The Government is so concerned at the yearly rate of cycling accident deaths in the UK that it has developed an awareness campaign called THINK! cyclist.
The campaign warns that although cycling is a safer, greener and healthier way to travel than other forms of transport, cyclists are 30 times more likely to suffer a serious injury in a road accident than a car driver or passenger, with head and brain injuries the biggest killers of all (around 75% of cyclist fatalities are caused by head injury).
As such, in 2016 the government committed itself to spending 300 million over a four-year period to improve cycling safety and infrastructure and therefore reduce the number of cycling accidents.
Other common cycle accident injuries
As well as head and brain injuries, there are a number of other commonly occurring injuries caused as a result of cycling accidents. These include:
- Arm injuries
- Leg injuries
- Chest injuries
- Abdomen injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Broken bones
- Spinal injuries
Cycling accidents involving HGVs
A disproportionate number of cycling accident deaths in Scotland and throughout the UK are caused by incidents involving HGVs.
In response to this, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has admitted that HGV drivers need to do more to understand the risks inherent in sharing road spaces with cyclists.
The THINK! Campaign has looked to address this issue and says that incidents involving HGVs failing to register cyclists in their blind spots are particularly worrying. It has called for increased awareness and improved driver cabin design to combat the problem.
Get help making a claim today
If you are not sure whether you might be entitled to compensation for your cycling accident injuries or would like some advice about making a claim, our expert solicitors will be happy to chat things through with you. According to ROSPA, 11% of all cycling injuries are suffered by children. If you would like to claim on behalf of a child, we have solicitors who specialise in child injury claims.
Furthermore, if you live in the Borders area, we have specialists who can help you claim. Click here for more information. We are the largest personal injury firm in Scotland, have won awards for our service and win around 90% of the cases we take on.
Call us on 0800 0891331 and take your first step towards compensation.
