Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is cracking down on dangerous cycling
Dangerous cyclists could soon face tougher prosecution and harsher jail time for reckless riding that results in pedestrian deaths.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has discussed his plans for these harsher measures as part of a tougher crackdown that could see bike riders receive punishments similar to those dished out for dangerous driving.
As it stands, cyclists who accidentally kill pedestrians due to dangerous riding can only receive a maximum jail sentence of two years under current legislation. However according to new laws, all that could soon change.
Shapps explained that this new legislation, which will form part of the Transport Bill that's due to go before parliament later this year, is something that families affected by cyclist-related deaths have been waiting a long time for.
Talking to
Mail Online, Shapps explained that families had "waited too long for this straightforward measure."
Shapps also called the current laws surrounding these type of incidents "archaic" and called for an overhaul that does away with a disregard for road safety. The legislation used today was originally based around the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 which was created to handle incidents involving horse drawn carriages.
This is news that will no doubt be welcome to campaigners who have long been calling for change. In 2016, mother-of-two Kim Briggs died whilst crossing a road after being hit by a cyclist riding an illegal fixed-wheel bike that had no front brakes.
The cyclist, 18-year-old Charlie Alliston, was travelling at 18mph and due to the current legislation, he was only jailed for 18 months for the death of Briggs. By comparison, a motorist that committed the same offence may have received a life sentence.
"We need the cycling equivalent of death by dangerous driving to close a gap in the law and impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care," explained Shapps, speaking to the
Mail Online.
"For example, traffic lights are there to regulate all traffic. But a selfish minority of cyclists appear to believe that they are somehow immune to red lights.
"We need to crack down on this disregard for road safety. Relatives of victims have waited too long for this straightforward measure."
With commuters urged to opt for greener travel alternatives such as cycling, this crack down on pedestrian safety couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate time.
"As we move into an era of sustained mass cycling, a thoroughly good thing, we must bring home to cyclists – too often themselves the victims of careless or reckless motoring – that the obligation to put safety first applies equally to every road user," added Shapps.
"There can be no exceptions."
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