Let’s get tough on the scourge of rogue cyclists
Coinciding with a discussion about whether to regulate e-scooters – which rush along pavements irrespective of whether pedestrians happen to be using them too – a survey at a busy set of traffic lights in London showed that, in an hour, just 6.5 per cent of users of hired scooters or bikes bothered to stop at a red light. In those 60 minutes, 84 cyclists jumped the light. A wider survey of 80 such junctions showed 41 per cent of scooterists crashing the lights, and 28 per cent of cyclists. Motorists too were guilty, as 11 per cent of them were spotted doing the same.
However, motorists have a registration number visible and can be, and quite often are, fined for driving so badly. They are compelled to have insurance (though a sizeable minority do not, and if caught are punished for that too). Serious offenders have points added to their licence, or can lose it altogether, sometimes for a period of several years, and it serves them right.
The cyclists and scooterists who whiz past law-abiding pedestrians when they are crossing the road on a green man get away with it because they are unidentifiable, and the police are seldom nearby. The City of London Police, earlier this year, did run a campaign to catch ignorant cyclists, and 1,000 were issued with £50 fixed penalty notices. That campaign needs to be universal, and the fines far heavier.
The survey results included a photograph of a child being hit by one of these moronic cyclists. One could observe that if this continues unchecked someone will get killed, but it is too late: pedestrians already have been. In 2022 there were 462 reported collisions between cyclists and pedestrians, up from 308 in 2020. Some of the ugliest involved pensioners, and as well as jumping red lights, cyclists were seen breaking the speed limit and riding on pavements.
Cycling has its share of extremists, aggrieved by reckless drivers who seriously injure or kill them, but also fuelled by a growing sense of entitlement because the way they travel is compliant with Ed Miliband’s net zero policies, and deemed worthy of commanding deference from the rest of us.
There are those who argue it is perfectly harmless to jump red lights: tell that to someone injured as a result. The last thing society needs is more regulation, but if a substantial minority of cyclists and scooterists are determined to endanger the lives of pedestrians, and in some cases motorists, then they must be as identifiable by the law as anyone else.
First, every cycle or scooter that goes on the road should be licensed, and bear an easily visible licence number. Mopeds, motor scooters and motorbikes have always done so, so it is hard to see an argument against other than one of above-the-law entitlement. This would also have the happy effect of raising money for the Exchequer that could be ploughed back into better traffic policing of cyclists. Those who rent bikes out would include in their charges the cost of licensing.
Second, all cyclists on the King’s Highway should be made to have insurance. For those who hire bikes, this could automatically be included in the fee. Those discovered not to have it should be punished by fines and disqualification. And to be discussed is whether to make anyone who gets on a bike on the road pass a cycling proficiency test. Motorists who kill or injure cyclists are severely punished, as they should be.
All that is required is to make all road users equal under the law, and end this illogical, and dangerous, special treatment for cyclists.