Should cyclists have to abide by the same rules as drivers?

Government officials are reportedly considering changes to road laws in Britain that could mean cyclists are required to be covered by insurance and have number plates added to their bikes.

The Daily Mail said there is “a growing belief among ministers that riders should abide by the same speed restrictions and other road rules as motorists”. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has called for a wider review of the laws surrounding cycling as “part of a wider crackdown on a minority of aggressive cyclists”.

“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,” Shapps told the Mail.

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What changes could be made?

In an interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari back in January, Shapps announced that he wanted to make death by dangerous cycling a new offence. But the latest suggestions would go “way beyond” this measure, said cycling news site Road.cc, with the proposed review set to examine how cyclists who break road rules could be tracked by the police.

The Mail reported that the Department for Transport could be considering rule changes that would mean cyclists are subject to licence penalty points and may receive fines for speeding or crossing a red light. This would mean cyclists would need to display number plates “or another form of identifiable markings for enforcement purposes”.

Ministers also reportedly want to consider the introduction of mandatory insurance, “enabling any pedestrians seriously injured by reckless riders to secure compensation”, the paper continued. An “‘archaic’ legal loophole” means cyclists who cause a death face a maximum of two years in prison, while motorists can face a life sentence.

The Mail said that the changes “would create greater parity amid growing tension following changes to the Highway Code” which came into effect in January.

What has the reaction been?

These plans would cause “a dramatic shake-up of road laws” in the UK, said Cycling Weekly. The director of Cycling UK, Matt Mallinder, told the publication that the charity was “not opposed” to a change in law regarding cycling offences. But he added that if the government were to action the plans, “then it must finally make good on its commitment of 2014 to review all road traffic offences and sentencing – including the new cycling offence”.

“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,” Mallinder continued.

The Mail’s Melissa Kite was in favour of the proposals. “Of course, most cyclists are law-abiding and just want to get safely from A to B”, she wrote. But, she added, “a small number of dangerous cyclists risk tainting the name of the majority and should be kept in check”.

According to Kite, the “political power of the cyclist lobby is now such that other road users are made to bow down before it”, and “in many cases”, cyclists “think they can get away with anything”. While Shapps’s plans “are a good start”, she continued, political leaders “must stand up more firmly against the cycling lobby” and “make cyclists accountable”.

Speaking to Road.cc back in January, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, Duncan Dollimore, said that introducing cycling offences “in isolation” would “simply be a sticking plaster on a broken system, because our current careless and dangerous driving offences aren’t fit for purpose”.

What could happen next?

The current proposal would see the death by dangerous cycling offence added to the Transport Bill which is set to be put before Parliament in the autumn, Metro reported.

However, Shapps may not still be in post as Transport Secretary by the time the Bill is read, if Boris Johnson’s successor opts to reshuffle their cabinet when they take power in September. If that is the case, the minister “would press any successor to take on the review”, said The Telegraph.

The review is also likely to “raise questions about drink-drive limits and whether an age cap would be needed to stop children being subject to the strict rules”, said Joe.co.uk.