Action needed to improve safety for cyclists

Labour spokesperson on Transport, Senator Kevin Humphreys, has said that the 50 per cent rise in the number of cyclists’ deaths on Irish roads last year shows more needs to be done to make cycling safer here.

Fifteen cyclists were killed last year according to the latest fatal collision data from the Road Safety Authority.

Senator Humphreys commented:

“While I welcome that there was a slight reduction in the number of overall road deaths last year, the data shows there were actually twice as many cyclists killed in 2017 compared to the previous year, with 15 people losing their lives on their bikes last year.

“When the RSA figures were analysed by the Dublin Cycling Campaign, it was found that all of those fatal cycling crashes involved other motor vehicles, with 87 per cent of collisions happening during the day.

“If we are serious about promoting cycling as a healthy, enjoyable and efficient mode of transport, we need to ensure we have the infrastructure to match, and it is absolutely imperative that our roads are safe for cyclists to travel on.

“Just three million euro was pledged to cycling in this year’s budget, which is simply not enough to ensure our roads are equipped for cyclists.

“This is not just a city issue, with these figures showing the majority of fatal crashes happened on rural roads, and safety standards must be beefed up country-wide.

“There is also an onus on drivers to become more cognisant of cyclists on the roads and we need to see increased awareness of this on a national level, as well as the promotion of cyclist safety in the national driving test.

“Just one death on our roads is one too many and we need to ensure that cyclists are protected as much as possible on Irish roads.”