Cycling fatalities went up 10% last year in Great Britain, with 118 people being killed while riding a bicycle on the road. The number of serious injuries suffered by cyclists rose by 4% to 3222 and were up as much as 34% compared with the long term average between 2005 and 2009. Cyclist fatalities were down 9% against the 2005-2009 average.

But the broader road safety picture announced last week was more positive. The number of people killed in road accidents fell by 8% to 1754, the lowest figure since records began in 1926. Overall casualty numbers were down 4% to just under 195,800 and child casualties fell by 11% to just over 17,200.

These figures were against a backdrop of traffic levels remaining broadly stable for the second year running, according to the Department for Transport.

The overall reduction in road fatalities was welcomed by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety's executive director David Davies. But he added: "To what extent are improvements in trauma care helping to reducing fatalities? If you look at the number of serious injuries on the roads it might suggest that safety improvements are not as great. The cycling statistics are disappointing and shows that more needs to be done."

Accident prevention charity RoSPA's head of road safety Kevin Clinton added: “Even though road deaths in 2012 were at their lowest level since records began, we need to redouble our efforts to make sure that cyclist deaths and injuries are reduced as the popularity of cycling increases."

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