Calls by the Transport Select Committee for better government funding to improve cycle infrastructure
The Transport Select Committee has advised that funding for cycling should increase from £2 to £10 per head over the course of the next six years.
Despite the Department for Transport doubling its funds for cycling to £374m, the Transport Select Committee believes that more needs to be done to improve safety standards for cyclists and motorists sharing UK roads.
In addition to government spending, the committee reported that a wider cultural change is required to ease tension between road users, adding that cyclists complain of aggressive driving, poorly designed road junctions and a failure to adequately enforce speed limits.
Labour MP and chair of the committee, Laura Ellman, leads the campaign in calling for safer cycling through better investment in the infrastructure of cycling and UK roads. She said: "Transport ministers must demonstrate clear political leadership by championing cycling and the Department for Transport must coordinate action across government on this vital agenda."
Road traffic accident specialist and serious injury solicitor, David Robinson, based in Thompsons Solicitors' Newcastle office, said: "Last year, 109 cyclists lost their lives on British roads and around 3,300 suffered serious injuries. These statistics are an appalling reflection of the state of cycling safety in the UK.
"Increasing government funding from £2 to £10 per person will, no doubt, vastly improve the safety of our roads for cyclists and motorists alike. However, while hugely encouraging, the recommendations made by the Transport Select Committee will be futile if the government does not work to effectively implement them.
"Britain's roads are not fit for cyclists, and that is why financial support from the government is absolutely imperative if catastrophic road traffic collisions, which affect both cyclists and motorists, are to be prevented.
"As serious injury and road traffic accident specialists, we all too often see the devastating effects a road traffic accident can have on an individual and their loved ones. It is vital that the government takes these recommendations seriously and moves forward in securing safety for cyclists in the UK."
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