Gold medal-winning cyclist reacts to news of cyclist's death after collision with a bus near Olympic Park
Olympic cycling gold medalist Bradley Wiggins has called for cyclists to be forced to wear helmets following the death of a 28-year-old man after being in a collision with a bus outside the Olympic Park.
The Tour de France winner, reacting to the tragedy which occurred within hours of his time trial victory, said he would like to see the introduction of a law making it compulsory to wear cycling helmets.
The cyclist killed was named as Daniel Michael Harris, from Ilford, east London as an inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Poplar Coroner's Court.
News of the fatality, which involved an official Olympic bus ferrying journalists between venues, emerged as Wiggins was about to give a press conference following his gold medal win on Wednesday. Asked about cycling safety, he said making it illegal to cycle without a helmet would make the roads safer "because ultimately, if you get knocked off and you ain't got a helmet on, then how can you kind of argue".
He added: "[People] shouldn't be riding along with iPods and phones and things on and [they] should have lights and all those things.
"So I think when there's laws passed for cyclists, then you're protected and you can say, well, I've done everything to be safe."
He added: "It's dangerous and London is a busy city with a lot of traffic. I think we have to help ourselves sometimes.
"I haven't lived in London for 10 to 15 years now and it's got a lot busier since I was riding a bike as a kid round here, and I got knocked off several times.
"But at the end of the day we've all got to co-exist on the roads. Cyclists are not ever going to go away, as much as drivers moan, and as much as cyclists maybe moan about certain drivers they are never going to go away, so there's got to be a bit of give and take."
The death is the 10th fatality involving bikes in London this year. The bus driver has been bailed pending further inquiries.
The Metropolitan police has issued an appeal for witnesses. It said, in a statement: "At 19.42hrs, police were called to a collision between a coach and a pedal cyclist at Ruckholt Road (A106) junction with the East Cross Route (A12).
"Police and London Ambulance Service, including air ambulance, attended the scene. The cyclist, a man aged 28, was pronounced dead at the scene at 20.14hrs.
"The postmortem examination is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Next of kin have been informed, but formal identification awaits. An inquest will open and adjourn at Poplar coroner's court today, 2 August.
"A man aged 65 was arrested at the scene at 21.28hrs on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and was taken to an east London police station. He has been bailed pending further inquiries to a date in late August."
Safety campaigners said the death brought the toll so far this year to the same number as in the whole of 2010.
At this rate, the number of cyclists killed on London's roads will exceed last year's death toll of 16, campaign groups fear.
The London mayor, Boris Johnson, who was wearing a helmet as he cycled into Whitehall on Thursday, said there were no plans to force cyclists to wear helmets "I think they should do if they want to," he said. There were no plans to provide helmets for the capital's fleet of "Boris bikes".
"It's quite right to say that people should do if they have got one, but we have absolutely no plans to make it mandatory.
"The evidence is mixed. I have to say that in countries where they have made them compulsory, it hasn't always necessarily been good for cycling," added Johnson.
Martin Gibbs, British Cycling's director of public policy said a lot more could be done to make the roads safer for cyclists.
"We have been calling on the government to show its commitment to a variety of measures including better dedicated provision for cyclists on roads and junctions, improvements to HGV safety measures, and a commitment that all future road and major transport schemes should be subjected to a Cycling Safety Assessment prior to approval.
"Experience from abroad has shown conclusively that what is needed is a commitment from the government to ensure that cycling is brought into the heart of transport policy and proper provision for cyclists is designed into roads and junctions."