Northland cyclists are just as likely to cause fatal bike accidents as careless motorists, a local cycling advocate says.
Ministry of Transport figures show two cyclists died on the region's roads from 2010 to 2012 and 11 others were seriously injured.
Recent coronial findings into 94 national cycling deaths since 1997 have found more than half of the fatalities resulted from cyclist error and middle-aged men are most at risk.
The inquiry, which found an average of 15 cyclists a year have been killed on the nation's roads since mid-2007, has prompted New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to form an expert panel on cycle safety. Coroner Gordon Matenga said he was surprised to find that 58.5 per cent of deaths were the result of cyclists' errors, which was "contrary to every submission to me which suggested that motorists were deemed to be responsible in most cycle crashes".
But Bike Northland cycling co-ordinator Stuart Bell wasn't surprised. The biggest problem for Northland cyclists was the road environment, but the council had a cycling strategy in the pipeline to make roads more cycle-friendly, he said. There was also a lack of funding for cycle skills training. "At the moment there is zero dollars of the walking and cycling budget from NZTA coming to Northland." While cycle safety being recognised in the coroner's report was "great", the panel might not be necessary, Mr Bell said.