The safety of cyclists is once again top of mind for many in the National Capital Region after a person riding their bike was struck by a dump truck Friday morning.

The collision happened around 7:45 a.m. in Ottawa's Little Italy neighbourhood. The cyclist was sent to hospital in life-threatening condition.

In Ottawa between 2018 and 2021, 54 cyclists were seriously injured in collisions and seven people died.

Data for 2022 is still being collected and data for 2023 is not yet available.

In that span, 2019 was the deadliest year for cyclists with four people killed in collisions.

Ottawa police Const. Charles Benoit said cyclist safety is always an issue because of their vulnerability in the event of a collision with a motor vehicle.

On the other side of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Que., there hasn't been a cyclist killed in a collision in the last five years.

Patrick Kenney, public relations officer for Gatineau police, told Radio-Canada that bicycle traffic conditions in the city are good.

He said officers patrol the trails to ensure users' safety, and a lot of their work involves education about cycling safety.

Between 2018 and 2023 (with data up to June 13), the number of collisions with injuries hovered around 50 per year in Gatineau. In that span, 2018 had the most accidents involving injuries at 56 and 2021 the fewest at 31.

In 2023, there have been nine collisions resulting in injuries to cyclists.

Kenney said that though the decrease is encouraging, 2023 is not over and people need to always pay attention to road safety.

According to the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), 14 cyclists were seriously injured between 2017 and 2022 in the Outaouais, with between one and four per year.

The last time a cyclist was killed in a collision in the Outaouais was in 2017.