It’s a truth well known that cyclists on the roads are at high risk of injury, predominantly from other road users such as cars and HGVs. Latest data acquired from police forces across the UK suggest that more cyclists than ever are being injured on Britain’s roads.
Using Freedom of Information requests, Claims.co.uk has gathered data from 27 UK police forces revealing just how vulnerable cyclists continue to be. The police data also reveals the 5 most dangerous regions for cyclists, topped by Hampshire. Those regions are:
According to these statistics, the police were called out to 6,611 incidents involving cyclists hit by cars in 2018 alone, showing an increase in cycling injuries sustained by vehicles over the past 4 years.
The Department for Transport’s most recent review into cycling and walking in 2017 found that more people are cycling than ever, meaning more and more people are becoming vulnerable to injury on Britain’s roads. Of those surveyed, 14% said that they cycle at least once a week. Previously, the governing body had averaged that around 63 cyclists are injured on UK roads every single week, with an average of two of those being fatal.
| Police Force | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset Constabulary | 450 | 426 | 387 | 478 |
| Bedfordshire Police | – | 59 | 49 | 124 |
| Cambridgeshire Constabulary * | – | 190 | 240 | 301 |
| Cheshire Constabulary | 261 | 303 | 295 | 284 |
| City of London Police | 33 | 33 | 14 | 110 |
| Cumbria Constabulary | 105 | 104 | 133 | 101 |
| Derbyshire Constabulary | 212 | 161 | 147 | 168 |
| Devon & Cornwall Police | 140 | 110 | 143 | 195 |
| Dorset Police | 267 | 200 | 211 | 416 |
| Durham Constabulary | 97 | 102 | 106 | 100 |
| Essex Police | – | – | – | 305 |
| Gloucestershire Constabulary | – | – | – | 116 |
| Greater Manchester Police | 363 | 332 | 433 | 412 |
| Hampshire Constabulary | – | – | – | 567 |
| Hertfordshire Constabulary | – | – | – | 205 |
| Humberside Police | 419 | 423 | 431 | – |
| Kent Police * | 260 | 290 | 229 | 243 |
| Lancashire Constabulary | – | – | – | – |
| Leicestershire Police | 236 | 199 | 224 | 220 |
| Lincolnshire Police | – | – | – | 134 |
| Merseyside Police | 371 | 377 | 366 | 4 |
| Metropolitan Police Service | – | – | – | – |
| Norfolk Constabulary | 190 | 215 | 203 | 114 |
| North Yorkshire Police | – | – | – | – |
| Northamptonshire Police | 227 | 242 | 129 | 75 | Northumbria Police | – | – | – | – |
| Nottinghamshire Police * | 192 | 197 | 170 | – |
| South Yorkshire Police * | 195 | 140 | 132 | 228 |
| Staffordshire Police | 177 | 211 | 159 | – |
| Suffolk Constabulary | 151 | 162 | 196 | 102 |
| Surrey Police | – | – | – | 431 |
| Sussex Police | – | – | – | – |
| Thames Valley Police | – | – | – | 444 |
| Warwickshire Police * | 23 | 167 | 130 | 167 |
| West Mercia Police | 227 | 230 | 232 | 213 |
| West Midlands Police | 511 | 509 | 427 | 332 |
| West Yorkshire Police | – | – | – | – |
| Wiltshire Police | 161 | 173 | 154 | 123 |
* = data not for full year
not held = Police force does not hold this data
Following the increase in cyclists on roads, with it comes an increase in injuries to pedestrians. Year on year, the data obtained from police forces across the UK showed that there was a nominal increase in pedestrians injured by push cyclists in 2018, with the following regions seeing more injuries to pedestrians that the rest of the UK:
| Police Force | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset Constabulary | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Bedfordshire Police | – | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Cambridgeshire Constabulary * | – | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Cheshire Constabulary | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| City of London Police | 4 | 6 | 2 | 32 |
| Cumbria Constabulary | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Derbyshire Constabulary | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Devon & Cornwall Police | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Dorset Police | 10 | 12 | 13 | 4 |
| Durham Constabulary | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Essex Police | – | – | – | 5 |
| Gloucestershire Constabulary | – | – | – | 2 |
| Greater Manchester Police | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Hampshire Constabulary | – | – | – | 24 |
| Hertfordshire Constabulary | – | – | – | 2 |
| Humberside Police | 2 | 7 | 7 | – |
| Kent Police * | 7 | 15 | 13 | 4 |
| Lancashire Constabulary | – | – | – | – |
| Leicestershire Police | 10 | 12 | 13 | 8 |
| Lincolnshire Police | – | – | – | 4 |
| Merseyside Police | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Metropolitan Police Service | – | – | – | – |
| Norfolk Constabulary | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| North Yorkshire Police | – | – | – | – |
| Northamptonshire Police | 0 | 0 | 39 | 8 | Northumbria Police | – | – | – | – |
| Nottinghamshire Police * | 4 | 4 | 4 | – |
| South Yorkshire Police * | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Staffordshire Police | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Suffolk Constabulary | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Surrey Police | – | – | – | 1 |
| Sussex Police | – | – | – | – |
| Thames Valley Police | – | – | – | 6 |
| Warwickshire Police * | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| West Mercia Police | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| West Midlands Police | 1 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| West Yorkshire Police | – | – | – | – |
| Wiltshire Police | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
* = data not for full year
– = Police force does not hold this data
While the number of people utilising bicycles and walking more is on the up, national organisations have teamed up to form The Walking and Cycling Alliance, which consists of representatives from British Cycling, Cycling UK, Living Streets, Sustrans, The Bicycle Association and The Ramblers.
The alliance are calling on the Department for Transport to increase budgets to help the UK meet it’s ambitious “net zero” carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, claiming that increasing cycling and walking across the UK will also lead to better health.
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