In a terrible week for cycling in London, the total number of cyclists killed in 2013 has risen to 13, 8 of them killed by lorries. CTC is calling for serious improvements to cyclists' safety at major junctions, to the design of lorries, and to driver training, in order to avert more unnecessary deaths.

The Government is due to publish a Green Paper on the training and testing of drivers in December. CTC believes cycle awareness should be integral to driver training and that completing level 3 'Bikeability' cycle training should be a requirement for obtaining a licence to drive larger vehicles (lorries, buses and coaches).

Meanwhile the Government’s forthcoming Cycling Delivery Plan, intended to kick-start the ‘Cycling Revolution’ promised this summer by David Cameron, needs to include a commitment to ensure high standards of cycle-friendliness in the design of all roads, junctions and other schemes. Many Councils around the UK (particularly in our larger cities) are now raring to introduce high-quality cycle-tracks, yet the Government has yet to provide the funding, the design standards or the legislative changes this will require.

CTC and all cyclists are sickened by the continuing failure to protect cyclists, in particular from the dangers caused by lorries in our towns and cities. We want to see the Mayor, Government, freight industry and others responsible for the safety of our streets living up to their promises to improve cyclists’ safety. CTC’s Chief Executive Gordon Seabright

CTC also urges Transport for London and the Department for Transport to work together on ensuring that lorries are designed with cyclists’ safety in mind, and investigating options for reducing the numbers of lorries on our busiest streets at the busiest times. In particular, the so-called ‘blind spot’ could be eliminated by lowering drivers’ cabs and making more of them transparent, to give lorry drivers a better view of the road. Lorries are far more likely to be involved in cyclists’ deaths than buses, due to the high position of the driver's cab and the larger window area in buses' side doors.

This table provides details of the cyclists killed in London in 2013.