Road safety a priority as crash figures inolving cyclists revealed

A SERIOUS crash involving a cyclist takes place on average three times a month in the county.

Between the start of 2015 and the end of 2019, there were 263 serious or fatal collisions in the county, according to interactive service Crash Map.

There have been 189 serious crashes involving bicycles, and ten further fatal crashes in Gloucestershire.

In addition, there have been hundreds of slight, or minor, crashes in the same five year period.

It equates to a crash every 9.2 days.

The most crashes took place in 2019, with 48 serious incidents.

However, the most fatal crashes happened in 2018, with four deaths after crashes involving push bikes.

The number of crashes equates to 0.7 each day, and 3.3 each month on average.

There were two fatal crashes in Stroud in the fiveyear period, with one further in Brimscombe, and one near Berkeley.

In Gloucester, there were fatalities in Podsmead, Matson, and a further death on the A40.

In Cheltenham, there were deaths after crashes involving cyclists in Charlton Park, Prestbury, and Tredington, north of Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire County Councillor David Norman (C, Grange and Kingsway), cabinet member for road safety, said: “Road safety is a key priority for the county council, whether that’s for drivers, cyclists or other road users.

“We’ve particularly invested in trying to improve safety for cyclists, including cycle routes.

“Any accident is one accident too many, and we will keep working alongside partners like Gloucestershire Police to do everything we can to make our roads safer.”