| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:New car park, why no 'stop and shop'? | |
| Posted by: | Guy Lambert | |
| Date/Time: | 03/08/19 03:07:00 |
| Frank - serious injury is not the same as 'life-changing'. From Wikipedia "The UK definition covers injury resulting in a person being detained in hospital as an in-patient, in addition all injuries causing: fractures, concussion, internal injuries, crushings, burns (excluding friction burns), severe cuts, severe general shock which require medical treatment even if this does not result in a stay in hospital as an in-patient". When I tripped over a kerb in Great West Quarter in 2017 i fractured a rib. WMUH prescribed me some pain killers and I went on holiday a couple of days later, despite having suffered a 'serious injury' I'm not minimising the problem, but it would be pretty challenging to mount a case that more people have lives shortened or suffer major physical impairment by cycling than driving a car. Or indeed being passive victims of those driving cars. "According to researchers at Kings College London, air pollution kills roughly 9,500 people in the city on average every year".(https://psmag.com/environment/air-pollution-is-killing-london) Whilst not all of this is down to motor vehicles, much is. Plus many people are impaired or face an early death due to obesity, diabetes and other ailments which can be greatly alleviated by exercise such as cycling.From Wikipedia again: "According to a report published by the Commons Health Select Committee in November 2015, treating obesity related medical conditions costs the National Health Service (NHS) £5 billion a year and has a wider cost to the economy of £27 billion.[23] A study published by two McKinsey researchers in the same year estimated costs to the United Kingdom economy of £6 billion ($9.6 billion) annually in direct medical costs of conditions related to being overweight or obese and a further £10 billion in costs on diabetes treatment. The cost of obesity and diabetes treatment in the NHS is equivalent to the United Kingdom's combined budget for the police and fire services, law courts, and prisons;" I am strongly in favour of London developing decent cycling infrastructure, but this is not primarily about reducing deaths and serious injuries to cyclists (though as a regular cyclist myself, I declare an interest). By encouraging more people to cycle and leave their cars at home (better still, get rid of them), we will greatly reduce the toll of those innocents killed by pollution or excess weight. |