Government's review of cycle laws masks failure to tackle wider road safety review, says Cycling UK

The proposals, put forward by the Department for Transport (DfT), will examine whether there is a need to introduce new cycling offences, including causing death or serious injury by either careless or dangerous cycling.

Cycling UK believes the plans would be merely ‘tinkering around the edges’ of a desperately-needed full road safety review.

Head of Campaigns, Duncan Dollimore said: “We need a full review – something promised by the Government in 2014 - because the way the justice system deals with mistakes, carelessness, recklessness and deliberately dangerous behaviour by all road users hasn’t been fit for purpose for years.”

The number of cases involving collisions between cyclists and pedestrians remains relatively low.

In 2016, 448 pedestrians were killed on our roads, but only three of those cases involved bicycles. And in the last ten years 99.4% of all pedestrian deaths involved a motor vehicle. 

Meanwhile, Cycling UK believes that cyclists and pedestrians are regularly being failed by the existing laws on careless and dangerous driving, with only 27% of drivers convicted of death by careless driving sent to prison for sentences, on average, of only 14 months.

Whether someone is prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving is often something of a lottery, as are the resulting sentences, leaving thousands of victims and their relatives feeling massively let down by the justice system’s failure to reflect the seriousness of bad driving.

Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns

“Adding one or two new offences specific to cyclists would be merely tinkering around the edges. If the Government is serious about addressing behaviour that puts others at risk on our roads, they should grasp the opportunity to do the job properly, rather than attempt to patch up an area of legislation that’s simply not working.”

The Government review of cycling offences followed the case of cyclist Charlie Alliston, who was jailed for 18 months in September for knocking over and killing 44-year-old Kim Briggs as he cycled through east London on a bike with no front brakes.

Alliston, 20, was cleared of manslaughter but found guilty of causing bodily harm by "wanton and furious driving", a crime under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act which carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transport has also announced a review of the Highway Code to make it clearer to motorists how to safely pass cyclists on the road.

Cycling UK has long campaigned for a review of the code and this formed one of its core recommendations in response to the Government’s recent Cycling and Walking Safety Review.

Most close passes come from a position of ignorance rather than malicious intent and it’s heartening to see the Government is acknowledging the problem of close passing with a review of the Highway Code.

Roger Geffen, Policy Director

In July 2017, Cycling UK launched its Too Close for Comfort campaign, and has provided to date 38 out of 45 police forces across the UK with close pass mats to conduct public awareness campaigns and road traffic operations.

The close pass mats are modelled on those used in West Midlands Traffic Police’s award-winning road safety operation - ‘Give Space, Be Safe’ - which targeted close passes.

Furthermore, a survey of 2,000 people, carried out by ComRes on behalf of Cycling UK, showed 52% of people weren’t aware of the current Highway Code recommendations to give cyclists at least as much room as you would a car when overtaking.

The DfT is also promising new design guidance for local authorities when planning cycling infrastructure.

Mr Geffen said: “This is a vital move in the right direction. At present, the confusing plethora of often-contradictory design guidance is clearly failing to ensure safe and sensible designs.

“Too many cycle facilities in the UK are still worse than useless, and in some cases even downright dangerous.”