Cyclists face greater risk in the countryside

Call for more protection for riders as statistics show deaths and serious injuries are higher outside cities

CYCLING in the countryside is more dangerous than in cities, figures have shown, as middle-aged men are the most at risk of being seriously injured or killed in picturesque country lanes.

Statistics of cycling accidents over the last decade revealed that Box Hill, near Dorking, in Surrey, was the UK’S most dangerous black spot for cyclists.

The Home Counties beauty spot and surrounding roads have seen 52 accidents since 2009, according to Office of

National Statistics figures compiled by The Sunday Times. Of those crashes, 25 were deemed serious, compared with 20 in the Strand, Mayfair and St James’s areas of London, which was the next most dangerous place for cyclists.

The figures have prompted calls from British Cycling for more cycle lanes to be installed in rural areas to protect riders on narrow roads with poor visibility.

The figures also revealed that over the last decade most fatal crashes happened on Saturdays and Sundays, with 161 and 159 in that period respectively.

Whereas the number of fatal accidents on Mondays and Wednesdays was lower at 143 and 157, despite the number of cycling trips being a third higher on weekdays.

The statistics challenge the orthodox view that cycling is most treacherous in urban areas, where riders have to dice with cramped roads, pedestrians wandering into lanes and overtaking trucks and busses.

Instead, the ONS data suggest it is the middle-aged men in Lycra – “Mamils” – who are most at risk as they attempt to recreate the feats of Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Cyclists aged between 46 and 55 made up for a sixth of the deaths that have occurred in the last decade.

Nick Chamberlin, policy manager at British Cycling, said the data showed the Government needed to focus on rural cycling safety as much as in cities.

He said that some of the £2billion the Government had earmarked for nationwide cycling upgrades should also be spent on cycle lanes in rural areas with high accident rates, as well as traffic calming for motorists at black spots.

He told The Daily Telegraph: “Speed is at the heart of this. In towns and cities speeds tend to be lower as it’s more congested. On rural roads speeds are higher as there is no speed-calming.

“On those popular routes where people like to ride bikes recreationally you have that nasty combination of high speeds with poor visibility, with bendy and twisty routes.

“Yes, there is death and serious injury in our towns and cities, but as the data show the really dangerous places to ride are on the rural routes.”

Aside from the increased fatal crashes, the statistics showed more than 7,500 cyclists suffered serious injuries, including fractures exposing bone, lost limbs and spinal damage, in weekend accidents. Figures obtained by The Times from the exercise website Strava showed just how popular areas such as Box Hill, which was part of the London Olympics 2012 road race, have become with more than 113,000 people recording their climbs in recent years. The fastest riders recorded making the 1.4mile ascent in just over four minutes.

Other beauty spots in Surrey were also revealed to be cycling black spots, with Shere and Albury, near Guildford, in the top 20. Yorkshire also recorded high numbers of injuries as people attempted the Tour de Yorkshire route.

Mr Chamberlin said the data on specific accident black spots on popular routes should prompt more “creative measures” for protecting cyclists using them, such as specific times they are given priority on that stretch of road.