Figures from the Department of Transport (DfT) have revealed the capital's most dangerous junctions for cyclists.
Insurance company Aviva analysed the figures over the last five years and came up with the top 10 accident blackspots. We say revealed, but it won't come as much of a surprise to the capital's cyclists — Elephant and Castle tops the list with 80 accidents between 2009 and 2013. Here's the full list:
- Elephant and Castle roundabout - 80
- Trafalgar Square - 46
- Waterloo Road roundabout - 45
- Lambeth Bridge/Millbank roundabout - 38
- Upper Tooting Road/Lessingham Avenue, Ansell Road/Derinton Road - 34
- Grove Road/Mile End Road - 32
- Vauxhall Bridge/Wandsworth Road - 31
- Monument Tube station junction - 29
- Camberwell New Road/Brixton Road - 28
- Camberwell New Road/Kennington Road/Harleyford Street - 28
The figures also show that there have been 22,988 accidents and 80 deaths involving cyclists in the last five years. Four cyclists have been killed in London so far this year, the most recent being Claire Hitier-Abadie, who died in a collision with a lorry in Victoria on 19 February.
TfL and City Hall have embarked on a range of measures to try and halt the accident rate — from September this year, lorries without safety measures will be banned from London, while infrastructure improvements aim to make cycling safer. But the Mayor has been criticised for underspending on the cycling budget — just £29m of TfL's £82m has been spent this financial year. TfL say any surplus cash will be rolled over to 2016. Liberal Democrat London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon said:
"With such appalling figures as this it is simply shameful that year after year Transport for London have repeatedly spent just a fraction of their allocated budget on vital improvements to junctions and investing in cycling infrastructure."
The Met recently re-introduced Operation Safeway, its road safety campaign targeting cyclists, motorists and pedestrians in a bid to reduce casualties. Last year, TfL held a consultation on improving the road layout at Elephant and Castle to provide segregated cycleways which will be incorporated in the north-south cycle superhighway route. New 'Quietways' will also give cyclists an alternative to busier streets.
