Please be courteous on road says injured cyclist

A cycling crusader today launched a plea for courtesy on the roads - after being knocked off her bike.

Jenny Jones, who was road safety ambassador for Ken Livingstone, broke a wrist in the collision with a car at Elephant and Castle roundabout.

She is now convalescing after having a metal plate inserted in her left lower arm by surgeons at St Thomas' Hospital.

Ms Jones, a Green party member of the London Assembly who campaigns on behalf of London's cyclists, blamed everyone being "in too much of a hurry". She said: "Motorists have got used to just pulling away when the lights go amber but they shouldn't. They should wait until the light is green. Drivers are just so determined not to let anything hold them up.

"We have spent years trying to shift the balance so that drivers, who have every right to be on the roads, do not have preeminence and that work must continue. Cyclists too must follow the rules. It makes me angry when I see cyclists go through red lights. I never do. It just annoys motorists and puts cyclists' lives at risk.

Cyclists should not ride on pavements - it scares pedestrians. Basically, we must all show each other a lot more courtesy or there will be more accidents like this."

Ms Jones's accident happened two weeks ago as she was cycling home to Southwark after a nighttime speaking engagement.

She was negotiating a combined cycle and pedestrian crossing when the car clipped her rear wheel. The impact rammed her bicycle into the kerb, hurling her into the opposite carriageway. She was tended by a passer-by and the motorist called for an ambulance.

Ms Jones, who is recuperating at her daughter's home in Dorset, said: "It was extremely painful. My hand, arm and wrist were distorted - it was a bit of a mess. People were turning away feeling slightly sick." She will have her arm in plaster for six weeks but will return to work part-time this week.

Police did not attend and she does not expect any charges to follow. She said: "It seems the driver did not see me. He was mortified. He left his car in the road and immediately came to help."

Ms Jones was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. "It is a matter of individual choice," she said. "I never wear a helmet."