NEW MEDICAL research has confirmed the darkest fears of London’s cyclists – get hit by an HGV and your chances of emerging unscathed are slim.
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Trawling through six years of accident reports from the Royal London Hospital, researchers found a 21% death rate among those injured following a collision with an HGV. That compares to 6% of cyclist deaths in similar car crash cases.
Among survivors, injuries to cyclists from HGV incidents were far more severe, requiring an average of 12 days’ hospital care compared to just one day for those involved in car collisions.
“This research paints a grisly picture of the injuries sustained by cyclists who are unlucky enough to be involved in a collision,” said Dr Joannna Manson, author of the research report.
“But it’s a first step in providing evidence about the devastating impact of those most serious cycling injuries.”
The hard statistics provide more evidence for campaigners trying to get the government, the Mayor and Transport for London to take the issue of cyclist safety more seriously.
This week, Bikes Alive, a group promoting ‘go-slow’ protests to raise the issue of cyclist safety, revealed that TfL didn’t even take cyclists into account when planning the notorious ‘Death Junction’ outside King’s Cross station, the place that saw student Min Joo Lee killed after an incident with an HGV last year.
Bikes Alive have another protest planned at King’s Cross for next Monday, 12th March, from 6.30pm-7.30pm
