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4th July 2017
09:54am BST
More than 100 cyclists are seriously injured each year in Ireland, according to new figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
The Irish Times obtained the data and report that there has been a consistent rise in the number of serious injuries to cyclists between 2006 and 2014.
According to the RSA, 106 cyclists were 'seriously injured' in 2014, although cycling groups are arguing that these figures “grossly misrepresent” the real number of injuries.
Dr Mike McKillen from Cyclist.ie - The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network told The Irish Times that the figures are "definitely higher."
“The figures are definitely higher than the ones provided by the RSA. The Garda figures are an under recording of what is actually happening,” he said.
“The figure provided of 106 serious injuries to cyclists cannot be correct. It would have to be in the thousands,” he added.
“Gardaí do not record all serious injuries happening to cyclists. The problem is that hospitals do not have to send the details of cyclists admitted to emergency departments to gardaí, so there is no way of cross-checking.
“So there is no way of cross-checking between Garda records of a serious injury happening to a cyclist and an actual admission to a hospital bed through an emergency department,” said Dr McKillen.
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