Cyclist crushed by bus on Oxford Street

[dondare]

I think the type of serious accident that just comes out of nowhere is pretty rare. If you look at most of the cyclist deaths in London, almost all of them involved a cyclist on the inside of a truck at a junction. If you avoid ever placing yourself in that position, and ride with a decent level of overall alertness, cycling in London is very safe.

Certaintly I can avoid cycling up the inside of trucks but I can't stop them overtaking me just before they decide to change lanes or turn left. However, in spite of the odd sticky moment I would agree that cycling in London, and indeed cycling most other places, is very safe.

 

[shippers]

Horrible way to go.

I'm sure anyone else who has had an "out of the blue" off feels rather fortunate to have got up afterwards.

No news on the pedestrian though? No news is probably good news in this case. Horrible.

 

[hackbike 666]

Certaintly I can avoid cycling up the inside of trucks but I can't stop them overtaking me just before they decide to change lanes or turn left. However, in spite of the odd sticky moment I would agree that cycling in London, and indeed cycling most other places, is very safe.

Don't agree...so long as idiots driving tin boxes share the road .

 

[CopperBrompton]

Look up the stats, hackbike: cycling is a very safe activity compared to much more dangerous activities like driving, DIY and walking downstairs.

 

[Mark_Robson]

Look up the stats, hackbike: cycling is a very safe activity compared to much more dangerous activities like driving, DIY and walking downstairs.

Flying is very safe until it goes wrong. Seriously though the pro's of cycling far outweigh the cons, he says nursing a broken collar bone.

 

[Tinuts]

Awful.

I gave up attempting to cycle in Oxford Street years ago as I consider it just too hazardous and slow. The major problem is generally pedestrians walking out in front of you without looking so to be hit by a bus........that poor cyclist was really (and terminally) unlucky!

For those of us still standing, you can travel far quicker and more safely using adjacent parallel streets.

 

[dondare]

Mile for mile cycling is safer than walking.
Five times more pedestrians are killed in road accidents than cyclists.
Cycling is not as safe as driving but cyclists are fitter and healthier than motorists and so live longer on average.
Motorists kill mostly themselves, their passengers and each other. 95% of road accident casualties are not cyclists.
More people are killed in slips, trips and falls than in road accidents. The number of people killed in road accidents continues to fall. Last year it was less than 3000 for the first time ever.

 

[hackbike 666]

But everyone is a pedestrian now and again.

Cant say I have had any bad accidents on the pavement myself. (touchwood)

Yes I have had a few close ones with road traffic (as a ped) and although this is rare it was generally caused by my stupidity or me being pissed.

 

[CopperBrompton]

The pedestrian stat is a bit misleading as the majority of serious accidents while walking are young children and elderly people falling or tripping and sustaining head injuries.

But the fact is that cycling is a very, very safe activity. There are of course some deaths, and each of them is tragic, but there are deaths in every human activity - including walking downstairs and making cups of tea.

 

[Mark_Robson]

As with all activities and sports there is an element of risk so we all do our own risk/benefit analysis and decide whether the risks are worthwhile to us. And IMO cycling is well worth the risk because it is an easy, fun way to stay fit and it can also save you time and money if you choose to commute by bike.
Sadly though there are always going to be cyling fatalities, as there are with all activities and sports but you can't let that stop you from enjoying life. Just try and stay safe, be responsible and enjoy.

 

[dondare]

The pedestrian stat is a bit misleading as the majority of serious accidents while walking are young children and elderly people falling or tripping and sustaining head injuries.

Uh uh. Refers to pedestrians killed by cyclists on the footpath (average about one every 15 years or so); pedestrians killed in accidents involving cyclists on the carriageway (a couple a year); pedestrians killed by motorists on the footpath, verge or other supposedly vehicle free areas (perhaps 50 a year); and the greatest number: pedestrians killed in collisions with motor-vehicles on the carriageway; about 550 a year.
Compare with cyclists killed in road accidents at 130 a year or so.
These figures have been higher in the past but amazingly the roads are getting safer now for everybody than ever before. Or perhaps the hospitals are saving more lives but that seems unlikely.

 

[hackbike 666]

Well I'd be glad that cycling is getting safer if I agreed it was true...but with the standard of driving out there sometimes I have yet to be convinced.

Im sure it was different in the 1980's.

 

[Origamist]

Details of the deceased:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...et-killed-on-bike-hit-by-oxford-street-bus.do

 

[MacB]

Details of the deceased:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...et-killed-on-bike-hit-by-oxford-street-bus.do

Very sad, so young and so much of life ahead of her, one can only hope it was quick.

 

[ttcycle]

God this is sad -RIP