Mark Cavendish, the world road race champion of 2011 is just the latest high-profile cyclist in the last few weeks to be injured in a collision with a car.
Cavendish was training in Italy when a car in front of him slammed on the brakes, causing him to crash. Apart from a bruised arm he was okay but it follows on the back of Bradley Wiggins, a few weeks ago, being knocked off his bike by a white van and a worse injury to Shane Sutton, the head coach of British Cycling, who was hit in another accident. He was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken cheekbone and bleeding on the brain, although he has since left hospital.
Whether or not the three notable cyclists are planning to make a claim is unclear but with cycling arguably more popular than ever before thanks to the Olympics and a British winner of the Tour de France, it’s best to know your rights if you do have to make a road accident claim as a result of an accident when out on your bike.
British Cycling, as a result of the spate of high-profile accidents, has spoken out to try and persuade the government to take stronger action to improve safety for cyclists, stressing that while it is not intrinsically a dangerous activity, there is much that can and should be done to done to improve the conditions for cyclists on the roads.
Certainly, even if the government does act, the problem of cyclists being knocked down will not be eradicated totally, not least because accidents can be caused in any number of ways.
On the whole cycling is a safe activity and an enjoyable way of getting fit, however the unfortunate spate of high-profile accidents does alert people to the need to do all they can to stay safe, whether they are a car driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian.
