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With rising fuel costs, more and more people are taking to their bikes on the road, either to get to work or get around town. To help ensure these journeys are as safe as possible Camden Council, Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police services (MPS) have joined forces to promote a cycle safety campaign.
Collisions between cyclists and larger vehicles remains a serious issue in London - around half of all cyclists who die on the Capital's roads every year were involved in a collision with a goods vehicle.
To help address this important road safety issue Camden Council is encouraging drivers - especially those in mini buses, large vans and HGVs - to be extra vigilant in looking out for cyclists.
As part of this commitment new cycle safety signs are being displayed on Camden Council's fleet of large vehicles. The Council is also working with its contractors to do the same. The signs, which have been provided by TfL, carry the message ‘cyclists - beware of passing this vehicle on the inside'. They are designed to address the particular threat cyclists face from large vehicles turning left, as situations arise where drivers are not able to see cyclists between their vehicles and the kerb.
In addition, Camden Council also uses Fresnel lenses, a special safety lens that helps to improve drivers' vision of cyclists who come within close proximity of their vehicles, on its bus fleet to give the widest possible rear view and help prevent accident. Cllr Mike Greene, Executive Member for Environment, said: "We encourage cycling in Camden, both to help the environment and improve public health, and we want to make sure cycling in our borough is as safe as possible. These new cycle safety signs will help remind cyclists to be extra careful if passing vehicles on the near side and to encourage drivers to be more aware of cyclists, which will make our roads safer for everyone who shares them." Chris Lines, TfL's Head of Road Safety, said: "We are making progress in cutting the number of cyclists hurt on London's roads, but the number of cyclists involved in collisions with large vehicles is still too high.By working in partnership with Camden Council, I hope we can get the message out to cyclists to be careful when riding near larger vehicles and also to help drivers to watch out for cyclists."
In 2007 there was one fatal cycling accident in Camden and 21 serious cycling accidents. There were also 132 reported incidents where there were slight injuries. Of these 11 per cent involved an impact with a goods vehicle.
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Caption for photographs: BUG (Camden Council's Bicycle Users Group) member and newsletter editor David Cohen, from Camden's Transport Services Team, with one of the Council's new cycle safety signs at the Council's York Way Depot http://www.camden.gov.uk/ |
