Stormont’s lack of movement in reducing cyclist casualties in 10 years has been branded as “shameful”, after latest figures revealed that the number of people killed or seriously injured while cycling has barely changed.
Cycling UK has renewed its calls for Stormont to adopt changes made to the Highway Code in GB designed to make the roads safer for people cycling and walking.
The charity’s call follows Department for Infrastructure (DfI) figures showing there has been negligible change in the rate of pedal cyclist casualties in the past 10 years.
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DfI announced an ambition in 2012 to reduce the number pedal cyclists killed or seriously (KSI) injured from a rate of 60.7 per 100 million kilometres.
But figures released this week show on average over 10 years this rate has barely changed with an average of cycling KSIs at 59 each year.
In January 2022, the Department for Transport in Westminster announced updates to the Highway Code to make the roads safer for people cycling and walking in England, Scotland and Wales.
These updates included guidance for people driving on giving more than 1.5m when overtaking cyclists and the establishment of a hierarchy of road users.
The hierarchy established priority for the most vulnerable on the roads, placing people walking at the top followed by those cycling, horse riding, motorcycle, car driving and HGVs.
Despite pressure from road safety groups, campaigners say Stormont has still not even consulted on accepting any updates to the NI Highway Code. Cycling UK says these changes, if adopted, will help make the roads safer for everyone.
Last year, DfI officials briefed against adopting the Highway Code update, which requires Ministerial approval, resulting in Northern Ireland missing its chance to adopt new measures designed to protect road users.
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, said: “Ten years ago Stormont set a worthy ambition of reducing deaths on our roads, so it's shameful to see nothing has changed over that period.
“Last year Stormont dithered and delayed in adopting changes to the Highway Code that would have made the roads safer for everyone, and could have helped prevent needless casualties.
“When a new Minister is in place they cannot be complacent, they need to adopt the changes swiftly and in full, anything less is a dereliction of duty in the face of these avoidable deaths.
“It’s easy to be complacent about statistics, but every single one of those killed or seriously injured when cycling each year represents a real tragedy that Stormont has effectively ignored by failing to make the necessary changes.
“These latest figures should be a wake up call to our decision makers to take action and bring in the much needed updates to the Highway Code. Every life needlessly lost or damaged is a profound tragedy and this update is vital to combat that trend.”
In response, a Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said it remains committed to road safety and this is being addressed through the draft Road Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2030.
They added: "Any changes to the Great Britain Highway Code need to be considered in the Northern Ireland context and consideration given as to whether they should be implemented here based on local needs.
"Resources are being identified to take forward this work so that the Code can be updated here. Any proposed changes will be considered by an incoming Minister.
"Should there continue to be an absence of Ministers in the NI Executive any change will be considered based on the decision-making framework set out in the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2022 or relevant legislation in place at the time.
"The Department has this week appealed to all road users to redouble their efforts to travel with due care and attention as statistics published show that 57% of all people who were killed or seriously injured on Northern Ireland roads in 2021 was due to careless driving; a trend that has been steadily increasing over a number of years.
"As part of the Road Safety Strategy, the Department invites people to support ‘Share the Road to Zero’, which encourages all citizens to take a road safety pledge to be the best road users they can to help reduce road deaths.
"Signing up is easy, it’s quick and it’s free, and you can do so by clicking here www.sharetheroadtozero.com/.”
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