Registration plates for cyclists being considered by UK Govt. Cyclists could also need insurance under new laws and be forced to stick to speed limit

[SBFNews]

Registration plates for cyclists being considered by UK Government​

Cyclists could also need insurance under new laws and be forced to stick to speed limits

BY TOM THEWLIS

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/registra...y-uk-government

Cyclists in Britain could be forced to have registration plates as well as insurance in a dramatic shake up of road laws in the United Kingdom.


The changes in policy would also see cyclists being forced by law to stick to the same speed limits as motorists.

As reported by the Daily Mail (opens in new tab), other changes that the UK Government are considering are cyclists potentially receiving fines and licence penalty points if they break speed limits or run red lights.

These potential changes have arisen as the transport secretary Grant Shapps, proposed a Whitehall review of how cyclists who flout road laws and the highway code can be tracked down by the police.

Last week, Shapps initial plans were revealed in order to “impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care."

On the plans to introduce speed limits for cyclists, Shapps said: “Somewhere where cyclists are actually not breaking the law is when they speed, and that cannot be right, so I absolutely propose extending speed limit restrictions to cyclists.”

He added: “Particularly where you’ve got 20mph limits on increasing numbers of roads, cyclists can easily exceed those, so I want to make speed limits apply to cyclists.

“That obviously does then lead you into the question of ‘well, how are you going to recognise the cyclist, do you need registration plates and insurance and that sort of thing’. So I’m proposing there should be a review of insurance and how you actually track cyclists who do break the laws [via identifiable markings].”

It’s believed that the policy changes are being considered due to the UK cycling boom of recent years and that the government is keen to implement any new rules in 20mph zones in particular.

Despite the fact that Mr Shapps may not even still be in place when changes are made, ministers are still keen to set up a cycling review ahead of the Conservative party electing a new prime minister on 5 September.

Part of the review would see mandatory insurance for cyclists also being considered.

If 'reckless cyclists' seriously injure or even kill pedestrians, this would provide the opportunity for compensation for any victims to be secured.

Shapps said: “I don’t want to stop people from getting on their bikes. It’s a fantastic way to travel, we’ve seen a big explosion of cycling during Covid and since, I think it has lots of health benefits.

“But I see no reason why cyclists should break the road laws, why they should speed, why they should bust red lights and be able to get away with it.”

Last week Shapps plans to introduce a new ‘death by dangerous cycling’ law were branded as ‘frustrating in isolation’ by a cycling charity.


Matt Mallinder, the director of Cycling UK said that while the charity is not opposed to a new law for dangerous cycling, it should be accompanied by a review of “ineffective” driving offences.

Mallinder said: “It’s frustrating to see a new offence for death by dangerous cycling added to the statute book in isolation when it is merely mirroring ineffective driving offences."

He added: “Cycling UK is not opposed to an update of the law regarding cycling offences, but if the government is to proceed with this new law, then it must finally make good on its commitment of 2014 to review all road traffic offences and sentencing - including the new cycling offence.

“To do less is to ignore the heartache and anguish families of all those thousands – pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists – who see loved ones killed on our roads, and then witness the injustice of a failed legal system which allows dangerous drivers continued access to our roads.”

 

[Leongsam]

uk.news.yahoo.com

Forcing cyclists to display number plates would be impractical, minister warned​

Neil Lancefield and Benjamin Cooper, PA

5-6 minutes

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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been widely condemned after announcing a plan which could force cyclists to display registration plates.
Motoring experts, transport groups, legal experts and opposition parties criticised the proposal, describing it as “impractical”, “strange” and “a retrograde step”.
Less than a fortnight after vowing to create a “death by dangerous cycling” law that will treat killer cyclists the same as motorists, the Cabinet minister said he wanted to stop certain behaviour on the roads.
His plan could involve a requirement for cyclists to display number plates and buy insurance, as well as face prosecution for breaking road speed limits.
This is despite nearly 60 times more pedestrians being killed in collisions with cars than bicycles, and many cyclists not being able to reach even 20mph.
Mr Shapps told the Daily Mail newspaper: “Somewhere where cyclists are actually not breaking the law is when they speed, and that cannot be right, so I absolutely propose extending speed limit restrictions to cyclists.
“Particularly where you’ve got 20mph limits on increasing numbers of roads, cyclists can easily exceed those, so I want to make speed limits apply to cyclists.
“That obviously does then lead you into the question of, ‘Well, how are you going to recognise the cyclist? Do you need registration plates and insurance? And that sort of thing’.
“So I’m proposing there should be a review of insurance and how you actually track cyclists who do break the laws.”
After his quotes were published online, Mr Shapps gave an interview to the Times in which he said he was “not attracted to the bureaucracy of registration plates”, adding that such a move “would go too far”.
The Department for Transport (DfT) press office later clarified it is not Government policy to introduce speed limits for cyclists and any proposals would need to be reviewed by the new prime minister.
A spokeswoman for the department said: “While there are no plans to introduce registration plates on bicycles, we continue to look at how we can improve road safety across all forms of transport and we are considering bringing forward legislation to introduce new offences around dangerous cycling.”
In November, roads minister Baroness Vere said the Government has “no plans to introduce a mandatory registration scheme for cycle ownership” as the costs of doing so would outweigh the benefits and it would “deter many people from cycling”.
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, told the PA news agency the proposals to regulate cycling are “impractical and unworkable”, and have been “repeatedly dismissed by successive governments”.
He added that more people are cycling due to the cost-of-living crisis and the Government should “encourage people to cycle more, not less”.
Simon Munk, campaigns manager at London Cycling Campaign, said the proposals have already been deemed “unworkable and costly to implement” by DfT officials.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said ‘there should be a review of insurance and how you actually track cyclists’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He continued: “They wouldn’t deal with road danger, they’d make cycling more expensive in a cost-of-living crisis, and discourage people from cycling in a climate crisis.”
Mr Munk branded the plan “a distraction”, adding that several cycling organisations already offer free insurance to members because “the insurable damage caused by those cycling is small”.
AA president Edmund King said introducing more barriers to cycling would be “a retrograde step”.
He added: “Most adult cyclists are also drivers, and therefore more should be done to encourage harmony on the roads.”
Nicola Hall, a personal injury solicitor at law firm Osbornes Law, which represents injured cyclists, said Mr Shapps’ comments were “an unprecedented attack on cyclists who instead of facing more laws should be getting greater protection”.
She added: “Apart from the fact that these plans are completely impractical they are also an insult to cyclists who sometimes take their lives in their hands by going onto the roads, especially in busy cities, and they need to be abandoned immediately.”
Labour’s shadow transport minister Gill Furniss said: “Buses are in crisis, rail services are being slashed, fares and fuel are soaring – and the Transport Secretary’s big idea is to slap number plates on tens of millions of bicycles.
“This absurd and unworkable plan would create a mountain of bureaucracy for cyclists, and force people away from active travel.”
Liberal Democrats transport spokesperson Wera Hobhouse described the plan as “strange and pointless”, claiming it would “pile extra costs on to people who are trying to be more active”.
DfT figures show 304 pedestrians were injured and four were killed after being hit by bicycles in Britain in 2020.
That is compared with 11,493 injuries and 237 deaths in collisions with cars.
The Highway Code and Road Traffic Act speeding limits only apply to motor vehicles and their drivers. While local authorities can impose speed limits on cyclists, it has been rarely done.

 

[borom]

This is excellent , KBW has given cyclist here freedom to bully pedestrians and these ruffians have cauused many injuries and even death.
This is not Penang where huge numbers cycle to school or work and are allowed to use the roads.
Only here do the govt allow the minority cyclist to bully the majority sheep, sorry i mean pedestrians and is another one of PAP's half baked foolish ideas like the PMD.
I will support the idea if the whole cabinet also cycle to work in the hot humid weather

 

[Leongsam]

Cyclists are the best and must be protected!