Campaign Group Calls For Boris Johnson To Do More To Protect Road Users

Cycling safety in London has once again been put under the spotlight after a spate of road traffic collisions which has seen five cyclists killed in nine days on the capital’s roads.

An investigation has been launched by police after a man died in hospital this morning after being seriously injured in a collision with a double-decker bus in Aldgate, East London.

The incident came only a few hours after a woman was killed in a crash with a lorry at the Bow Roundabout in the same part of the capital, as well as only a few days after other fatal collisions in Holborn, Croydon and on Mile End Road.

According to Transport for London, a total of 12 cyclists have now been killed on London’s roads in 2013.

London Cycling Campaign held a protest at Bow this week in relation to cycling safety and calling for Mayor Boris Johnson to do more to tackle the “unacceptable” number of deaths.

Mr Johnson said that the number of cyclists in the capital has trebled in the past ten years and a focus remains on investing “huge sums of money into improving cycling infrastructure and making it as safe as possible.”

He added: “I've committed almost £1bn to doing just that, with major improvements being made to junctions and superhighways across London.”

Expert Opinion

Any death related to a road traffic collision is simply one too many, but the fact that five cyclists have died in a period of just nine days is absolutely shocking and a clear indication that more must be done to improve safety. <br/> <br/>"It is vital that each of these terrible cases is thoroughly investigated to ensure as much information as possible can be gathered on them, with the fundamental aim of guaranteeing that lessons can be learned which will hopefully prevent the same problems occurring in the future. <br/> <br/>"Through our work, we have seen numerous cases when people have suffered serious injuries or families have lost loved ones as a result of collisions which could and should have been avoided. <br/> <br/>"The safety of all road users is paramount and we would urge everyone travelling on roads in the capital and across the UK to always think of their own safety and others around them. In addition, it is vital authorities continue to research and investigate fresh approaches to keeping people safe." Colin Ettinger - Consultant