Medics for London’s Air Ambulance have warned of the dangers of cyclists and heavy goods vehicles sharing road space.
It comes after campaigners from the London Cycling Campaign staged a protest ride calling for clearer segregated cycle lanes after the death of French student Philippine de Gerin-Ricard near Aldgate East Tube station.
The two volunteer doctors with the air ambulance compared the number of cyclists killed on London’s roads with the number of teenagers stabbed in a letter to the Evening Standard.
Sixteen cyclists died last year, including nine crushed by lorries, while 12 teenagers were stabbed to death.
Doctors Thomas Konig and Mark Wilson write: “We believe there are inherent dangers when cyclists and heavy goods vehicles share road space. There are also dangers when cyclists are encouraged to use green feeder lanes that place them between a vehicle turning left and a metal barrier.
“We believe more needs to be done to educate cyclists, drivers, road designers and those in government who are charged to lead and protect us to do more to prevent injuries among cyclists.”
London Assembly member John Biggs is also calling on Boris Johnson to improve safety along the Cycling Superhighway 2 running from Aldgate to Bromley-by-Bow.
Concerns have been raised about a number of dangerous junctions along the route such as Bow roundabout where Brian Dorling and Svitlana Tereschenko died in 2011.
Mr Dorling’s widow Debbie joined campaigners fighting for improvements to the roundabout following his death and traffic lights for cyclists have since been installed by Transport for London, but concerns remain among campaigners about how affective they are.
The lorry driver who killed Mr Dorling recently escaped jail after being given a six month prison sentence suspended for a year. He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years.
After the sentencing Mrs Dorling told the BBC said: “Having seen Mr Cox to be honest we feel extremely sorry for him. You can see he’s remorseful and see that he’s haunted.
“He is a broken man. Putting him in prison is not going to achieve anything.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here