This post is not nearly as funny as SCR.
woodford2barbican
Posts: 1,505
Apologies for length. (fnarr fnarr)
I recently made a freedom of info request to the DofT to find out;
- the number of cyclists killed in central London and other vehicles involved
- the number of cyclists seriously injured in central London and other vehicles involved
I wanted to be able to asses the risk of cycle commuting without relying on some of the 'facts' that are regularly posted to internet message boards. They responded very quickly. If anyone wants the original, PM me and I will forward it, I tried to post it but could not save it in a suitable format.
It is thought provoking stuff and it will lead me to make follow up requests in order to put this data into some context and to validate my own conclusions. I have spent a while thinking about what this data means to me - and it will mean different things to different people. But this is my opinion....
I was struck by the total number of accidents over both serious injury & death categories involving HGVs. Mainly that HGVs do not seem to be involved in *that* many accidents (that is possibly related to their fewer number than cars) and that if you are involved in an accident with an HGV you have a 1:4 chance of dying, whilst with a car 1:56.
There were 369 accidents with HGVs and nearly 5000 accidents involving cars resulting in death or serious injury....
Conclusion: HGVs hurt more than cars, you are more likely to die, but don't ignore the risk posed by other forms of transport.
Buses and coaches seem fairly benign - 237 accidents in total, with 881 for LGVs and HGVs. Is this because bus drivers are better trained? Have more awareness of cyclists due to sharing facilities? Do these vehicles have better visibility for the drive? Are the bus companies more accountable?
Can any of these factors be learnt and applied to HGVs?
Finally, do I consider the risks involved acceptable? On the face of this data yes. It seems that from 1994 to 2007 there were 221 deaths of cyclists involving other vehicles and 6416 serious injuries. On the number of journeys taken each year - this to me represents an acceptable risk.
So, as many people on here say, be careful and look out for yourself - but don't make the mistake of thinking cycling in central London is a stupidly dangerous thing to do.
This leads me to my follow up requests. I am going to ask for stats relating to the number of cycle journeys undertaken over the same period, and the equivalent statistics for deaths and serious injuries for pedestrians.
I recently made a freedom of info request to the DofT to find out;
- the number of cyclists killed in central London and other vehicles involved
- the number of cyclists seriously injured in central London and other vehicles involved
I wanted to be able to asses the risk of cycle commuting without relying on some of the 'facts' that are regularly posted to internet message boards. They responded very quickly. If anyone wants the original, PM me and I will forward it, I tried to post it but could not save it in a suitable format.
It is thought provoking stuff and it will lead me to make follow up requests in order to put this data into some context and to validate my own conclusions. I have spent a while thinking about what this data means to me - and it will mean different things to different people. But this is my opinion....
I was struck by the total number of accidents over both serious injury & death categories involving HGVs. Mainly that HGVs do not seem to be involved in *that* many accidents (that is possibly related to their fewer number than cars) and that if you are involved in an accident with an HGV you have a 1:4 chance of dying, whilst with a car 1:56.
There were 369 accidents with HGVs and nearly 5000 accidents involving cars resulting in death or serious injury....
Conclusion: HGVs hurt more than cars, you are more likely to die, but don't ignore the risk posed by other forms of transport.
Buses and coaches seem fairly benign - 237 accidents in total, with 881 for LGVs and HGVs. Is this because bus drivers are better trained? Have more awareness of cyclists due to sharing facilities? Do these vehicles have better visibility for the drive? Are the bus companies more accountable?
Can any of these factors be learnt and applied to HGVs?
Finally, do I consider the risks involved acceptable? On the face of this data yes. It seems that from 1994 to 2007 there were 221 deaths of cyclists involving other vehicles and 6416 serious injuries. On the number of journeys taken each year - this to me represents an acceptable risk.
So, as many people on here say, be careful and look out for yourself - but don't make the mistake of thinking cycling in central London is a stupidly dangerous thing to do.
This leads me to my follow up requests. I am going to ask for stats relating to the number of cycle journeys undertaken over the same period, and the equivalent statistics for deaths and serious injuries for pedestrians.
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Comments
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Thanks W2B, it's really helpful to have some proper facts at your fingertips to help correct those naysayers who think all cyclists are mad because of the danger etc.Roadie FCN: 3
Fixed FCN: 60 -
Very interesting indeed.
Against car travel data (although not so comparable without the journeys) I'm sure that cycling should come out safer.
Would be interesting to know how they count the journeys, as well as how they classify the serious injuries/deaths.0 -
Will be interesting indeed.
See if you can get hold of any data relating to helmet usage while you are at it.
(Do NOT take that seriously)
I'd be interested to know if its more or less dangerous down there, as compared to other urban areas. I haven't got time myself; any volunteers?0 -
That's quite interesting. Some of the points you raise are somewhat counter to my experience/assumptions, though.
Would be nice to know the actual proportions of car/lorry/bus/etc. during that period, too.0 -
What I am thinking of asking for is
1) What constitues a serious injury.
2) Out of these accidents how many resulted in criminal charges and how many resulted in convictions
3) Comparative data for pedestrians
4) How many were red light jumping because it is safer.0 -
Also, how do they count hte cycle journeys?0
