The number of fatal accidents on the district’s roads has halved in five years, new figures show.

A report into the Bradford district’s road safety record also reveals that the number of crashes causing injury is down.

Last year there were 13 fatal accidents on the district’s roads, causing 15 deaths. This compares to 26 accidents, causing 27 deaths, in 2007.

Over the same period the number of accidents causing serious injuries fell from 214 to 193 and the number of accidents causing slight injuries fell from 1,396 to 1,101.

The total number of accidents is at an eight-year low, though the number of cyclists being injured is on the rise.

A total of 122 cyclists were injured last year, compared to 83 in 2007. Carole Whittingham, founder of Brighouse-based national road safety campaign SCARD (Support and Care After Death and Road Injury), welcomed the improvements.

She said: “It’s very, very encouraging to hear that. Obviously Bradford is doing something right.”

Mrs Whittingham said she was not surprised there were more accidents involving cyclists, because of the number of people taking up the sport.

She said: “Iit actually makes sense. What did we have last year? We had the Olympic Games, we had people winning medals for our country, which always encourages people who haven’t usually exercised in that way to think of that as a possibility.”

Mrs Whittingham said SCARD was campaigning for cycling proficiency tests to be made compulsory and for lights to be fitted to bicycles as standard.

Councillor Imran Hussain, executive member for safer communities, also welcomed the figures, but said: “Even one fatal incident in the district is too much, so it is a priority and we will continue to work at it.”

He said the improvement had been brought about through a combination of traffic calming schemes, road safety education and enforcement measures such as speed cameras.

Among the tragic collisions last year was one that killed two brothers in Woodside Road in Wyke.

An inquest heard how Christopher Blowman, 31, and Sam Blowman, 27, were killed when the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree after a police pursuit in May.

A crash investigator said the smash was among the worst he had seen in his 23-year career.

Locally road safety work is led by the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, which runs campaigns on drink-driving, using mobile phones while driving, the importance of seatbelts and avoiding distractions while at the wheel.

Localised versions of the road safety report will soon go before the district’s five area committees.

The report, by casualty reduction and road safety partnership manager Sue Snoddy, also says that in 2013-14 the team will give greater importance to cycling safety, due to an increase in children playing on bikes.