What was claimed
53 cyclists were killed in 2014 due to bad road conditions, up 77% since 2010.
Our verdict
This is wrong. The figures refer to the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) in this kind of road accident.
How many cyclists are hurt and killed on poor roads?
15 February 2016
Cyclist deaths are soaring due to badly maintained roads, the Metro reports this morning:
“There were 53 deaths in 2014 attributed to “poor or defective surfaces” – up 77 per cent since 2010”
Metro print edition, 15 February 2016
This is wrong. The figures, released in response to a parliamentary question, refer to the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) in reported road accidents on local roads, where an attending police officer judged that the road surface contributed towards the incident.
But of those 53 cyclists, we don't know how many were killed, and how many were seriously injured.
We’ve asked the Metro for a correction.