By Richard Peace, 10 Nov 2010, BikeRadar.com England

Around 2,700 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured on the UK's roads in the past year (foto.fritz - Fotolia.com)
Provisional figures from the Department for Transport suggest that, while the number of people killed or injured on the UK's roads has gone down over the past year, there's actually been a rise in cycling casualties.
While this may suggest that the roads are becoming more dangerous, it's actually more likely to be due to a significant rise in the number of people riding bikes, whether as a result of the recession or official efforts to promote cycling for health and transport.
Overall, casualties were down by three percent, with the number of people killed or seriously injured down seven percent and the number of deaths down 19 percent. But among cyclists, casualties were up four percent, with the number of riders killed or seriously injured up one percent.