How Many Cyclists Die on UK Roads Each Year?

Quick answer: 82 pedal cyclists were killed on Britain's roads in 2024, down from 87 in 2023 and down 39% since 2004, according to the Department for Transport. Cyclists made up 5% of all road deaths in Great Britain, while the risk of death per mile cycled fell 55% between 2004 and 2024, to 23 killed per billion cycle miles.

The latest figures

The DfT's pedal-cycle factsheet for 2024 records:

• 82 pedal cyclists killed in 2024, down 6% on the 87 killed in 2023
• 3,822 cyclists seriously injured (adjusted figures), and 10,645 slightly injured
• 14,549 cyclist casualties in total across the year
• An average of about 2 cyclist deaths a week over 2020 to 2024

Fatalities are the most reliable number here. Counts of slight injuries move around with police reporting practices, so the DfT adjusts serious-injury figures to make the years comparable. Deaths need no adjustment, which is why they are the headline measure.

Where cyclists sit in the road-death toll

Cyclists are a small share of deaths but get a large share of attention. The DfT's annual report for 2024 breaks down who died:

• Car occupants: 43% of all road deaths
• Pedestrians: 26%
• Motorcyclists: 21%
• Pedal cyclists: 5%

Cyclist deaths have fallen over time. The 82 deaths in 2024 were 27% fewer than in 2014 and 39% fewer than the 134 recorded in 2004. That long fall matters, because it happened while cycling grew in many towns and cities. A death toll can fall while a road user group grows, if each mile travelled gets safer.

The risk per mile has halved

Counts alone do not tell you the risk. The DfT also publishes the fatality rate per distance cycled, which adjusts for how much cycling actually happens:

• 23 cyclists killed per billion pedal-cycle vehicle miles in 2024
• That rate is 55% lower than in 2004

In other words, a mile of cycling is now roughly half as likely to end in a cyclist's death as it was twenty years ago. Year-to-year wobbles of five or ten deaths are normal at these numbers, which is why the DfT uses multi-year averages when it talks about patterns. Single-year changes should not be read as sudden swings in safety.

Where and how cyclist deaths happen

The factsheet looks at five-year averages to show the pattern behind the deaths:

• 45% of pedal-cycle fatalities happened in two-vehicle collisions with a car
• 56% of fatalities were on rural roads, although only 31% of cycle traffic is rural — country lanes carry far fewer cyclists but a much higher share of deaths
• 82% of cyclists killed or seriously injured were male

Rural roads keep coming up across every road-user group. Traffic is faster, there are fewer junctions to slow it down, and a fallen rider waits longer for help. If you cycle on country roads, a front and rear light, a bright or reflective jacket and a road position that keeps you visible on bends are the cheapest safety equipment available.

London is watched separately because so much British cycling happens there. Transport for London's casualty figures record 9 cyclists killed in the capital in 2024, compared with 8 in 2023 and 7 in 2022.

What the numbers mean for you

Britain's roads are safer for cyclists than they were a generation ago, but two cyclists a week still die. Most fatal crashes involve a car, and most happen on rural roads rather than in cities. If you drive, the single most useful habit is checking your nearside mirror and blind spot before turning left, and giving cyclists at least 1.5 metres when you overtake. If you cycle, lights, road position and a route that avoids fast rural roads are worth more than any gadget.

See today's live crash reports on accidents today, compare local collision counts on UK road accidents, or browse the global picture on statistics.

How these numbers were counted

These figures come from police STATS19 reports, published by the Department for Transport in the "Reported road casualties in Great Britain: pedal cycle factsheet, 2024" and the "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2024". Serious and slight injury counts are adjusted for changes in police severity reporting using ONS methodology. Fatality counts are not adjusted and are the most robust series. The figures cover England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain), not Northern Ireland. London figures come from Transport for London's STATS19-based casualty statistics. The latest year is final but can be revised if reporting changes.