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MP urges that cyclists should have registration plates – but the government’s answer is likely to remain the same

Department for Transport has consistently said there are no plans to force riders to display number plates

In what, given past responses on the issue, one might consider to be a waste of Parliamentary time, an MP has once again raised the issue in the House of Commons of whether cyclists should be made to display registration plates on their bicycles.

It's a question that gets put to transport ministers time and time again, and on each occasion the response is that there are no plans to do so.

The latest appeal on the subject comes from the Conservative MP for Shipley, Sir Philip Davies, who in a written question to Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper, said: “People have been saying to me that there have been incidents of anti-social behaviour involving cyclists and there is no way of tracking those that cause problems or flout the laws of the road.

"They have suggested that if cyclists were forced to have a registration plate it would mean they were identifiable and could resolve the problem as those who chose to cycle in an irresponsible manner would know there will be consequences,” added Davies, as reported by the Telegraph & Argus.

In a House of Lords debate last year, Lord Brendan Hogan-Hall, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, claimed that especially in London, bike riders "seem to be entirely unaccountable.”

> "Dangerous" cyclists "entirely unaccountable" and should have number plates, argues former Met Police chief

He said: "Having a registration plate somewhere on the back would not be a bad idea to make sure that people are held to account and it is not totally without consequences if they choose to ignore things that are meant to keep us all safe.”

In response, the DfT said it had no plans to require cyclists to display registration plates.

A spokesperson said:  “Like all road users, people cycling have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible way.

"The Department has no plans to introduce registration plates for cyclists, as the cost and complexity of this would greatly outweigh the benefits," the spokesperson added.

 

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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68 comments

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OldRidgeback replied to the little onion | 1 month ago
11 likes

Hopefully he won't be working as an MP in a few months. he might even lose his job at GB News too given how it's losing money hand over fist. What a shame....

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Rome73 replied to OldRidgeback | 1 month ago
3 likes

Did you know that the largest advertiser on GBeeBees news is the Conservative Party? So they will probably soon be loosing one of their main advertising revenue streams too.  What a shame. 

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pockstone | 1 month ago
17 likes

Philip fucking Davies! Tosser!

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Aberdeencyclist replied to pockstone | 1 month ago
7 likes

Perhaps a tad rude , but concise !

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pockstone replied to Aberdeencyclist | 1 month ago
9 likes

Perhaps, but he is my MP and I know of what I speak.
Brevity being the soul of wit, I kept it short.

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Stratman replied to Aberdeencyclist | 1 month ago
4 likes

Accurate too!

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eburtthebike replied to pockstone | 1 month ago
2 likes

pockstone wrote:

Philip fucking Davies! Tosser!

Perhaps, but my MP is a bigger tosser than yours: Mark Harper.

Avatar
brooksby replied to eburtthebike | 1 month ago
5 likes

eburtthebike wrote:

pockstone wrote:

Philip fucking Davies! Tosser!

Perhaps, but my MP is a bigger tosser than yours: Mark Harper.

I can beat both of you: I've got Liam Fox 

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