Highway Code changes: Drivers urged to take caution after being blamed for cycling crashes
DRIVERS can do more to keep cyclists safe on the road after new Highway Code changes were introduced, according to cycling experts.
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Rick Robson, spokesperson for Merlin Cycles said many incidents between cars and bicycles were not simply accidents. He warned in many incidents, the failures of road users to spot cycles were a major “contributory factor”.
The company has pointed towards data from the Department for Transport between 2015 and 2020 which shows drivers were more to blame for incidents.
Out of more than 11,000 incidents where a driver or rider failed to look properly, just one third were found to be the fault of cyclists.
Just 1,644 cyclists were also blamed for failing to judge the path or speed of a driver, compared to 2,527 drivers who failed to do this for cyclists.
More than 60 percent of drivers were identified for causing accidents due to being reckless or in a hurry, compared to 40 percent of cyclists.
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Poor turns or manoeuvres were also identified as causing 2,558 accidents.
Just 798 of these were the fault of the cyclist, with 1,760 blamed on the driver.
Mr Robson said: “‘Accident’ suggests that no one was at fault for the resulting harm.
“It gives the impression that cycling ‘accidents’ are a freak occurrence that couldn’t have been prevented.
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“Which cyclists riding on the road know to be untrue in most cases.”
He added: “Out of 11,348 incidents where the top-reported contributory factor was a road-user, ‘failing to look properly,’ 3,782 pedal cyclists were seriously injured.
“Not performing the necessary checks before a manoeuvre means that it’s easy for drivers to fail to spot an approaching bike rider.”
Over the last five years, serious injuries between cyclists and vehicles have risen by 26 percent.
On average, two cyclists died and 83 were seriously injured every week.
The data also shows serious injuries are more likely to happen on urban routes.
However, the statistics show fatalities were more common on rural roads.
Merlin Cycles have urged road users to make simple changes to ensure cyclists stay safe on the roads.
Firstly, they urge road users to always check their blind spots when driving to ensure cyclists have not crept behind them.
Motorists should also give extra consideration to cyclists when driving near them.
They said drivers should correctly adjust their car lights at night time.
Finally, Merlin Cycles said drivers should never try to race ahead in a bid to overtake cyclists.