The online report showed that there were a total of 1,914 accidents involving bicycles last year, up 152 on 2013 and 4% of the total number of road accidents.


However, this same percentage accounted for 6% of total deaths with 19 cyclists losing their lives on the road, down one on 2013, although there were 33 more seriously injured cyclists and totalling 120 in 2014.


There was also a rise of 118 persons in the numbers receiving light injuries with some 1,689 cyclists receiving hospital treatment in 2014 due to collision or similar injury.

The report also pointed out that 9 of the 19 fatalities were aged 65 or over.


In overall terms, the ANSR report details a total of 30,604 road accident in 2014 resulting in some form of victim, up 0.9% year-on-year and, even while there was a 6.9% fall in the total number of deaths, 482, there was a rise in the numbers seriously injured up 4.8% at 2,152.