Cyclists

Encouraging all road users to help keep cyclists safe on our roads.

Cyclists

We need to remind motorists to keep a safe distance when overtaking cyclists on urban and rural roads. They should give at least a 1 metre clearance when overtaking a cyclist in speed zones that are 50 km/h or under, and at least 1.5 metres in speed zones over 50 km/h.

Our TV campaign is an adaptation of an advert from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in the state of Victoria, Australia.

Cycling Safety

Drivers must not try to squeeze past a cyclist if there is oncoming traffic or if they can’t see the road ahead to be clear.

Drivers, should always give cyclists enough space to pedal safe.

Facts

Number of cyclists killed or seriously injured, 2017-2020

Cyclist casualties	2017	2018	2019	2020	Total
Fatalities	14	9	8	10	41
Serious injuries	188	259	275	247	959

Note: figures for 2018 – 2020 are provisional and subject to change.

The in-depth review of figures for 2016 in the Cyclist Injury Trends 2006- 2018 report shows;

73.7% injured in 2016 were male and 57.1% were between the ages of 25-49.
The morning and evening commuting periods were dangerous periods for cyclists (8-8:59am and 17:00-18:59pm).
There was an increase in cyclist injuries from May to September
85.4% of cyclists’ injuries happened on two-way single carriageways, 86.7% were on urban roads.
51.1% of cyclists’ injuries in 2016 happened at junctions. Almost one in four of all cyclists injured in 2016 were injured in collisions that took place at a T junction.
47% were wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, while 41% were not; in 12% helmet-wearing was not known.
91.3% were injured in a multi-vehicle collision in which at least one other vehicle was involved and 84% of these involved a car.
Less than 1 in 10 cyclists injured in 2016 were injured in a single vehicle collision in which no other person or vehicle was involved.
In 41.4% of cyclist injuries in collisions with cars, the car driver failed to observe before the collision.
In 40% of cyclists’ injuries in collisions with goods vehicles, the goods vehicle driver failed to observe before the collision.
In 19.8% cyclists’ injuries in a collision with a car, the cyclist failed to observe before the collision.