Cyclist killed in HGV crash in central London
cyclist has been killed in collision with a HGV[1] lorry in central London.
The collision is understood to have happened around 8.15am on Wednesday in Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia[2], near the junction with Maple Street.
The rider is said to have died at the scene. Onlookers reported a tipper truck had been turning left.
It is believed to be the first death of a cyclist on London roads in 2023.
It came as official figures were released showing the number of road deaths in London hadincreased by more than a third to 101 in 2022.
Data published by Transport for London on Wednesday showed there were 101 fatalities across the capital – up from 75 in 2021, a 35 per cent increase.
The sharp rise was primarily blamed on the increasing volume of traffic as travel patterns returned to pre-pandemic norms.
TfL[3] said it was the lowest number of road deaths on record, excluding years affected by pandemic lockdowns.
Protected cycle routes, like this one in Chiswick, are being introduced to improve road safety
/ TfLBut there was particular concern at the number of cyclists[4] being killed or seriously injured. This rose year on year from 999 to 1,027, an increase of three per cent.
Seven people were killed cycling in London in 2022, down from 10 in 2021.
But the total number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured is 39 per cent higher than the 2005-9 baseline used to measure TfL’s efforts to make the roads safer.
Excluding fatalities, the number of cyclists being seriously injured is up 42 per cent over the long term.
However, since 2005-9 there has been an 88 per cent increase in the amount of cycling. TfL says this “suggests that cycling trips have become safer overall” but admits that “clearly there is a need to continue to roll out safe cycle infrastructure”, lower speeds and initiatives such as the direct vision scheme for HGVs.
The TfL figures, which are based on police records, show that last year the number of car occupants (drivers or passengers) killed in London increased year-on-year from 10 to 25.
The number of motorcycle fatalities increased from 14 to 21. Pedestrian fatalities increased from 36 to 41.
Three people were killed riding a privately-owned e-scooter – the same number as in 2021.
There were 23,903 reported collisions across London, resulting in 101 people being killed, 3,873 being seriously injured and 23,287 being slightly injured.
The number of people killed or seriously injured increased by 11 per cent.
Across Great Britain, there were 1,695 road deaths in 2022. A total of 29,795 people were killed or seriously injured.
Nationwide, the fatalities included 781 car drivers or occupants, 376 pedestrians, 354 motorcyclists and 85 cyclists.
This story is being updated.