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news
Big Ben © Simon MacMichaelGovernment tells Lord Winston it has no plans to make cyclists have licences and insurance
The government has made it clear that it has no plans to require cyclists to be licensed and take out third-party liability insurance, in response to Lord Winston’s appeal to make both compulsory for bike riders.
The Labour peer’s call for mandatory insurance and licences received widespread media coverage the weekend before last ahead of him tabling the question at the House of Lords, but other than a paywalled article in The Times, the debate itself seems to have gone unreported, possibly because Westminster correspondents had other priorities last week.
He asked the government “what assessment they have made of the case for requiring adults riding bicycles in city centres to have a licence and third-party insurance.”
In reply, the Conservative peer Baroness Barran told him: “The government considered this matter as part of the cycling and walking safety review in 2018.
“They have no plans to require cyclists to have a licence or third-party insurance.
“The costs and complexity of introducing such a system would significantly outweigh the benefits, particularly the requirement for a licence.
“However, the government believe it is wise for all cyclists to take out some form of insurance, and many cyclists do so through their membership of cycling organisations.”
Lord Winston continued to press his point, however, saying: “Of course, most cyclists are conscientious and law-abiding but an increasing number are extremely aggressive and ignore, for example, the fact that some streets are one way, pedestrian crossings and red lights at traffic lights, and from time to time they collide with pedestrians.
“In view of the fact that the government obviously wish to encourage cycling – and I agree with that – does [Baroness Barran] not think that they should consider their obligation to improve public safety and therefore implement these or similar measures?”
Baroness Barran expanded on her previous response, underlining that such a scheme would be impractical. She said: “The government obviously want to reinforce safety for all road users, particularly those described as vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
“[Lord Winston] will be aware that there was a review of cycling and walking safety, and licensing and insurance were considered as part of that.
“Over 3 million new cycles are sold each year. Licensing and insurance would require the establishment of a central register, and the government’s view is that this would be very cumbersome and expensive to administer.
“There is evidence that other countries that have trialled these schemes have then withdrawn them. The government have committed, through the cycling and walking investment strategy, to a 50-point plan and £2 billion of investment to improve safety for all road users.”
Labour peer Lord Wills highlighted that few fixed penalty notices for cycling on the footway – introduced 20 years ago – were issued in 2017/18, saying that during that year, “30 out of 38 police forces issued fewer than five fixed-penalty notices and 12 of them issued no fixed-penalty notices at all.”
He asked Baroness Barran whether she really thought “that there is so little irresponsible cycling on pavements,” and if not, what the government planned to do “to protect disabled people, vulnerable pensioners, mothers with babies in buggies and many others from these hoodlums in Lycra?”
Her response included what may well be the first use of the term “smombies” in the upper house.
She said: “The government take these issues extremely seriously. There are small minorities of motorists, cyclists and, dare I say, what are now known as “smombies” – smartphone zombies, including pedestrians – who cause danger on our roads, but only a tiny percentage of accidents on our roads are caused by cyclists so the government are seeking a proportionate response that upholds the law but also encourages cycling and walking.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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49 comments
It's not quite as amusing as when some fucknugget associates a peer with 'socialism', just because he's a member of the Labour Party.
[/quote]In this particular instance Lord Winston, your Labour hero of the people, is clearly anti cyclist[/quote]
QED.
I snipped the rest without bothering my arse to read it.
In this particular instance Lord Winston, your Labour hero of the people, is clearly anti cyclist[/quote]
QED.
I snipped the rest without bothering my arse to read it.
[/quote]
Confusing - not amusing. Oh deary, dear you really are a bit mixed up today.
QED.
I snipped the rest without bothering my arse to read it.
[/quote]
Confusing - not amusing. Oh deary, dear you really are a bit mixed up today.
[/quote]
Erm, you do know that one is not required to use the same adjective as one's interlocutor, don't you?
You do know what an adjective is? Would you like me to translate the above into small words?
Anyway, back to your hilarious (apparent) assertion that Lord Winston is 'not a tory' [1] because he's a member of the Labour Party..
[1] words chosen so that you couldn't weasel out by saying, 'I didn't say he's a tory..'
I wish I hadn't read it…
Jesus fucking wept. Are you really six years old?
Socialism = good
Capitalism = bad
All better now? Sorry to have confused you.
As someone said, "For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, cheap and wrong."
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." H L Mencken.
What he actually said was "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong." https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken
Though he also said there was no point trying to improve the American Negro by breeding because whites would always be superior, so maybe not take him as an authority on everything....
Back to the government, if you look at the @ToryCycling Twitter feed, it's almost entirely reasonable, and mostly party-neutral.
But as Iain Banks (or at least one of his fictional characters) put it ‘I’m not arguing there are no decent people in the Tory party, but they’re like bits of sweetcorn in a turd; technically they’ve kept their integrity, but they’re still embedded in shit.’
If you have any 'integrity', it is impossible to be a Conservative Member of Parliament, a Conserative candidate for Parliament (or for any local or regional assembly) or to vote Conservative.
And yes, I know the old aphorisms about the world not being black and white and that everything is nuanced. Well, most things are. But the Tory stands for self-interest above everything else. His aim is to accumulate wealth and power, and to keep that wealth and power for himself and for a small circle of his caste.
They are vermin.
I love me some Iain (M) Banks.
The State of the Art
I love me some Iain (M) Banks.
The State of the Art
[/quote]
He's still my favourite author, and I love almost all of his books, with the exception of the Wasp Factory. Perhaps I need to re-read it.
That was his first story/book, so probably not his best work. I'm much more of a fan of his Culture novels (as Iain M Banks) than his general fiction (as Iain Banks). I think it's the whole idea of a post-scarcity society that doesn't revolve around money and chasing after limited resources. Plus the ships are just awesome.
That was his first story/book, so probably not his best work. I'm much more of a fan of his Culture novels (as Iain M Banks) than his general fiction (as Iain Banks). I think it's the whole idea of a post-scarcity society that doesn't revolve around money and chasing after limited resources. Plus the ships are just awesome.
[/quote]
Agree mostly, the Culture books are just amazing, but the opening paragraph of the Crow Road is one of my favourites.
He's still my favourite author, and I love almost all of his books, with the exception of the Wasp Factory. Perhaps I need to re-read it.
[/quote]
I think you should. I consider a twisted, dark masterpiece.
Another bloke said 'all great truths begin as blasphemies'.
Another bloke said 'all great truths begin as blasphemies'.
[/quote]
And another bloke who said “Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.” Might have to adapt that to be strictly pc.
"very cumbersome and expensive to administer" sounds like eaxactly the sort of system that should be at the core of the next Labour party mainfesto. Lord Winston for one would be delighted to see that if it means he can continue to commute between Paddington and The House of Lords in his Jaguar rather than getting the tube or bus like most other people.
Where to start?
I'll stick to the apparent inability for Lord Winston, supposedly someone with an undertstanding of scientific principles, to understand and look at actual evidence, as opposed to his own anecdotal 'evidence'.
I seriously doubt the quality of that evidence even on anecdotal standards - is it really the 'hoodlums in Lycra' that are riding on the pavement?
But, and I find this difficult to say, the Government response was actually sensible.
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