Images of David Cameron whizzing through traffic on his way to Westminster were so commonplace before the election that voters could scarcely doubt his pledge on entering Downing Street to form the greenest Government ever.
A Conservative Mayor was already extending his reach across London with a pledge to unleash a cycling revolution while halving the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in the city. Even the Government’s eventual coalition partners seemed to have sustainable transport seared into their political make-up.
The latest road safety figures make uncomfortable reading for ministers and Boris Johnson, though. The rate of cyclists killed or seriously injured in Britain (measured against distance travelled) rose in 2010 and 2009. There is little indication that 2011 will show an improvement.