Cyclists "increasingly fearful" after death of "very experienced" rider in collision, as police increase patrols and urge near miss reporting to "deter dangerous driving and protect cyclists"

Police Scotland faced questions from cyclists over "measures being taken to protect vulnerable road users", the force stating that it would increase patrols and take reports of close passes "seriously" following the death of a "very experienced" cyclist in a collision last month.

David Lang was hit in a collision involving the driver of a car in Eaglesham, a village in East Renfrewshire around 10 miles south of Glasgow. Following the collision on Thursday 16 January he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment but died five days later.

Police Scotland said enquiries into the death are ongoing, but the incident has also sparked road safety concerns from local cyclists who are "increasingly fearful". STV reports the force has faced questions from riders, while a councillor also revealed that people are airing "concerns continually" about the dangers of cycling on the area's roads.

At a council meeting attended by Police Scotland, East Renfrewshire councillor Caroline Bamforth told the force that the "tragic incident" involved a "very experienced and well-regarded cyclist" and has "stirred up some concerns". Mr Lang was killed on Polnoon Street, but many of the concerns raised have been about the A77 Ayr Road nearby — the "most cycled route in south Glasgow", according to Cllr Bamforth, but one that "remains the most dangerous for cyclists".

A constituent contacted the councillor to ask the police what action would be taken to "deter dangerous driving and protect cyclists", a quarterly update from the police having contained "no information about what measures are being taken to protect vulnerable road users".

"Tragically, we are mourning the loss of a fellow cyclist this week, a member of my cycling club, following a collision with a driver," the constituent said. "This tragedy has left our club shocked and increasingly fearful, particularly as several members have been hit by drivers in the past six months."

Cllr Bamforth accepted that some of the concerns would be more relevant to the council, notably the "people contacting me about cycle lanes and wanting more", as well as those asking for double yellow lines and deterrents to parking in existing cycling infrastructure.

However, suggesting that these measures would take investment and time, she questioned what Police Scotland is doing to "deter dangerous driving and protect cyclists" in the meantime.

Chief superintendent Lynn Ratcliff of Police Scotland confirmed Mr Lang's death is "very much under investigation" and offered condolences to his family and friends.

"What's really important for us is that incidents involving cyclists are reported to us," she said. "We know from working with various cycling groups across the city that it is traditionally under-reported.

"I think there are a lot of reasons for that. One of them may well be that there may be a perception that the police won't take those reports seriously. We absolutely do, we absolutely will. 

We will try over the course of the coming weeks to get additional officers up into the area. First of all, it gives us a visible presence and can act as a deterrent, but it allows us to gather information a little bit and understand what those issues are. Once we have got a better idea of what the challenges are in the area, we can look to develop a bespoke plan."

The chief superintendent added that education is "key" and said the force would re-run 'operation close pass'. She also encouraged cyclists to "report near misses or incidents where vehicles and cyclists come together".

One reason perhaps why reports from cyclists have been "traditionally under-reported", as Ratcliff suggested, may be the lack of online reporting portal in Scotland, something that is soon to be rectified.

> Cyclists in Scotland finally set to be able to submit dangerous driving footage to online police portal… by autumn 2025 – two years after road safety tool scrapped amid claims police inaction was making Scotland's roads "less safe"

"After years of complaints that delays to the introduction of a dedicated road safety reporting tool and inaction on the part of the Scottish government and Police Scotland were putting the lives of cyclists across the country "at risk" and making the roads "less safe", it has been confirmed that following a successful pilot scheme in Dundee, a new third-party video evidence-sharing tool will be rolled out across Scotland by the autumn.

It will mean that cyclists no longer have to report incidents via the  Police Scotland Online Reporting Form, a method often criticised by those who have used it as time-consuming, complicated, inconsistent, and reliant on the attitudes of the officers dealing with the complaint, potentially deterring riders from submitting footage given the increased time and inconvenience of reporting incidents to the police.