At least one cyclist was killed or seriously injured every day last year in London

Headline on page eight of today’s Evening Standard: Stiffer punishments for drivers promised as cyclist deaths soar

Director of Public Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald is to tell prosecutors to charge motorists with dangerous rather than careless driving if they cause a fatality. The difference is you can go to jail for a maximum of 14 years if convicted of dangerous driving and only fined for careless driving unless under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

I applaud this and the fact that from next year it will be an offence to cause death by careless driving with the maximum of five years in jail.

This comes as Transport for London revealed that 21 cyclists were killed on the capital’s roads last year, up 162% from eight in 2004, while 372 were seriously injured.

The story’s accompanying graphic listed the following ten cycle blackspots sourced from the CTC:

• Euston Road underpass: pulling out across high-speed filtering traffic
• Tottenham Hale one-way system: wide, multi-lane roads
• Vauxhaull Cross: wide, multi-lane approaches and poor cycling facilities
• Elephant & Castle: double roundabout with fast traffic
• Bow flyover: high-speed flyover with dangerous slip roads
• Canning Town flyover: high-speed flyover with dangerous slip roads
• Swiss Cottage: wide, multi-lane roads throughout one-way system
• Aldgate East/Tower Hill: complex system of wide, multi-lane roads
• Nag’s Head one-way, Holloway: long sections of wide street
• Harrow Road roundabout and underpass: dangerous to ride round, impossible to cross

There must be others in our sprawling metropolis.