The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has written to the Mayor of London calling on him to convene an urgent "Cycling Safety Summit" in response to the recent spate of cyclists’ deaths on London’s roads.
Five cyclists died in a recent nine day period in London, bringing the total number of cyclist deaths in London this year to 13, most of them in collisions with lorries and buses.
In the letter to Boris Johnson, PACTS said it "very much supports efforts to encourage cycling because of its health, environmental and other benefits" but added that "more cycling must not be at any price".
David Davies, PACTS’ executive director, said: “The boom in cycling in London has many benefits and PACTS supports it but the (recent) tragic events show that there is a need for urgent action.
"We are therefore calling on the Mayor to convene a cycling safety summit to see what can be done immediately to make cyclists safer. It is essential that actions are based on good evidence and well targeted outcomes. We must avoid knee-jerk reactions and measures that might be counter-productive.”
Putting things in perspective, 99.999% of cyclists riding in London don’t get killed or injured apparently, so what are the chances of a ‘summit’ coming up with anything that’s going to reduce the .001% who are, to nil? You could look at the stats another way and conclude that the accident rate is actually very good. (This) applies to all other road accidents by the way – mildly traumatic to devastatingly life-changing when they happen of course, but despite the daily appalling behaviour by some road users (of all categories), fortunately most of the time accidents are not the result. I can’t help thinking there comes a point beyond which the authorities can do no more.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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