‘Appalling’ road layouts causing cyclist casualties: Guardian

A blog in the Guardian has put an increase in cyclist casualties down to ‘appalling’ road layouts.

‘Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain 2010’ (published 29/09/11) shows that cyclist deaths across the UK rose by 7% last year, up from 104 in 2009 to 111 in 2010.

The Guardian blog highlights the death of student Min Joo Lee who on 3 October became the 13th cyclist to be killed in London in 2011. Min Joo Lee was killed as she was hit by an HGV while navigating the Kings Cross one-way system.

Olaf Storbeck, a cyclist blogger, said: “The whole area around King’s Cross is a complete and utter nightmare for cyclists. In the last five years, four cyclists were killed in the proximity of King’s Cross. A nasty system of one-way roads and other restrictions makes it amazingly hard to avoid the busy roads as a cyclist. Apparently, nobody who is responsible for the road design in that area ever seriously thought about cyclists."

However, DfT statistics indicate that the overall trend is downwards, with the number of UK cyclists killed in 2010 some 40% lower than the 1994-98 average. The average number of cyclists killed each year during that period was 186. There was also a 1% increase in cycling levels between 2009 and 2010.

Click here to read the full Guardian blog.