Cyclist fatalities on British roads rose by 40% in 2020, says DfT

elbowloh

140 cyclists killed on the roads in 2020, compared to 100 in the previous year.

I guess there was an increase in cycling due to COVID, but there would have been less motorised vehicles on the road also, for the same reasons.

It's also worth noting that deaths increased, but number of casualties dropped, implying when an incident did occur, it was more serious?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/cyclists-killed-on-british-roads-rose-by-40-in-2020-official-figures-show

webboo

There now seems to more cyclists on the roads than I have seen in the 40 years I have been riding. However I seem to get more close passes by cars and the like going at what seems to be excessive speeds for the roads they are on.
Lots of people have discovered the countryside in lockdown and I guess most of them drive there.

daniel_b

Deaths or injuries per mile though, it says dropped by 34%.

davep1

Apart from maybe 3-4 weeks, I don't think traffic decreased at all. There was a definite window when some of the busier A roads I use were better, but it was short.

The problem is lousy driving standards. Well there are so many problems. The Traffic Police have been more or less completely replaced by cameras, which might catch you speeding, but don't get most cases of bad driving. People think they have an inalienable right to drive where they like, when they like, how they like.

The judicial system is a joke, if you want to kill someone, get in your car.

There is very little pressure put on anyone to drive responsibly.

First.Aspect

Would be interesting to see the month by month on this. My experience was of deserted roads for several months last year, interspersed with some very extreme speeding. I'm talking 80-100 on rural A roads sort of speed.

It was very marked, but died down after the first lockdown, when there was more traffic (and enforcement - of which there appeared to be none for several months, other than on the M74 near Gretna).

elbowloh

Would be good to see where these death are happening e.g. town/city centres, A roads or country b roads.