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Big Ben © Simon MacMichaelCyclists urged to write to MPs to oppose personal injury legal reforms
Cycling UK is urging bike riders in England and Wales to write to their MPs to ask them to support a motion that seeks to exclude vulnerable road users from reforms of the law regarding personal injury claims.
The government plans to increase the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000 to help combat bogus or exaggerated claims for whiplash.
But concerns have been raised that rather than vehicle occupants, it will be vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and motorbikers who will be hit hardest by the proposed changes.
Now, Hornsey and Wood Green MP Catherine West has tabled a motion and is calling on fellow MPs in England & Wales (the reforms do not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland) to support her.
The Labour MP said: “I want to see ministers apply common sense when it comes to law making. Cyclists and other vulnerable road users, including children, should be protected on our roads, not punished by the Government if they are unfortunate enough to have a non-fault accident.
“I hope MPs on all sides will show their support and sign the motion.”
The motion reads:
That this House notes the Government's publication of the Civil Liability Bill; supports Ministers' intention to reduce fraudulent and frivolous claims; expresses concern that vulnerable road users (VRUs), including cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and motorcyclists, will be swept up within the scope of the Bill and the broader personal injury reform package, despite there being no evidence that non-fault road traffic accident injuries suffered by VRUs include whiplash; further notes that almost all whiplash claims are made by drivers or passengers of motor vehicles; believes that VRUs deserve the Government's protection, as opposed to removing their rights to redress for injuries under Tort; acknowledges that under these reforms, VRUs suffering injuries below £5,000 in value will be unable to access a lawyer should they wish to pursue their rights of redress in the Courts; and urges the Government to take a pragmatic approach and remove VRUs from the scope of the reforms to ensure they remain protected on our roads.
Cycling UK has created an online tool that will automatically generate a letter addressed to your MP once you have filled in certain details and which urges them to support the motion.
The charity points out that in personal injury cases involving bike riders, rather than whiplash, “Broken bones and other injuries are the norm, and with 70 percent of cyclists' claims being under £5,000, victims will be out of pocket once the legal wrangles with insurance companies are over, as they will have to foot the bill for their own legal costs. “
It recently issued a joint statement with Fletchers solicitors, which handles around 30 per cent of motorcyclist personal injury claims, calling on the government to clearly distinguish claims by type of road user.
The law firm’s CEO, Ed Fletcher, said: “The Government’s plans to crack down on fraudulent whiplash claims threaten to seriously harm the rights of vulnerable road users.
“While I’m sure we can all agree on the need to wipe out fraudulent claims, the Government also needs to recognise that its current proposals will put vulnerable road users at a substantial disadvantage.
“We are urging all MPs to sign the motion to stand up for the rights of society’s most vulnerable road users and get their voices heard.
“We hope that the Government will give our recommendations serious consideration, and agree that all reforms brought in should be limited to claims made by ‘occupants of a vehicle (excluding motorcycles)’ to defend the rights of bikers, cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians,” he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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11 comments
Mentioning cyclists won’t get the press behind it, and won’t worry MP’s.
Of course, saying it might be bad for pedestrians will be the best angle, and depending on the MP, mentioning horse riders might work too.
I’m not sure what sort of injuries would fall either side of that proposed £5000 minimum?
My MP is anti-cycling and probably hates motorcyclists too, so the only way he would pay attention to a letter is if I stressed pedestrians and horse riders, particularly children.
So tell him if he doesn't pay attention you're going to walk to his stables, cut the head off his daughter's pony and leave it in her bed one night.
Yeah, done but I don’t hold out much hope given my mp is the ultra hard right brexit arsehole Suella Fernandes
I wonder if this would stop cyclists throwing themselves in front of cars (fitted with dashcams,no less) in allegedly spurious attempts to claim compensation...? I saw it on a tabloid 'news' site the other day (so it must be true), and I thought, "That person is giving cyclists a bad name! I hope he realises the damage he's doing to the cycling community and to society as a whole!".
I'd be happy to write to my MP but... I am willing to bet real money that he is not the least bit interested in real issues like this.
My MP is Liam Fox... All he cares about is trying to find countries that don't dislike us and then making trade deals with them.
In fairness that sounds like a tough and full-time job these days.
In which case he's not really being my MP, is he? He ought to resign as an MP and get an appointment to that role (it might give other parties a chance too: North Somerset is one of those fun places where people would vote for a cardboard standup so long as it had a blue rosette on it...).
But is it really full time? Liam Fox is more likely finding large corporations who will pay him serious amounts of cash for questions, er I mean lobbying, contacts and consultancy roles. Plenty of MPs have additional part-time jobs as well as the part-time job as an MP, including mine, apparently now being paid £72,000 p.a. for 'advising' it says here). It's surely no surprise to find that he is a loudly pro-Brexit Tory.
They're really only in it for themselves, they couldn't give a toss about anyone else. Voter apathy means they can continue to laugh long and hard at us plebs, like Zuckerberg & co are doing about the dodgy shit Facebook and Cambridge Analytica are involved in.
The Grauniad reckoned that Dr Fox has travelled the equivalent of going to the moon, in air miles, since the Brexit vote.
"The international trade secretary, Liam Fox, has flown 290,000 miles – slightly further than a trip to the moon – to meet politicians and business leaders in countries where he hopes free-trade deals can be struck after Brexit, according to a Guardian analysis." - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2018/feb/26/where-has-liam-fox-travelled-as-trade-secretary
which is pretty full time...