, it would be better to focus on measures to reduce danger from the largest vehicles and design roads and streets which take their needs into account," said Mr Dollimore said.

"To help with this, Cycling UK has just responded to the Government’s cycling and walking safety review, with our solutions to achieve safer roads and junctions, safer road users, safer speeds and safer vehicles to make both cycling and walking the natural choice for short journeys."