'Cyclists kill or maim two pedestrians every week, according to statistics'

[youngoldbloke]

Sunday Express stirring the excrement in today's paper - unfortunately mentioned on Radio 4 Sunday Papers after the 8am news this morning. Disgraceful misrepresentation of statistics.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/863550/cyclist-killed-bicycle-accident-two-pedestrians-every-week

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Did they mention the number of vehicle drivers that do the same?

Honestly, a tipper drives over and kills another human (again) and it struggles to make the local news. A woman dies after being hit by a cyclist in a rare case and the country loses its collective mind along with all sense of perspective.

 

[jefmcg]

It seems to be true.

http://road.cc/content/news/230427-number-pedestrians-killed-or-maimed-cyclists-doubles-decade

It's dwarfed by the 9 that are killed by other vehicles each week, and the 100 maimed, of course.

Edited for accuracy

 

[Welsh wheels]

Whilst the death of a cyclist in my city on Friday is no longer on the BBC, having been replaced with worthy stories such as the plight of Wales's wine industry and who is to attend the Bafta Cymru awards.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Mr Norman said: “We already have strict laws to ensure drivers who put people’s lives at risk are punished..."

I wonder if he said that with a straight face? From what I've read on CC, motorists can get away with murder in the UK just like they can in Australia, because the motoring culture is so entrenched that hundreds of deaths a year from collisions with motor vehicles is somehow seen as acceptable. So what use are these "strict laws" if they're not properly enforced?

 

[youngoldbloke]

Did they mention the number of vehicle drivers that do the same?

Honestly, a tipper drives over and kills another human (again) and it struggles to make the local news. A woman dies after being hit by a cyclist in a rare case and the country loses its collective mind along with all sense of perspective.

Of course not! I

It seems to be true.

http://road.cc/content/news/230427-number-pedestrians-killed-or-maimed-cyclists-doubles-decade

It's dwarfed by the 40 something that are killed by other vehicles each week, and the thousands maimed, of course.

It may be true but the way it is presented is designed to give the impression at a quick reading that one or two persons are killed each week (or maimed)

 

[Drago]

Is it true? Or is it fake news?

I don't mind papers highlighting lunatic cyclists, so long as they also highlight lunatic car and truck pilots.

Alas, lunatic car and truck pilots form the bulk of their readership, so it is financially expedient to them to concentrate upon and misrepresent the former.

 

[youngoldbloke]

The statistics are well known - I just don't trust the average Sunday Express reader to be able to divide 25 by 7 to get the actual numbers killed each year. The headline gives a very different impression, and yes, obviously the article should give the equivalent figures for other forms of transport.

 

[jefmcg]

It may be true but the way it is presented is designed to give the impression at a quick reading that one or two persons are killed each week (or maimed)

Not seeing the problem. The statistic is KSI (killed or seriously injured) so I don't see you can criticise the Express for listing it in that order.

Calling the stats "alarming" is a problem though.

 

[Vantage]

“These figures demonstrate the urgent need for the current gap in the law to be filled and for cycling offences to be brought into line with those of other road users"

Does that then mean that we're basically free to ride like brainless zombies killing and maiming even more of those pesky peds who dare to walk on the pavements that we wish to park on, speed, jump lights and break every single road law that has ever been introduced without fear of legal punishment?
Awesome.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I part heard the R4 review - and gained the impression that 2 pedestrians were killed a week. I wasn't concentrating. I wouldn't be surprised if others heard the same, if Express readers skimming the paper gained the '2 a week killed' impression, will be having a drink down the local later, will be telling their mates 'bloody cyclists, kill two a week ......' etc etc

 

[Drago]

Another absent statistic which could paint the matter in an entirely different light - how may of those incidents were the demonstrable fault of the cyclists?

 

[Flying Dodo]

A car is the ideal murder weapon, as you are unlikely to incur much of a sanction, compared with using any other lump of metal.

The problem is that cars are so deeply entrenched in our society, that in a similar way that Americans accept their regular gun massacres, so collectively, the effects of cars are also accepted.

It's not just car crashes and the 1,800 deaths that are seen as a normal thing. As a society, why is it acceptable to leave your personal property in the road which is a public space. If I plonked a big metal storage cabinet outside my house and left it there, I'm sure that fairly soon the council would ask me to remove my rubbish. But leave a car? Not a problem. Yes, in some places you have to pay a small amount but I'm allowed to restrict road width legally with my metal box on wheels.

Madness.

 

[mjr]

It seems to be true.

http://road.cc/content/news/230427-number-pedestrians-killed-or-maimed-cyclists-doubles-decade

It's dwarfed by the 40 something that are killed by other vehicles each week, and the thousands maimed, of course.

Thousands killed and maimed each week? I thought it was about 75 killed and seriously injured each week, but that's from memory.

 

[Lonestar]

[QUOTE 4989028, member: 259"]It's the Sunday Excess, so I sincerely doubt it.[/QUOTE]

It's no Daily Mail.