“Cycling on the roads can be made safer”: Cyclist fatalities hit lowest number in 30 years

There were 85 fatalities for pedal cyclists in 2022, the lowest amount since 1993. This was a 15% reduction from an average of 100 cyclist fatalities per year between 2015-2019, the closest comparable years after the pandemic.

Analysis by Cycling UK of DfT statistics released yesterday (13 July), noted that the number of miles travelled by people cycling in 2022 totally 3.9 billion miles – an encouraging increase of 12% from an average of 3.5 billion miles per year for 2015-2019.

The cycling charity says this is significant as it allows it to calculate the rate of people killed while cycling per billion miles travelled – the best way to see if cycling on the roads is growing safer. In 2022,  22 people were killed while cycling per billion miles cycled compared to an average of 29 over 2015 – 2019, a 24% reduction.

An updated Highway Code, liveable neighbourhood introductions and other road safety measures could be behind the significant decline, said Cycling UK. The charity warned that the momentum must continue with more government action and investment to ensure this is the beginning of a longer-term trend in road casualties for people cycling and won’t just be a statistical anomaly.

With perceived road safety a crucial factor in getting people cycling, as revealed in numerous reports including CI.N’s own Market Data, polling bike shops, this is significant news.

“These figures prove the tragic death toll on our roads isn’t inevitable,” said Sarah Mitchell, Cycling UK’s chief executive. “They show the Government could save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of devastating injuries by taking more action to reduce road danger.

“Proving cause and effect is always difficult, but over the last two years a number of measures have been introduced to make roads safer, such as an updated Highway Code, wider roll out of 20mph zones, and interventions to reduce through traffic in residential areas. It is likely a combination of these contributed to last year’s reduction in cyclist deaths.

“Despite making up less than 2% of all non-motorway traffic on our roads, people cycling are still over-represented in the fatalities and injuries on our roads. Action can make a difference, which is why Cycling UK wants to see the Government reverse cuts to cycling and walking infrastructure investment. This infrastructure keeps people safe and saves lives but the cuts threaten to exactly the opposite.”

Given questions over how effectively publicised the Highway Code changes were, there seems considerable potential to boost the effectiveness of road safety measures that have been implemented.