Of all road users, cyclists are the most likely to die or be injured when they are involved in a road accident.
A examination of ten years’ worth of road fatality and hospitalisation data from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) covering 2007 to 2017 showed that cyclists are bucking the downwards trend that’s occurring in other groups, with the risk for cyclist fatalities doubling in 2017.
While cyclists make up a tiny portion of the overall number of fatalities on Victorian roads – 12 out of 259 in 2017 – they are most at-risk group, followed by pedestrians who have also seen a small rise in their risk. However, pedestrians are still on a downwards trend overall while cyclists have experienced the opposite.
The news isn’t any better when it comes to hospitalisation due to a road accident.