More than 70% of the people killed in simple bike accidents such as a fall last year were over the age of 70, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday.

Although the number of people killed in bike accidents has remained stable since 2000, elderly people account for an increasing percentage of the deaths, the statistics office said.

Last year, two in three cyclists were killed in a collision with another vehicle or stationary object such as a tree. The rest died after a fall, caused by skidding, a poor road surface or other problem.

The over 70s also now account for 57% of those killed in all bike accidents, up from 49% in 2010.

The increase is due to both the rise in the size of the elderly population and to the increasing popularity of cycling among the elderly, which has been boosted by the rise of the e-bike, the CBS said earlier. The number of over-70s in the Dutch population has risen by 56% since 1999

The number of people killed in traffic accidents has halved since 2000, but the decline is due to a 68% drop in the number of fatal accidents involving motorists.