Bradley Wiggins adds voice to road safety debate

Date: 2/8/2012

The death of a cyclist knocked down by a bus in London this week has led to Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins calling for new road safety laws.

A bus carrying journalists between the Olympic venues hit the man on his bike at the junction of Ruckholt Road and the East Cross Route.

It is thought that the cyclist was in the bus driver's blind spot on the left hand side of the vehicle and was dragged under it during the collision.

Mr Wiggins spoke of the importance of cyclists making sure they have the right equipment before cycling on roads, including helmets and lights.

He said: "It’s dangerous and London is a busy city with a lot of traffic and I think we have to help ourselves sometimes."

Mr Wiggins acknowledged the fact that a number of organisations have been doing what they can to improve road safety, but suggested that news laws could be brought in to protect all road users.

He said: "I haven’t lived in London for ten, 15 years now, it’s got a lot busier since I was riding a bike as a kid around here and I got knocked off several times."

New laws could include making helmets mandatory and the use of mobile phones and MP3 players illegal.

Mr Wiggins said: "I think once there’s laws passed for cyclists then you’re protected and you can say I’ve done everything to be safe.

"I think there’s a lot of things that need to be addressed with cycling at the moment in the roads in this country because things can’t keep going the way they are."

Having won the Tour de France just ten days earlier, Bradley Wiggins won his seventh Olympic medal in the cycling men's time trial this week.

Posted by Sarah Bailey

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