http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/more-cyclists-killed-or-hurt-on-the-roads-1815228.html nothing we did not know already always try to keep off the tarmac as much as possible,to many nutters out there in a hurry.

its why i sold my roadie. oh, that and i find it incredibly dull.

But more people cycling is bound to mean more deaths. I'd bet the deaths per mile ridden, or deaths per cyclist has fallen, meaning it's actually safer to ride on the road now than previously.

So more bikes on the road = more people getting hurt. Hardly rocket science that that would happen is it. From a statistical point then it’s hardly breaking news.

Lots of inexperienced cyclists jumping red lights, riding too close to the kerb and undertaing trucks is a recipe for disaster.

I won't be staying off the road.

It concerns me no more than usual.

I do almost all of my riding on the road, with only the occasional off-road ride, yet I have come off the bike most times off road.

I have only had one "collision" on road – a partially sighted pedestrian stepped straight into my path last week.

Those figures don't really say much either. 820 cyclists killed or seriously injured. That could mean 1 death and 819 injuries or 819 deaths and 1 injury. Fairly large margin there!
No details on how many extra cyclists on the streets either and, as mentioned, a lot will be inexperienced "people on bikes" rather than experienced "cyclists".

That doesn't make it any better – even 1 death is 1 too many but there's a lot more to the figures than a basic newspaper article suggests.

Yup, total number of deaths is pretty meaningless – although obviously still tragic and maddeningly unnecessary – without some proper context. Quite frustrating really when you think lots of people will read this and come to the conclusion that cycling is getting more dangerous when in actual fact it's probably getting safer due to the increased number of cyclists on the roads.

Having said that I have noticed recently a distinct increase in the number of arguments I'm having with drivers who don't bother looking where they're going.

jeez it's like a statisticians convention on here ;):

jeez it's like a statisticians convention on here ;):

This thread is 71% statistician.

71.4% actually.

report is here
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/rcgbq22009

includes an excel download for the statisticians. It doesn't look good though, prety much every other stat fell or stayed the same!

Of course, it does ignore the fact that cycling is the only form of transport to include a health benefit due to increased fitness though.

Statistics sometimes are viewed wrongly . For instance, a fall in pedestrian deaths and various agencies are slapping each others backs in congratulation, when the simple truth is that those peds have changed to become motorists and no longer walk anywhere.
For cycling its much the same, actually, seeing the standard of cycling in growth areas like London I'm surprised that the figures dont show more deaths.
It'll probably get worse before it gets better.

Having said that I have noticed recently a distinct increase in the number of arguments I'm having with drivers who don't bother looking where they're going.

Chatting to a colleague as we both arrived on bikes at the same time. He reckons it's the time of year – people have not yet adjusted to driving in the dark, with vision restricted by rain. His view is that it takes a few weeks for behaviour to adjust, and driving to calm down.

Interesting. I shall test it out tonight, as I ride home lit up like a Christmas tree…

Actually, if you are sad enough to look at the data, and perhaps stick it in excel, you'll see the number of casualities has drastically decreased from the 90's. There was a tiny rise in 2008, and the first 2 quarters of 2009, but these are pretty insignificant if you look at the big picture (e.g., avg of 24,385 casualties/year from 1994-1998, compared to 16,297 in 2008!).

I'll get my coat, and my spreadsheet. I'll be in the Packhorse if you need me.

I read somewhere that the more cyclists a driver regularly sees on the roads, the better their behaviour gets. So keep up the numbers and we might see an improvement.

Have to say I am sick of not being given enough space when cars overtake have to say IME it is old, female and BMW, Audi and Merc drivers or all three!

http://road.cc/content/news/10520-petition-3-feet-passing-law-uk-already-has-785-signatures

Lies, damned lies and statistics.

Won't stop me riding.

In a perverse way it's good news as it means more attention will be paid to road safety with more funding given to make roads more bike safe.

Let's face it, in 40 years when the oil runs out the roads will all be one massive cycle lane anyway.

Chatting to a colleague as we both arrived on bikes at the same time. He reckons it's the time of year – people have not yet adjusted to driving in the dark, with vision restricted by rain. His view is that it takes a few weeks for behaviour to adjust, and driving to calm down.

Interesting. I shall test it out tonight, as I ride home lit up like a Christmas tree…

Interesting one, for me this week has been especially bad for people not looking – car drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians. I've got 6 lights on (3 front and 3 back), but if no one bothers to look….

Here's hoping it does get better over the next few weeks…

Bialled- dikes, The 'best' way that authorities will use to make roads safe is to ban cyclists altogether. When they can't do that they put in some crap cyclelane which means we get more abuse from the less enlightened of car drivers when we refuse to use it.
And trust me, when oil runs low we'll still have a many cars on the roads, even if it means a nuclear plant at the end of ever street to supply the electricity.