Cycling advocates call for urgent action on road safety

Ten years after the death of Police Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald while cycling home, cycling advocates are calling for urgent action on road safety.

Former national road policing manager, Mr Fitzgerald was cycling home from work on 19 June 2008 when he and a truck and trailer crashed on a roundabout in Petone. In 2009 the truck driver was convicted of careless driving.

Cycling Action Network spokesman Patrick Morgan says the solutions to traffic danger are well known, but Councils and the Government have been too slow to act.

"Far too many people are harmed on our roads. Every death is devastating news for our community."

"Deaths and injuries are undervalued, traded off against economic gains assumed to result from faster movement of motor vehicles. That's wrong, and needs to change."

Urban and rural road speeds are in many situations too fast to be safe, he said.

"It's good to see the new Government put the highest priority on safety in its draft transport policy, but they need to act faster to protect people on our roads."

CAN has a six-point plan for safer roads, including safer speeds, building networks of protected bike lanes, fixing dangerous intersections, and training for drivers and cyclists.

Independent research released by Auckland Transport yesterday showed 38 per cent of Aucklanders are riding bikes, up three points from last year.

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