From 'The Observer' via Bob Grainger.

CYCLISTS - A LIMITED DANGER TO PEDESTRIANS?

The Department for Transport has released some very revealing statistics
about the danger presented to pedestrians by cyclists. The number of
people seriously injured in collisions between cyclists and pedestrians
in GB has nearly halved in the last five years: 57 in 2001, 65 in 2000,
75 in 1999, 85 in1998 and 90 in 1997. This data includes both those who
were detained in hospital as in-patients, as well as those who suffered
a range of injuries, but were not detained. We have all seen the rabid
anti-cycling articles, which have sensationalised this issue in most
newspapers in recent months. Given the extreme sensitivity on the issue
of mixing bikes and pedestrians, it is useful to see both the scale of
the figures, and the direction in which they are heading. No one is
denying that pedestrians feel endangered by bikes at times, but very
useful to use the figures as a way to establish the reality of the
situation rather than the emotion on this. It's a shame that there are
no stats on pedestrians stepping out in front of bikes because they
didn't bother to look before leaving the curb. And we all know what
level of danger those same pedestrians present to cyclists when they
climb behind the wheel of their tin boxes. Still, hard facts never sold
any newspapers.