Thursday, May 19, 2011
Making the capital’s roads safer for cyclists
Many young drivers have probably, at one time or another, been active cyclists on UK roads and, as such, may be all too familiar with the dangers that a large lorry can present.
So, it may come as good news to many that the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has launched a petition calling for all London councils to commence cyclist-awareness training for lorry drivers based within their boundaries.As the petition was handed to London Assembly members at City Hall, Caroline Pidgeon, Chair of the Transport Committee, commented, "Cycling in London needs to be made far safer. More than one cyclist a month dies on London's roads – that is a shocking figure and is unacceptable.
"The Mayor is always talking about promoting cycling but the harsh fact is that much more needs to be done to tackle the dangers facing cyclists."
According to statistics quoted by the LCC, lorries and their drivers have been implicated in 50 per cent of London road traffic accidents involving cyclists in “recent years”. Yet, lorries only account for five per cent of the capital’s traffic.
Perhaps it is the dangers of cycling on UK roads which causes so many young adults to want to get their driving licences as soon as possible and this could be seen as a contributory factor in the high number of young driver car accidents. If this is the case, local councils and the government should surely wish to do all they can to make the roads safer for cyclists.
Image © Salim Virji via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cyclists, lorry drivers, young drivers
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posted by Fuse @ 5:47 AM 
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