Do London's Cyclists Deserve Blame for Spate of Recent Deaths?

"Boris Johnson has been accused of 'gross insensitivity' and 'dodging responsibility' after he suggested that the deaths of five cyclists on the streets of London over the past nine days underlined the need for cyclists to obey the laws of the road," report Sam Jones, Peter Walker and Patrick Wintour.

"'Four out of the five deaths of cyclists in the last nine days have involved either his blue paint or his red buses,' said [London assembly member Darren Johnson, of the Green party], in a reference to the blue-painted cycle superhighways. 'The mayor's comments this morning which targeted cyclists breaking the law as the primary cause of death and serious injury is an attempt to blame the victims, rather than tackling the real problem of HGVs, buses and dangerous junctions.'"

"Transport for London said investigations into the accidents were still under way and that it was too early to say precisely what had happened," note Jones, Walker, and Wintour.