Driving Lesson Colchester: Drivers Risk with Cyclists

Among the potential hazards on the road, cyclists are now one of the top risks for motorists in the United Kingdom (UK). While taking driving lesson Colchester, learner drivers must know this statistics so that you’ll be better prepared as you progress in your quest for further knowledge and experiences behind the steering wheel.

Current statistics in Britain revealed that there are around 13 road accidents every day involving cyclists at the busiest built-up area in the UK, whilst there were 22,987 road accidents involving cyclists in London from the year 2009 to 2013. Latest five-year figures which are expected to rise may be made available in 2019.

These are police figures which have been studied by an insurance company known as Aviva. Such study showed that based on cycling accidents within the M25 reported to or attended by police, the statistics included 80 deaths, with 16 of them being in 2013.

This year, there were already four cyclists died in road accidents in London alone. All of these accidents involved lorries, the most recent of which was in Victoria. A mother with two children lost her life during this incident. The figures from the year 2009 to 2013 include road accidents with no record of injuries. The Aviva also listed the top 10 hotspots of cyclist accidents in Greater London over the 2009-2013 period.

The Elephant and Castle roundabout in South London was topping the list. This place was the site of 80 accidents within the said period. Out of these tragic accidents, 18 transpired in 2013. The second location which has been most dangerous was Trafalgar Square. In this area, 46 accidents happened over the five-year period. The third most dangerous has been the Waterloo Road roundabout. This area had 45 accidents.

In the year 2013 alone, Aviva had also published claims details it handled that involved serious accidents in the UK involving cyclists. These had involved claims of more than £125,000. The 2013 figures have showed that 64 % of the claims involved passengers with one third of them being male aged 40 to 49 years old on their way to and from their workplaces.

There were vans that involved in the accidents which account for 37 % whilst the heavy goods vehicles were at 35 %. The Study also showed that 70 % of men involved in road accidents were wearing helmets. However, only 50 % of women involved in road accidents were found to have been wearing helmets.

The study further revealed that 44 % of female cyclists involved in road accidents were wearing high-visibility clothing whilst male cyclists wearing such kind of clothing only account 34 %.  A third of all cyclists involved in serious road accidents at night time were not using lights.

Aviva Chief Underwriting Officer Simon Warsop stressed that cycling in London has never been more popular but the continuing increase in the number of collisions that involved cyclists is already alarming. The human cost of these road accidents can be huge and immeasurable, and Warsop believes that more can be done to minimise these road fatalities.