More walkers hit by cyclists than cars in royal parks

Telegraph

17-05-2025

Cyclists are more likely than motorists to hit and injure pedestrians in London's parks, new data reveal.
Nine pedestrians were struck by cyclists in the capital's Royal Parks, which include Hyde Park, Regent's Park and Richmond Park, between January 2024 and April 2025. There were a reported 18 similar near misses across the eight outdoor spaces.
In contrast, no pedestrians were struck by cars and there were only two reported near misses involving vehicles, accident logs held by the Royal Parks show.
The data was obtained after the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) responded to a parks campaign encouraging cyclists to obey 20mph speed limits by insisting: 'The biggest cause of road danger to anyone inside a Royal Park remains drivers.'
The only motorised vehicle to hit and injure someone over the 16-month period was a motorbike, according to accident logs released through a Freedom of Information response.
Meanwhile, nine cyclists collided with other cyclists and two cars collided with other cars.
On eight occasions, cyclists rode into moving or parked cars, including one who hit a vehicle after ignoring a red light.
In total, seven cars hit cyclists in incidents where the motorist appeared to be at fault. There were a further three near misses between cars and bikes.
Cars also struck trees, walls and lampposts on seven occasions. And cyclists were logged as running over and killing a squirrel, and hitting two dogs and a deer.
In April, the Royal Parks charity launched a 'considerate cycling' campaign after Hilda Griffiths, 81, died after being hit in Regent's Park by Brian Fitzgerald, a Credit Suisse director who admitted he was travelling at 29mph in the park's 20mph zone in a 'pace line' formation with other club cyclists.
An inquest heard he could not be prosecuted because speed limits do not apply to bikes. Mrs Griffiths died from her injuries two months after the collision in 2022.
Tom Fyans, the LCC chief executive, responded to the campaign by saying: 'While cyclists riding too fast are annoying and can undeniably be dangerous, the biggest cause of road danger to anyone inside a Royal Park remains drivers.'
Gerard Griffiths, the son of Mrs Griffiths, who has campaigned for a review of cycling laws, said the latest data show bikes put people at greatest risk in parks.
'The attitude of some cyclists – whose need for speed and bragging rights on GPS fitness apps like Strava – needs to change,' he said, referring to YouTube films of cyclists in Regent's Park exceeding 30mph.
'It's about time that sections of the cycling community realise that riding at excessive speed is dangerous.'
An LCC spokesman said 'historically' through roads in the Royal Parks have had 'significant issues' with speeding and dangerous driving.
He added: 'Many of the Royal Parks have no or few motor vehicles but lots of people cycling. That is likely to explain some of the data presented here.
'Regardless of that, no one should be injured walking or crossing the road in a park, and as we've hopefully been clear on, every single park user – cyclist or driver – should behave sensibly, legally and pay close regard to others, their surroundings and their speed.'
A spokesman for the Royal Parks said it welcomed considerate cyclists, adding: 'Unfortunately, we have seen too many collisions and near misses between speeding cyclists and pedestrians or wildlife, which is why we recently launched a 'considerate cycling' campaign, asking cyclists to slow down, stay within the maximum 20mph vehicle speed limit in the parks and respect others.'
The parks' new code has already been mocked on social media by some cyclists, who suggest that it unfairly targets them.
The Royal Parks spokesman added: 'We believe that reminding cyclists to watch their speed will improve safety in the parks for everyone and will give cyclists more time to react in the event of a possible collision.'