Cyclists in Dublin facts & figures on accidents
An eye opening report prepared by Dublin City Council from Garda statistics last year on cycling accidents throws up some revealing statistics on accidents involving cyclists.
There were approximately 427 collisions involving cyclists reported to the Garda in Dublin city over the period (2002 to 2006), 11 of which involved fatalities.
11 Fatalities
8 of these deaths were of cyclists killed by left-turning Lorries.
1 involved a vehicle hitting a cyclist when changing lanes
1 a vehicle rear-ended the cyclist
1 was caused by a stolen vehicle driving head on into a cyclist.
Cars involved in 70% of cyclist accidents
- Almost 70 per cent off all cycle collisions involved cars.
- Left-turning vehicles were involved the majority of fatalities,
- The most common collision involved right-turning cars. These accounted for just fewer than 20 per cent of incidents.
- The next most common type is classified as “side swipes”, accounting for 15 per cent of collisions. These occur where a vehicle overtaking a cyclist or changing lanes hits the bicycle.
- Door opening accidents accounted for about 14 per cent of incidents
- Left-turning vehicles hitting cyclists accounted for just over 12 per cent.
Crashes where the fault is more likely to be attributable to the cyclist accounted for a much smaller proportion of incidents. In just over 4 per cent a cyclist hit a pedestrian, while in fewer than 3 per cent of collisions a cyclist turned right into on-coming traffic.
The more serious a crash, the more likely it was to involve a vehicle turning left, according to the report.
While 73 per cent of fatalities were at a left turn (all involving HGVs) almost one-third resulting in serious injury to the cyclist involved a left-turning vehicle.
November the most dangerous month to cycle in Dublin?
The report also found that November was the worst month for collisions
Cyclists between the ages of 20 and 29 were the most likely to be involved in incidents
The traffic department is to put recommendations to city councilors tomorrow. Chief among these is a recommendation that Cyclops mirrors be fitted to HGVs so they can better see cyclists on their left. The report found that in the majority of left-turning collisions the HGV driver did not see the cyclist.
It also recommends that all cycle lanes be inspected annually.
Several collisions occurred when cyclists were forced to move out of the lane to avoid potholes or sunken gullies.
Top four types of cycle accidents
- Drivers turning right in front of an oncoming bicycle.
- Drivers hitting a bicycle when overtaking or changing lanes.
- Car doors being opened in front of cyclists.
- Drivers hitting cyclists when turning left.
Recommendations
- Segregation of bicycles and HGVs where possible.
- Awareness campaign on the danger of left-turning HGVs.
- Upgrade of cycle lanes to remove potholes, sunken gullies and poor surfaces.
- Enforcement of legislation regarding the use of bicycle lights.
- Encourage more cycling to produce a “safety in numbers” effect.
- Provide additional cycling infrastructure on a “most used routes” priority basis.
- “Cyclops” mirrors made compulsory on all HGVs.
Comments
4 Comments on Cyclists in Dublin facts & figures on accidents
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wildnorthlands on
Wed, 4th May 2011 12:45 pm
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eoin on
Thu, 5th May 2011 10:37 am
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AvidIrishReader on
Thu, 12th May 2011 7:56 am
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AvidIrishReader on
Thu, 12th May 2011 7:18 pm
I nearly met my doom in Dublin when I was wheeling my bike across a pedestrian crossing with a green light. A motorist came out of nowhere and screeched to a halt about an inch from me. drivers in Dublin are completely bonkers!
informative article but i find it strange that the top four types of cycle accidents are caused by drivers or passengers in cars, yet there is no recommendation for the education of drivers as to the needs of cyclists in the city. I’ve spent a number of years working full-time as a cyclist in dublin and in my opinion the vast, vast majority of cycle accidents could be avoided by drivers making very small changes to their behaviour that would dramatically increase their awareness of what is going on around them in the street. It seems to me that most drivers in this city view cyclists as something that they should be mildly aware of but that they should never have to change their actions due to, and along with this mentality comes the attitude that cyclists should always get out of a drivers way. I would posit that the person in control of a tonne or more of metal powered by a massive engine should hold some responsibility towards the people around them when they use it.
ok i’m gettin a bit ranty now but drivers need to use their mirrors and indicators properly and more often in this town……it would result in a lot less people finishing their bike ride in an ambulance !
Some of these statistics are not only very sad, but quite shocking; that there were 8 deaths related to ‘left-turning vehicles’ definitely tells us that something is wrong with how traffic – cyclists included – interacts at junctions.
Apart from the reference to ‘enforcement of legislation regarding the use of bicycle lights’, among your recommendations there is no mention of ‘improving cycling behaviour’.
In all of these reports which draw on Garda statistics, there’s no mention of safe or responsible cycling. As an experienced cyclist, I’m shocked at the poor standard displayed by cyclists across Dublin – total disregard for their own safety, let along road rules and guidelines.
While some of your recommendations are commendable, cyclists themselves must shoulder part of the blame for the consequences of decisions made while cycling: people are only responsible for their own actions – not how others behave.
Eoin, you are correct to mention drivers that don’t check wing mirrors nor use their indicators.
But it really boils down to a change in attitude from everyone: cyclists, drivers and pedestrians; and perhaps some joined-up thinking when it comes to cycling lanes and the surfaces on them.
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