Cyclists "horrified" by Iain Duncan Smith's Telegraph column suggesting "dangerous cyclists should be driven off our roads", as Conservative MP accused of ignoring main road safety issues in latest call for stricter legislation

Iain Duncan Smith's campaign for updated legislation to punish instances of "dangerous cycling" continued this weekend, the MP penning a column in the Telegraph newspaper titled: "Dangerous cyclists should be driven off our roads".

The language used "horrified" some cyclists online, many urging the Conservative politician to look beyond just those who ride bicycles if he is concerned with improving safety on UK roads. One accused him of playing into "culture war" feeling around cycling, while others suggested the "driven off our roads" headline could encourage violence against cyclists.

Duncan Smith has this year spearheaded the political campaign for new "dangerous cycling" laws, his proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill likely to have passed had it not been for the sudden calling of a general election halting Parliament's work. 

In his column published this weekend, he wrote: "The 1861 law ['Causing injury by wanton or furious driving', the law under which cyclists can currently be prosecuted if dangerous riding causes death or serious injury] simply doesn't deal with the issue of dangerous cycling, speeding and the dangerous practice of riding bikes on pavements and jumping lights.

> Iain Duncan Smith wants cyclists to know "they're not above the law", makes latest call for new laws to punish dangerous cycling

"All this means that the existing legislation is clearly out of date and worse, is now leading to differentiation between dangerous behaviour on the roads – frankly, the punishment doesn't fit the crime or achieve justice for the victims' families.
Sadly, there are some who persist in claiming absurdly that if such restrictions were put in place, cyclists would stop riding bikes, which apparently trumps road safety. Riding safely within the law isn't a threat to cycling, it is only a threat to those determined to ride unsafely."

However, the reaction to the piece on social media, notably Twitter/X where it was shared by the Telegraph and Duncan Smith, includes much criticism of the Tory MP and the "driven off our roads" headline of the column.

One cyclist replied to Duncan Smith: "I'm horrified at this headline — I HAVE been driven off the road once, the physiotherapist took six months to get me walking properly again. It was very painful and difficult! And I'm just a mum trying to get home from school to make dinner for my kids, in one piece."

Another called the article "divisive" and said it leaned into "culture wars" around cycling.

> Does there really need to be a law for causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling?

Duncan Smith's campaigning largely centres around individual cases — such as the much-publicised death of Hilda Griffiths who died following a collision with a cyclist in Regent's Park, an incident the Metropolitan Police chose not to prosecute the rider for due to "insufficient evidence for a real prospect of conviction".

He also this weekend cited the case of a two-year-old child in Wales who was left needing stitches after a collision with a woman riding an e-bike on a footpath. Police said the legal 250w bike had not been modified to exceed the 15.5mph limit at which point the motor must cut out, and officers decided not to pursue a criminal case against the 65-year-old woman riding.

As tragic and horrific as individual cases of death and serious injury can be, the official casualty statistics do also clearly highlight that pedestrian death or serious injury in collisions involving cyclists is rare and, while incidents such as these attract much political and media interest, pedestrians are far more likely to be killed in a collision involving the driver of a car than involving someone riding a bike.

Between 2018 and 2022, nine pedestrian fatalities and 657 cases of pedestrians suffering serious injuries were reported in road collisions involving a pedal cycle. By contrast, in that same time period, 1,165 pedestrians were killed in collisions involving the driver of a car, while there were 20,557 reported serious injuries.

Some asked Duncan Smith why his road safety campaigning appears to centre solely on tackling the far rarer cases involving cyclists (on average, 2.25 deaths per year between 2018 and 2022) rather than those involving the drivers of a car (on average 291.25 deaths per year during the same time period).

One reply to Duncan Smith's piece asked him to "now do motorists", while another asked why "if he is so serious about road safety" he is less vocal in support for "separate walking and cycling infrastructure in all our towns and cities?"

> "I had no idea how fast I was going": Iain Duncan Smith slammed for hypocrisy on "dangerous cycling" law after driving to Germany with broken speedometer

An amendment made by the politician introducing such "dangerous cycling" laws had looked almost certain to pass earlier in the summer, however the general election being called suddenly by Rishi Sunak meant there was not sufficient time for the legislation to pass. During the election campaign, Labour said it would support new laws "to protect people from dangerous cycling", although little has been heard on the matter since the party formed a government. 

Last week, new Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she "met road safety experts to discuss how to make our roads safer for all", the government forming its Road Safety Strategy.

Today I met road safety experts to discuss how to make our roads safer for all.

This was stage one of our new Road Safety Strategy - the first in over a decade 🚗🚲🚶

We know there is more work to be done, and we are determined to prevent more tragic deaths on our roads. pic.twitter.com/FVkZRDeVVn

— Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) October 7, 2024