Cycling UK claims that the state of UK roads is costing lives

The UK's roads are not in a fit state for safe cycling, according to cycling advocacy charity Cycling UK. In a recent statement they claim that "Britain’s pothole crisis is costing lives."

This comes after findings have shown that 255 people have been killed or seriously injured in the last seven years whilst cycling on "crumbling roads."

The British government recently announced that they would be making £8.3 billion available to repair England's roads. Although this sounds like a positive step Cycling UK is urging the UK Roads Leadership Group to revise its guidance issued to road traffic engineers. Currently, Cycling UK feels that the guidance ignores defects that affect cyclists.

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Engineering guidance from the UK Roads Leadership Group was last updated in 2016. At the time, Cycling UK submitted evidence for considerations to make roads safer for all users. It aimed to ensure roads were repaired in a way that kept them safe for cyclists, however this advice went unheeded.

Currently, the guidelines on what constitutes a 'necessary repair' fail to take into consideration how cyclists interact with the roads. This means that narrow cracks and other defects that affect narrow tyres are often overlooked.

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Sarah Mitchell the chief executive of Cycling UK said: "We applaud the government for providing long-term funding for councils in England to fix our crumbling roads but are urging ministers to ensure that money is well spent.

"It’s not expensive or difficult to update the guidance for our traffic engineers to save lives and prevent tragedies like that which Val (Harry Colledge’s widow) and her family have had to go through."

Have you had any experiences with roads that are not safe for bicycles? We want to hear about your experiences in the comments below.