Women cyclists are more likely to be killed in traffic: TfL suppresses report | RUDI - Resource for Urban Design Information

via Rudi.net

Women cyclists are far more likely to be killed by a lorry [truck] because, unlike men, they tend to obey red lights and wait at junctions in the driver’s blind spot, according to a study. The TfL study has not been published – a move that has angered many campaigners.

The report by Transport for London’s road safety unit was completed last July but has been kept secret. It suggests that some cyclists who break the law by jumping red lights may be safer and that cycle feeder lanes may make the problem worse.

The study claims that 86 per cent of the women cyclists killed in London between 1999 and 2004 collided with a lorry. By contrast, lorries were involved in 47 per cent of deaths of male cyclists. The findings help to explain why the growing popularity of cycling by city commuters is resulting in frequent deaths of young women in similar circumstances.

The death rate among women cyclists has increased since the report was completed, with two killed in collisions with lorries within 24 hours last month.

[…]

The study states: ‘Women may be overrepresented in [collisions with goods vehicles] because they are less likely than men to disobey red lights.’ By jumping red lights, men are less likely to be caught in a lorry driver’s blind spot. Cyclists may wait at the lights just in front of a lorry, not realising that they are difficult to see. In more than half the fatal crashes, the lorry was turning left.

Cyclists may be deceived by a lorry swinging out to the right to give itself room to make a left turn. The study states that cycle ‘feeder’ lanes, which allow cyclists to overtake vehicles along the nearside kerb to get to the front of queues, may ‘exacerbate the problem’. It also says that pedestrian guard railings may have contributed to three of the deaths because cyclists became trapped between the railings and the lorry, leaving them no escape route.

It’s not clear how well this translates to the US, although the obvious ‘left for right’ transposition is necessary as a start.

However, I agree that rather than waiting for the green light, while stuck in at the side of a truck, it’s certainly better to get as far ahead as possible including jumping the light.

As the study suggests:

It seems that you need to be aggressive and assertive to survive as a cyclist.