In the popular press there is substantial coverage of cyclists posing a threat to pedestrians, especially in London where the urban warrior has gained a bad reputation for charging around pavements / through red -lights e.tc.
- Pedestrians top the list for category of people seriously hurt on London roads. In 2010, there were 5,391 pedestrians seriously hurt – and bicycles were involved in 157 of those incidents. It shows the vast majority of pedestrian accidents are due to motorised vehicles, though that is a reflection of the increased % of cars on roads.
- Also a collision with a motor vehicle is far more likely to be fatal for a pedestrian.
The statistics don’t show the cause of accident. But, pedestrians can get used to listening for traffic and not looking where they go. On two occasions I have been knocked off the bike by pedestrians stepping on to a road / cycle path without looking. I would have had many more collisions if I hadn’t anticipated pedestrians not looking where they are going.
However, given relative low proportion of cyclists making journeys, it is a shame there are still 157 incidents with bicycles.
There is a real problem of cyclists being inconsiderate to other road users (which, from my limited observations does seem worse in London than elsewhere) . It is painful to see how some people on bikes ride on pavements. It is not surprising there are some serious accidents. There is no reason why pedestrians and cyclists should not be able to exist harmoniously.
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part of the problem is that all over london councils build cycle paths on pavements — eg to provide convenient ways of turning left at a tricky junction. That’s nice att he junctions, but it does give a BIG signal to cyclists that’s it actually OK to jump on and off the pavement where convenient. And it’s dangerous for pedestrians who don’t always notice the paint on the pavement.