Fatality rates associated with driving and cycling for all road users in Great Britain 2005-2013

Rates based on deaths to persons in charge of vehicles were higher for cyclists than for drivers, whereas those based on deaths to third-party road users showed the opposite. The inclusion of third-party deaths increased the overall rates considerably more for drivers than for cyclists. Nevertheless, the overall rate for male cyclists (2011-13: 0.425 f/mhu; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.377-0.478) exceeded that for male drivers (0.257 f/mhu; 95% CI: 0.248-0.267). A similar pattern was observed for females (cycling: 0.216 f/mhu; 95% CI: 0.158-0.287; driving: 0.127 f/mhu; 95% CI: 0.120-0.135). These differences between cars and cycles were overestimated as the safer travel on motorways could not be disaggregated in the estimates for driving. The higher rates for cycling - mainly borne by the cyclists themselves - need to be balanced against the substantially lower risks to other road users.