Fatal and serious collisions involving pedal cyclists and trucks in London between 2007 and 2011

Objective: Increased numbers of people riding pedal cycles has led to a greater focus on pedal cycle safety. The aim of this paper is to explore factors that are associated with fatal and a small number of serious injury pedal cyclist crashes involving trucks that occurred in London between 2007 and 2011. Methods: Data were collected from police collision files for 53 crashes, 27 of which involved a truck (≥3.5 tonnes) and a pedal cycle. A systematic case review approach was used to identify the infrastructure, vehicle road user and management factors that contributed to these crashes and injuries and how these factors interacted. Results: Trucks turning left conflicting with pedal cyclists traveling straight ahead was a common crash scenario. Key contributory factors identified included the pedal cyclists not being visible to the truck drivers, road narrowing and inappropriate positioning of pedal cyclists. Conclusions: Crashes involving trucks and pedal cyclists are complex events that are caused by multiple interacting factors therefore multiple measures are required to prevent them from occurring.