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London cyclist approaching junction.jpgGovernment review of cycling offences likely to be a ‘patch-up job’ according to Cycling UK
Cycling UK says that an ongoing government review is only likely to result in new careless and dangerous cycling offences, and describes such an outcome as “a patch-up job rather than the holistic review required.”
The government announced a two-part review of cycle safety in September in the wake of “a series of high profile incidents involving cyclists” – thought to be a reference to the case in which pedestrian Kim Briggs lost her life following a collision with cyclist Charlie Alliston.
London fixed wheel cyclist Charlie Alliston sentenced to 18 months in young offenders’ institution
The first phase of the review is looking at whether a new offence equivalent to causing death by careless or dangerous driving should be introduced for cyclists. The review will then move onto wider improvements to cycling road safety.
Speaking to Sky News this week, Kim Briggs’ husband Matthew renewed his call for a new offence of causing death or injury by dangerous or careless cycling.
"I maintain that the law is hopelessly out of date,” he said. "A week after Kim died I received a call from the police to say there was an issue with the bike and they were considering bringing charges but they didn't know which charges they could bring because these laws weren't there.”
Describing an 18-month wait for the case to go to trial, he added: "I don't blame the police at all for this but the police had to go back to 1861 to scrabble around in a box of old laws, when it's very, very clear this is just an omission and we need the law to catch up."
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns said the charity was expecting to hear the government’s proposals later this month.
“Unfortunately, despite the representations made by us and others, the Department for Transport appears to have undertaken this as a discrete inquiry, without carrying out the broader review of all road traffic offences promised back in 2014.
“Instead of asking whether the definitions of and standards for ‘careless’ and ‘dangerous’ actually work when applied to offences by any road user, Government seems keen on only adding new careless and dangerous cycling offences: a patch up job rather than the holistic review required.”
Dollimore is also calling for support from the cycling public ahead of the second part of the review to ensure anti-cycling campaigners do not redirect it towards further regulation of cycling.
“Also expected this month is the launch of the government’s inquiry into cycle safety, which they have repeatedly claimed will be evidence led.
“Whilst that may well be their intention, we know from the media coverage following the Alliston case that there will be numerous individuals and organisations who use this opportunity to press for further regulation of cycling, ignoring the principal causes of danger to cyclists and pedestrians.
“Cycling UK is therefore going to need all the support offered by our members and the wider cycling public when the cycle safety review is launched, to make sure it’s not side-tracked by peripheral issues and the focus remains on the safety of people cycling and other vulnerable road users, not on victim blaming.
“We know that road.cc readers will understand the importance of this, and we will be asking as many as possible to respond to the review and support Cycling UK’s submissions.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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48 comments
I suppose the proponents would argue that you have to restate it all in vehicle miles.
Although the same data set shows around 5k a year serious injuries to pedestrians, so that would need to be factored in.
So even if you restated stuff, it's not really going to deal with the real problem.
I could sue myself for causing injury by careless cycling!
Just so we're clear, he wants a 'new offence of causing death or injury by dangerous or careless cycling' - well that's a bit broad, isn't it? There's at least four seperate offences covered by that sentence, not to mention that Death by Dangerous Cycling is already covered under Death by Dangerous Driving.
How the hell is the burden of proof for that supposed to be met when drivers hardly ever get charged with causing Death by dangerous Driving?! Berk.
there will be a new offence of Causing Something Involving a Bicycle.
This 1861 act being the Offences against the Person Act 1861 which is the basis for almost all peronal injury offences below murder.
Surely a typo? "patch up job"? I think they mean stitch up job.
The BBC wasted no time in starting its anti-cycling campaign in the new year, with Mr Briggs being interviewed, ostensibly about coping with bereavement when you have kids, but it rapidly turned into controlling deadly cyclists, with no attempt at balance, just like it says in all their rules. There must be 10,000 people they could have interviewed about bereavement, but they chose the one who's spouse had been killed by a cyclist. There must have been thousands of people bereaved by motor vehicle drivers, but they didn't chose one of those.
The BBC is turning out to be more anti-cycling than the tabloids, they're just a bit more devious
So the review will be a patch up job, just like the roads, that will work well then.
Edit; so where can I paint a cock and balls to draw attention to defects?
You'd think the police and/or CPS ought to know what laws they have out there, and available for use...
Maybe an education in the available law might be more useful than adding a raft of new laws which will almost never be used.
Or surely they're using it so often that they didn't have to 'scrabble around' for it...
Given they have to go back to the 1835 Highways Act to stop people riding (or driving) on the pavement, then I'm not sure what his point is.
His point is that the phrasing will get Sky News viewers riled up about, since they're on average going to know close to nothing about how laws work in real life.
I didn't realise that the Alliston/Briggs case was "a series of high profile incidents involving cyclists" - I thought that was just a single incident, and don't recall any others like it (depending on how many years back you start counting, I guess).
I think there was another incident in 2009, but the rarity of such occurences and the frequency of dangerous driving resulting in death, means that any suggestion of a new law to control cyclists would be totally unjustified. Which means that unless we all get together and do something, it will happen. I feel yet another letter to my MP coming on
I thought about it, but my MP is Liam Fox so it'd be an utter waste of paper/stamp or internet bandwidth...
I would urge you to write to him. The more representation about a single subject they receive, the more likely they are to do something. If they receive nothing, what motivation do they have to change their attitude?
My MP is on the side of the angels, but I will certainly write to him about this to make sure he stays on that side.
I think you'll find that the name of your MP is actually "the Disgraced Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox". Apologies for being a pedant.
Cycling UK, British Cycling, Boardman et al need to start to get their toolboxes ready.
There's some simple numbers out there regarding incidents involving cyclists actual impact on the lives of others. Regardless of whether you believe Alliston or Briggs was at fault, add it in, the number is tiny. Then compare to motor vehicles. Then look at the number of KSI's that have actually led to custodial sentences, the number that have been pushed to a lower level (careless rather than dangerous), the number where laws have been broken (drunk, mobile phone use, speed, overtakes) and the number where car not roadworthy (SMIDSY, bald tyres etc.) or the driver (age, health etc.).
Even Dianne Abbot couldn't be aghast at the numbers...
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