The London Standard reports, more than 1,000 London cyclists were injured, and two killed, in hit and run collisions last year.
Rising 13% on the 896 reported injuries in 2013, a total of 1,014 were reported last year, meaning that almost a fifth of all cyclist injuries were caused by drivers who fled the scene.
Of the 1,014 injured in hit and run incidents, 2 cyclists were killed, with 91 suffering ‘serious’ injuries and 921 ‘slight’ injuries.
The figures, released by Boris Johnson, follow calls for HGV’s to be banned during rush hour in an attempt to end the danger posed by lorries.
Green Party Assembly member, Baroness Jones said “Something has gone very wrong when a fifth of the injuries to pedestrians and cyclists involve a failure to stop.”
The London Cycling Campaign supports the proposal of a rush hour ban on HGV’s over 7.5 tonnes entering the city between 8am-9.30am. This comes amidst fears that the Mayor’s ‘Safer Lorry’ scheme, due to be launched in six weeks, does not go far enough to protect cyclists.
The figures were revealed one month on from the death of 26-year-old cyclist Ying Tao, who was killed in an accident involving a Tipper Truck in the city.
Chief Executive of London Cycling Campaign, Ashok Sinha, said: “Forty per cent of cycling fatalities involving lorries occur in the morning rush hour. Almost all of these fatalities involve the construction and waste industry lorries that flood onto our roads at the same time thousands of people are cycling to work.
“The Safer Lorry scheme will do nothing to prevent this from happening, nor will it protect cyclists from lorries with restricted vision or unlicensed, untrained lorry drivers on London’s roads. Unless more is done, more people will lose their lives.”
Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor’s London Cycling Commissioner, said: “There are many difficulties and practicalities with imposing a rush hour ban in a major city like London. What we don’t want to see is heavy goods vehicle activity simply dispersed to other times of the day – HGVs flooding into town once the rush hour is over won’t deliver benefits for cyclists or pedestrians.
“In September, we will be banning lorries and construction vehicles without certain safety equipment from entering London at all – at any time of the day or week.”
