[Closed] Crashes involving bikes mostly driver’s fault - article in The Times

Frankly I'm surprised at the relatively low figure of incidents from RLJing... but overall it gives you a useful insight into where the risks come from when cycling in London Village.

One to email to those people who claim 'lycra louts are a menace'

Crashes involving bikes mostly driver’s fault
Cyclists were found to be at fault for only 20 per cent of accidents

Kaya Burgess
Last updated at 12:01AM, May 8 2013

More than two thirds of all crashes between drivers and cyclists in Central London are the fault of the motorist, research indicates.
The City of Westminster Council found that drivers were to blame for 68 per cent of collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles in the borough in the past 12 months. It found that cyclists were at fault for only 20 per cent. In the remaining 12 per cent of cases, no cause could be found or both parties were to blame.
Announcing plans to become a “national leader” in cycle provisions, the Central London borough found that more than a fifth of all collisions between cars and bikes — 21 per cent — were caused by the driver failing to look properly.
Another further 13 per cent were caused by motorists driving in a careless, reckless or hurried manner, while 10 per cent were caused by drivers failing to judge a cyclist’s speed or path.
A tenth were caused by drivers passing too close to cyclists when overtaking.

The research also revealed that there were 133 collisions between cyclists and pedestrians in the past three years. Of these, 60 per cent were caused by the pedestrian, while 40 per cent were caused by the cyclist.

About 28 per cent of these incidents were caused by pedestrians failing to look properly, and only 8 per cent were caused by cyclists ignoring traffic lights.

Westminster’s cycling strategy has been criticised by campaigners for being too reluctant to reallocate road space for cycle lanes, which would help to reduce the number of cars and tackle congestion in Central London.