Local Death, Local Action

* For immediate release *

Stop Killing Cyclists will stage a Vigil and Die-In on Monday, 26 January 2015 at 18:00 (for 18:30) at the Amhurst Park Junction with Seven Sisters Road, N16, in memory of the cyclist who was crushed under the wheels of an HGV at 8am on Tuesday, 20 January 2015.

She was the 13th cyclist to be killed in the UK in 2015 (a list can be found at: UK CYCLING FATALITIES 2015) - Each leaves a grieving network of friends and family. Over 26,000 cyclists were killed or seriously injured across England and Wales between 2006 and 2013.

The UK Government must take urgent action to improve safety for cyclists and reduce road danger. We need Dutch style infrastructure, with well designed, safe, segregated cycle lanes, now. Safety improvements to improve the ability of lorry drivers to see cyclists and pedestrians, which will be required under EU law from 2022, must also be made mandatory immediately.

The Dutch government spends £28 per person on cycling infrastructure, compared to our paltry £2. To bring ourselves up to their standards we need to spend £40 per person. Then, the UK would be a safe, attractive place to cycle, with all the health and environmental benefits that would bring, but most importantly to prevent tragedies such as the one we recognize on Monday with our Vigil and Die-In.

Stop Killing Cyclists calls on the government to amend the Infrastructure Bill currently before the House to fund appropriate and safe infrastructure for cycling and mandate safety improvements to lorries.

Vigil Co-organiser Abby Taubin said:

“What people across Britain want to see is real investment in making our streets safe for humans, not billions more for the motor lobby.”

Ends.

Press contact: Abby Taubin on 0777 5151 816
Release Dated: 22 January 2015

Facebook Event Listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/545314158904738/

 

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Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. Stop Killing Cyclists organised another mass Die-In at Marble Arch in November 2014 which followed a protest march down Oxford Street. For details see: The National Funeral for The Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence.

3. Statistics on the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) can be found at each of these government websites: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND.

4. Facebook Event Listing can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/545314158904738/

5. The 10 Demands made by Stop Killing Cyclists and Stop the Killing Coalition are:

Stop the Killing of Children – set up national multi-billion pound programme to convert residential communities across Britain into living-street Home Zones to abolish dangerous rat-runs. Stop the Killing of Pedestrians – establish a national programme to fund pedestrianisation of our city and town centres, including the nation’s high-street – Oxford Street. Stop the Killing of Pensioners from excessive speed. Introduce and enforce speed limit of 20 mph on all urban roads, 40 mph on rural roads/lanes and 60 mph on all other trunk roads. Stop the Killing of Cyclists. Invest £15 billion in a National Segregated Cycle Network over the next 5 years. Stop the Killing by HGVs. Ban trucks with blind spots by making safety equipment mandatory and strictly enforce current truck-safety regulations, to reduce levels of illegally dangerous trucks down from estimated 30% to less than 1%. Stop the Killing without liability – introduce a presumed civil liability law on behalf of vehicular traffic when they kill or seriously injure vulnerable road-users, where there is no evidence blaming the victim. Stop the Killing from Lung, Heart and other Diseases caused by vehicular pollutants. Make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxis. Stop the Killing at Junctions. Introduce pedestrian crossing times long enough for elderly disabled to cross. Legalise filtered junction crossings by cyclists with strict legal priority for pedestrians and carry out urgent programme of physically protected left-hand turns for cyclists. Stop the Killing from CO2 emissions from impacts of the climate crisis. All transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable renewable sources within 10 years. Focus on Life! Transport governance must make safety and quality of life the top priority. Reform all council transport departments, the Department of Transport and Transport for London into Cycling, Walking and Transport Departments with formal pedestrian and cyclist representation.