Cyclists' lobby group CTC said the report needed to focus on driver behaviour rather than issues such as cyclists wearing helmets.
A tiny proportion of accidents involving cyclists are caused by riders jumping red lights or stop signs, or failing to wear high-visibility clothing and use lights, a government-commissioned study has discovered.
Instead of getting worked up about the perceived dangers of bad cycling, let's focus on changing the bad driving that killed 2,538 people on UK roads last year.
Why do those of us who venture out on two wheels run the risk of being called lycra louts or being compared to the evil overlord of a galactic empire? Take MP David Curry, who once said "the only time I have been knocked down in my life was by a cyclist going like a bat out of hell ... dressed like Darth Vader, as they all do!" Sadly, however, the idea that cyclists are a threat to civilisation seems to show no sign of abating.
Much of the concern with antisocial cycling focuses on jumping red lights and riding on the pavement. Both are illegal and have the potential to cause great annoyance to others, but do they actually cause harm?
The paper extracts and tabulates selected incidence and fatality rates of cycling accidents recorded by the police in Great Britain during 1990-1999.