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Riding for the Disabled (RDA) - Charity champions creative initiative during Covid19
Laura Sylvester
Cycling to work or cycling for pleasure can be one of the most beneficial activities for your health and well-being. It does, of course, carry risks and if you're unlucky enough to be involved in an accident, it pays to know the questions to ask and the process to follow, so that compensation will be more likely.
The benefits of cycling
In November 2012, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Evidence (NICE) issued guidance on walking and cycling.
The report lists the benefits as including:-
The report lists various recommendations to increase the number of people cycling.
The cultural change
Over the past ten years I have seen the streets and roads of London change as the number of cyclists has substantially increased. When I first started full-time work over 20 years ago I cannot remember any of my colleagues cycling into work but now things have changed and many do. The Mayor has introduced his cycle hire scheme and one cannot walk around the city without noticing the ‘Boris Bikes’ on the roads or in their stations waiting to be hired. The Boris Bikes have meant that those who travel into London are able to access to a bicycle at reasonable hire charge.
Frequency of accidents
There is no doubt about the health benefits of cycling. Sadly, as personal injury lawyers, we see the bleak outcome of cycling accidents. This is not to dispute the health benefits of cycling but they provide pause for thought.
In July this year, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) published a factsheet about cycling injuries. In 2011 a staggering 19,000 cyclists were injured with over 3,000 seriously injured or killed. These figures only reflect on the number of accidents that are reported to the Police and therefore, there are likely to be many more accidents than accounted for in these figures. If you are a male cyclist you are more likely to have an accident as four out of five casualties involve a man. Almost two thirds of cyclists killed or seriously injured were involved in collisions at, or near, a road junction, with T-junctions being the most commonly involved. Roundabouts are particularly dangerous junctions for cyclists.
Unsurprisingly, accidents involving a motor vehicle occurred because the driver did not look properly and see the cyclist.
Cyclists are particularly at risk from heavy vehicles such as lorries and coaches. In London, 20% of fatalities occur when HGV lorries hit cyclists turning left.
Hospital data reveals that 40% of cyclists suffer a head injury following an accident.
Advice
So what do you do if you or your friends/family have been involved in an accident?
If you would like to talk to a lawyer about cycling injury claims or personal injury claims in general, please email clinnegenquiries@kingsleynapley.co.uk or call 020 7814 1200.
Useful links:
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
Laura Sylvester
Hannah Eales
Richard Lodge
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