Time For More High-Vis Clothing In Wrexham And Flintshire?

Wrexham and Flintshire may not be the first places to spring to mind when you think about cycling, but according to the latest figures from the Welsh government they are the counties with the highest number of cycling accidents in North Wales. 

The Leader reported on the data from 2015, which showed that 36 cyclists were killed or injured in Wrexham, while in Flintshire the number was 31. This puts the North Wales counties third and fourth in Wales as a whole, behind only Cardiff and Swansea.

Both regions also saw an increase in the number of cycling casualties recorded compared to 2014. 

Wearing high visibility clothing while cycling around Wales could help those on two wheels improve their safety and ensure drivers can see them no matter what time of day it is. 

However, across Wales as a whole there has been a fall in the number of cyclists being injured and killed on the roads. 509 cycling casualties were reported in 2015, compared to 567 the year before.

A spokesman for the Welsh government told the newspaper that while they are pleased with the progress being made on cycling safety, they want to see this figure fall further but noted legislation alone won’t fix the problem.

“Government cannot do this alone, we all share a responsibility to ensure that we use our roads safely,” he asserted. 

There are cycling safety campaigners all over the UK, and one of the most dedicated is 89-year-old Janet Slade, who hands out high visibility jackets to cyclists in Cambridge and gives them advice to make them safer no matter what time of day they’re out on the roads.