The number of cyclists seriously injured on the roads of Kirklees and Calderdale has gone up by 50%, new figures reveal.
According to the latest road accident statistics from the Department for Transport, 268 cyclists were hurt on the roads in 2012 and 2013.
Of those 66 were killed or seriously injured, a rise of 50% on the previous two years.
The figures, obtained by the Trinity Mirror Data Unit, also show that the number of cyclists injured overall increased by 12.1%.
Cycling campaigner and former Mayor of Kirklees Clr Martyn Bolt said even one serious injury was one too many and he urged greater tolerance and consideration on the roads.
“There is still a lot needed to make the highways safer for cyclists,” he said. “Drivers and cyclists have to share the road space and need to be more understanding and a bit more civil to each other. Hopefully that way we can reduce accidents.”
A friend of Clr Bolt, keen cyclist John Radford suffered severe brain damage after coming off his bike in New Mill in July 2013. John, 70, of Meltham, died last November.
Clr Bolt, also a trustee of national cycling charity CTC, said potholes, road defects and poor design also proved a hazard for bikes and he called for better education.
“Drivers need to be aware of why cyclists ride the way they do – for example riding further out into the road to avoid hazards in the gutter – and cyclists should consider some of the free adult training schemes that are available before they go out on the roads.”
Clr Bolt, one of the organisers of the Huddersfield Criterium bike race, said one reason for the rise in accidents could be because more people were taking up cycling.
Events such as Huddersfield Town’s annual Pedal for Pounds ride and the Tour de France Grand Depart had got more people cycling more often.
Tellingly, the number of middle aged men who are injured while cycling has shot up by over a quarter in Kirklees and Calderdale since 2010 with 103 out of the 268 cyclists injured in 2012 and 2013 male and aged between 36 and 55.
This is a 27 per cent increase on the 81 injured in 2010 and 2011.
The number of cyclists injured across Britain’s roads generally increased by 6% over the past four years.
The figures only record incidents to which the police were called, so the actual number of cyclists hurt on Britain’s roads is likely to be higher.
