Cyclists to be prosecuted like drivers for pedestrian deaths under new law

A new dangerous driving law will see cyclists be prosecuted in the same way as drivers in the event of pedestrian deaths.

Announcing the plans in a column for the Daily Mail, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the newly proposed law is needed to ‘impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care’.

He added that the law is aimed at the ‘selfish minority’ of cyclists who believe they are ‘immune’ to red lights.

The ‘death by dangerous driving’ law will also close a legal loophole that means cyclists who kill pedestrians can only be jailed for two years.

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Shapps said: “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.

“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.

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“We need to crack down on this disregard for road safety. Relatives of victims have waited too long for this straightforward measure.”

Shapps’s proposal will see the new cycling law be added to the transport bill due to be put before parliament in the autumn.

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The Department for Transport added: “Any death on our roads is a tragedy, and though we have some of the safest roads in the world, the government is committed to making them even safer.

“We are exploring changes to allow dangerous cyclists to be prosecuted more easily and delivering more continuous and direct cycling routes in towns and cities which are physically separated from pedestrians and motor traffic.”

Under the 1991 Road Traffic Act, a maximum fine of £1,000 can be issued for careless cycling and £2,500 for dangerous cycling.

If bodily harm is caused, however, cyclists can be prosecuted for wanton and furious driving under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, for which the maximum penalty is two years’ imprisonment.