Transport Secretary Mark Harper said tougher legislation to prosecute cyclists who kill or injure pedestrians is “under review” and will be considered “with an open mind”. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative Party, has this week tabled a series of amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill that would see cyclists, as well as riders of electric scooters and “personal transporters”, subject to stricter laws if they ride dangerously and kill or injure.

The topic has attracted widespread national print and broadcast media coverage this week in the aftermath of a news story published at the weekend about a coroner’s inquest being told that no charges would be brought against a cyclist who was riding laps of London’s Regent’s Park when he crashed into a pensioner, causing her fatal injuries.

Harper told the Telegraph newspaper he “will look at his [Duncan Smith’s] amendments and we will consider it with an open mind. I have been clear that we are keeping this legislation under review”. He also commented that there are already some “specific offences on the statute books” that cyclists can be prosecuted under if they ride dangerously and kill or injure a pedestrian.

In 2017, London fixed-wheel cyclist Charlie Alliston was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institution after being convicted of causing bodily harm through wanton and furious driving, in relation to the death of pedestrian Kim Briggs, the woman whose widower Matthew has been campaigning for dangerous cycling laws since and yesterday appeared on Good Morning Britain.

 Harper also claimed his government remains committed to promoting active travel schemes, a claim many will question given the ongoing funding controversies and lack of mention of cycling policies during his party conference speech of the autumn that was slammed an “ill-fated attempt to win” votes with pro-motoring policies “undermining” active travel success by Cycling UK.

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Duncan Smith’s proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill would also require bikes to be “equipped and maintained” to certain legal standards, although the Telegraph also noted that any chance of it becoming law is reliant, in part, on the government backing it and the Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle putting it up for a debate in the House of Commons.

It would replace the legislation under which cyclists can currently be prosecuted by the 1861 “wanton or furious driving” law and would see the introduction of a specific “offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless, or inconsiderate cycling” and killing through “inconsiderate” cycling.

“After seven years of campaigning alongside other families who have lost loved ones, I’m delighted and very grateful to Sir Iain Duncan Smith for his support,” Briggs said of the week’s increase in attention to his cause.

“It finally seems we are making some progress. This amendment could bring a degree of comfort for families in knowing that they may not have to face the same legal trauma that my family – and others – have had to face after cyclists have caused fatal injuries.

“It would also act as a much-needed deterrent to ensure cyclists obey the rules of the road in the same way motorists are required to do.”

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As Briggs referenced, the debate around tougher dangerous cycling laws is not a new development, even if it has attracted increased political and media attention this week following the Regent’s Park case, a coroner’s court hearing that Brian Fitzgerald had been riding at a speed of between 25mph and 29mph as he undertook laps of the park in a pace line when he hit 81-year-old Hilda Griffiths, who died from her injuries two months later.

Regent’s Park and Outer Circle Strava segment
Regent’s Park and Outer Circle Strava segment (Image Credit: Google Maps/Strava)

Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps first raised the idea of dangerous cycling laws in January 2022, before declaring his intention to introduce it again later that year during his infamous summer of backpedalling and U-turns that saw him suggest – and almost immediately retract – that cyclists should have licences, number plates, be insured, and subject to speed limits.

Last summer, it appeared that there was little chance of such a law passing due to a lack of parliamentary time before the next general election, the Department for Transport reportedly telling campaigners as much. In the autumn, Justice Minister Edward Agar said the government was still considering a dangerous cycling law “to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour”.