Camberwell crash death: Sixth cyclist killed in two weeks

The cyclist killed in a collision with a lorry in Camberwell is the sixth cyclist to die on London's roads in two weeks

A cyclist has been killed in a collision with a lorry in south-east London.

The crash happened at the junction of Camberwell Road and Albany Road in Camberwell just after midday.

The cyclist, who has not been named but is believed to be in his 60s, died at the scene.

His death is the sixth cycling fatality on London's roads in two weeks and the 14th death so far in 2013. HGVs were involved in nine of the fatal crashes.

In a separate incident, a cyclist was injured in a collision with a lorry in Camden High Street, close to Camden Town Tube station, just after 16:00 GMT, a spokesman for London Ambulance Service (LAS) said.

"Our staff treated one patient, an adult male, for a minor head injury. He is being taken to St Mary's Hospital by ambulance," LAS said.

'Needless tragedy'

The five other cyclists who died between Tuesday 5 November and 13 November are Brian Holt, 62; Francis Golding, 69; Roger William De Klerk, 43; Venera Minakhmetova, 24, and a 21-year-old man from St John's Wood whose name has not been released by police.

The number of cyclists killed so far in crashes in London this year is the same as the figure for the whole of 2012.

The fatality came as Metropolitan Police traffic officers gave road safety advice to cyclists and more than 70 lorry drivers at Vauxhall Bridge Road, Whitechapel High Street and Albert Embankment.

More than 100 cyclists were stopped at Vauxhall Bridge Road over "concerns about their behaviour" such as cutting corners or wearing headphones while riding.

Cyclists are also being encouraged to wear a helmet and a high-visibility jacket.

Assistant Commissioner Simon Byrne said all 2,500 officers from Traffic and Safer Transport Commands were now being deployed to speak to all road users.

"Our activity will be targeted at all road users, during morning and evening rush hours, who are using our roads dangerously, without consideration or care, to reinforce the point that we all have a duty to be safe on our roads," he said.

"Each and every death is a needless tragedy, the human cost of which should never be forgotten."

Safety 'urgent'

The latest death took place in the Southwark Council area where its leader, Peter John, has previously called for HGVs to be banned during rush hour to protect cyclists.

On Monday Mr John said that while a ban on HGVs in rush hour "would not have prevented this tragic death", the incident, he said, would make him more determined to "to work with politicians across London to make our roads safer for cyclists".

The driver of the lorry involved in the latest crash stopped at the scene, police said.

Following the latest fatality, chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign, Ashok Sinha, told BBC London that Mayor Boris Johnson needed to address the issue of safety of cyclists "as a matter of urgency".

"We are in a situation where we have seen an unprecedented number of deaths in such a short period of time."

The campaign group has been calling for the adoption of continental or Dutch-style cycling provisions in the capital, but Mr Sinha said transport bosses have said that would slow down the traffic flow.

"In dangerous junctions in London safety has to be prioritised even if it means adding a few seconds to the journey times.

"Junctions are the greatest danger points in London."

Danny Williams, a cycling blogger who also sits on the Mayor's Roads Task Force, said: "People have moved from being sort of starting to get angry to getting incredibly angry and now they are scared."

Green Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones tweeted: "6 cyclists dead in 14 days - stop blaming victims & fix the big problems. Get HGVs off roads at rush hour."

Leon Daniels, managing director for surface transport at Transport for London, said: "Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of the male cyclist who tragically died after a collision with an HGV which was turning left at the Camberwell Road junction with Albany Street.

"Cycling in London is growing, with almost double the number of cycle journeys on main roads in the capital than 10 years ago.

"We are investing heavily in our cycling programme and our aim is to make cycling as safe as possible, with measures such as improved cycle routes and junctions across London."

The map shows when and where the fatal crashes took place