At a full meeting of Oxford City Council held on 19th November 2007, a motion from the Green Group succeeded in gaining widespread Council support for improving cycle safety in Oxford.

Original text of motion below (this was passed in an amended form): 

Safer Cycling in Oxford

Proposed by Cllr Elise Benjamin

Seconded by Cllr Craig Simmons
 

This Council notes the recent publication – by the County Council - of the 2006 Road Casualty Statistics for Oxfordshire. In particular, Council notes the above average level of serious injuries amongst cyclists in Oxford.
 

This Council therefore asks the Leader to write to the County Council urging them to  continue to invest in cycle safety measures, improved cycle training and driver education. 
 

The Council also asks EB, in collaboration with Environment Scrutiny Committee, to explore what the City Council can itself do to reduce the risk of injuries to cyclists by Council vehicles. Measures to consider include:

• Fitting of side bars to City Council trucks
• Review of driver training
• Fitting of additional mirrors to eliminate blind spots
• Fitting of extra side indicators and sensors

[Note that this text was subject to amendment by Labour which, amongst other things, removed the list of measures to consider]