One cyclist a week killed or left with life-changing injuries because of Potholes on Britain’s roads.

When you think of Road Traffic Accidents involving cyclists you predominately think they are caused by other motorists. But that is not always the case. In fact, in the past five years, more than 250 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured by potholes on Britain’s roads. Equalling one cyclist a week killed or left with life-changing injuries because of the state of our roads.

An investigation by Cycling UK confirms that Pothole compensation claims are costing Councils 25 times more in payouts for cyclists than for motorists. Research involving 5,000 cyclists found that almost half had hit a pothole, with 54% slightly injured and 8% seriously injured.

Although potholes can be an inconvenience for motorists, they are more likely to cause injury or death to cyclists. The research found that while the average compensation payout per motorist was around £340, Councils paid on average £8,800 per cyclists for incidents involving potholes.

Cycling UK CEO expressed ‘’Potholes aren’t just an expensive nuisance, they are ruining lives’’*.  The charity calls for the government to adopt a ‘fix it first’ policy – invest in repairing our current local roads before building new motorways.

In September 2019, cyclist Alison Doyle of Maghull, was nearing the end of a 50-mile ride with her cycling club, when she was thrown into the path of an oncoming vehicle after she hit a pothole in the road. She suffered serious injuries and died at the scene. An inquest heard that there had been four complaints in a year about the state of Bold Lane in Aughton, where the accident happened*.

Since then, Liverpool City Council have begun their ‘Better Roads’ campaign. They are working to make Liverpool’s roads smoother and better with a £500 million investment in a five year period. So far, they have fixed 13,938 roads and potholes*.

With the ‘Better Roads’ campaign, Liverpool are working to fix our current roads to ensure the safety of road users and investing in long-terms plans for road maintenance. This year, Liverpool will see a significant improvement for pedestrian and cyclist connectivity between South Liverpool and the City Centre. A £4m scheme aims to transform a historic boulevard in the Toxteth area of Liverpool linking it to the wider neighbourhood*. It is set to be completed in Summer 2020. Work will also begin on Lime Street and Regent Road.

Road Traffic Claims – Specialist advice

If you’ve been injured in a Road Traffic Accident as a cyclist, you could be entitled to personal injury compensation.

Contact our team of expert Road Traffic Accident solicitors today. Call 0800 888 6888, or send an email to .

*https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/potholes-true-cost-cyclists

*https://road.cc/content/news/266893-cyclist-died-after-pothole-crash-council-says-it-had-no-record-defect-despite

*https://www.betterroads.co.uk/

*https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/historic-liverpool-boulevard-completely-transformed-17447411