A sharp rise in cycling fatalities last year has sparked calls for action by central and local government. Road casualty statistics for Great Britain, published last week, show a 10% rise in the number of deaths among bike users, marring otherwise broadly-favourable trends in 2005. Fourteen more cyclists died on the roads than in the previous year, taking the total to 148. Serious injuries also rose slightly, by 2%, to more than 2,200. While fatality rates remain high among pedestrians and car users, reductions in serious injuries were recorded for these groups of 5% and 11%, respectively. There was also a 2-3% drop in deaths and serious casualties among motorcyclists. As predicted by TRL earlier this year, national road safety strategy now looks to be on course to achieve its targets for 2010. The number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) was 6% down on 2004, falling to 33% below the 1994-98 average, with five years left to meet the Government’s 40% target. Following an 11% drop in the child KSI last year, this indicator stands at 49% – one point short of the 2010 target. The slight casualty rate, at 22% below the baseline, is already well below the 10% target. Transport ministers would be concerned that death rates generally were falling more slowly than serious casualties, but the trend for cyclists was especially worrying, said Rob Gifford, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety. PACTS has been urging the Department for Transport to undertake a detailed analysis of the statistics and underlying factors, along the lines of TRL’s study into car occupant casualties. ‘We need a comparable one for cycling fatalities,’ he stressed. Given the increase in deaths was double the 5% rise in cycling activity, ‘it’s becoming even more dangerous to cycle,’ Gifford added. Failure to identify the reasons could make councils think twice about encouraging bike use. It was up to each local authority to investigate, although any insights from national research would be welcome, said Mike Ashworth, secretary of the County Surveyors’ Society transport and environment committee. ‘Practitioners will be anxious to keep an eye on this trend,’ he said. The Cycling Touring Club called for more 20mph speed zones and resources for enforcement. Long-term trends still showed there was ‘safety in numbers’ for cyclists, said director Kevin Mayne. A DfT spokesman said it had no plans for specific research into cycling fatalities.