Cities Fit for Cycling Campaign

First of all, I’m back to blogging after 6 weeks off for revision and exams! I have plans to finish off my mini blog series about the education system, and also plan to give my views on prisons and the welfare reforms being pushed through by the government at the moment. However, my post today is going to be to add my support to the Times Cities Fit for Cycling Campaign.

111 cyclists died on UK roads in 2010, and although this figure is tiny compared to the number of car occupants that die each year, it is a 7% rise from 2009. Compare this to a 21% fall in car occupant fatalities, 19% fall in pedestrian fatalities and a 15% fall in motorcycle fatalities and it seems that cyclists are not getting the attention they deserve.

Now admittedly, more people are starting to cycle in the UK – there was a 1% increase from 2009 to 2010 – but this surely means that cyclists need to be looked after more than ever. With the government calling for more people to walk and cycle for numerous reasons including the obesity crisis, global warming and traffic congestion, they need to make sure that the roads are safe for cyclists to cycle on.

The Times’ Campaign will not only save people’s lives, it will have benefits to the economy and will help to reduce the rate of global warming. As well as the 111 deaths, there were thousands of injuries to cyclists on UK roads, which cause traffic delays losing the economy money as people are late for work, and which take up the time of emergency services. By making the roads safer, more people will cycle, which will help the UK reach its target on carbon dioxide emissions as less people drive and more people will live healthier life styles.

To read more about the campaign, and to pledge your support, see http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/contact/

Thanks for reading,

The Opinionated Genius