Oxford councillor 'knocked off his bike' by blue car

Brad Baines said he suffered “significant bruising” in the Cowley Road crash on Tuesday (November 14).

He is the second Oxfordshire councillor to be hit by a car while cycling in the last six months.

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The alleged crash happened as the Labour councillor, who represents the Isis division of the city, cycled between work meetings on a “typical day".

The councillor said the crash happened at the junction of Cowley Road and Manzil Way (Image: Google Maps)

“I was cycling behind a bus - making sure to give plenty of room,” he said.

“There was traffic on the road, so it was stop start.

“The bus got caught behind another bus or waiting for pedestrians at the Manzil Way crossing.

“This left me static, a few meters behind the bus in front of the junction with Manzil Way in the southbound lane.

“As the bus began to move off, I readied myself to set off again.

"At that moment a blue Citroën sped into me turning right from Cowley Road into Manzil Way.

“The car ploughed straight into me, hitting me on the right-hand side of my body sending me sprawling to the floor.

“This was despite me being clearly visible in a reflective jacket with lots of space around me.

“The impact was relatively low speed and so did not cause any damage beyond some significant bruising, but the impact would have been far more damaging to a child or someone older.”

Mr Baines said he had reported the crash to Thames Valley Police.

Fellow councillor Trish Elphinstone was knocked off her bike in Cowley in April (Image: Trish Elphinstone)

His fellow Labour councillor Trish Elphinstone was hit by a car in Cowley in April as she cycled to a meeting to discuss road safety.

The crash left the Littlemore and Rose Hill councillor “matted with blood”.

Alison Hill, chairwoman of the Cyclox group, was also involved in a crash with a Volvo coach while cycling at the junction of Park Road and Banbury Road on October 25.  

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Mr Baines said: “This is the second time this year that a county councillor has been hit by a car while cycling.

“We make up such a small proportion of Oxford’s population. It makes you wonder how many incidents of cyclists being hit by careless drivers go unreported across our city.

“Oxford claims to be a cycling city, but too few people actually do. Too many are put off by safety concerns, chronic congestion and poor infrastructure.

“If the county council is going to take its ambition of making walking and cycling ‘the natural choice’ seriously, we need urgent investment to keep cyclists of all ages safe.  

“We need safe streets.

“Cycling should not be a scary thing. It empowers people of all ages to get around the city faster and independently.

“As long as people are put off cycling due to safety fears, we have a long way to go.”

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