Proposals to ensure that cyclists found guilty of causing death or serious injury through “dangerous, careless, or inconsiderate cycling” will face harsher prison sentences have been introduced in the House of Commons by senior Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, eight months after the government said it was still considering legislation to tackle “dangerous cycling”.
The former Tory party leader has tabled a series of amendments to Home Secretary James Cleverly’s Criminal Justice Bill, which would lead to tougher penalties for those who kill or injure while riding bikes, e-bikes, electric scooters, unicycles, and “personal transporters”.
The proposed update to the legislation concerning dangerous cycling, which can currently see a cyclist who kills while riding recklessly jailed for a maximum of two years under the 1861 ‘wanton or furious driving’ law, would see the creation of an “offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless, or inconsiderate cycling”, along with an offence of killing through “inconsiderate” cycling.
According to Duncan Smith’s amendments, bikes would also be legally required to be “equipped and maintained” to standards set out in the Act.
The MP’s amendments, the success of which is reliant up on the Speaker selecting them for debate in the House of Commons, comes days after no charges were brought against a cyclist who crashed into a pensioner, causing fatal injuries, while riding laps of London’s Regent’s Park.
The cyclist, Brian Fitzgerald, was riding in a group at a speed of between 25mph and 29mph at the time of the fatal crash. The speed limit in the park is 20mph, but the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it does not apply to people riding bicycles (as is the case throughout the country), and that the case had been closed because there was “insufficient evidence for a real prospect of conviction”.
Duncan Smith’s amendments have been welcomed by Matthew Briggs, whose wife Kim was hit and killed by a cyclist riding with no front brakes in London in 2016, with the cyclist Charlie Alliston later being jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of causing bodily harm by “wanton and furious riding”.
“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, a longstanding campaigner for a dangerous cycling law, told the Telegraph.
“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.”
> Conservative minister says government still considering new "dangerous cycling" law
The prospect of a new dangerous cycling law has lingered around parliament over the past few years, since former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps raised the issue in January 2022, before declaring his intention to introduce the law 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.
In June 2023, however, it was reported that the Department for Transport had admitted to campaigners that there is a lack of parliamentary time to implement such a law before the next general election, with attention then being turned to a private member’s bill as the primary hope of securing legislative success for the initiative.
But in September, Justice Minister Edward Argar confirmed to parliament that the government is still considering legislation to tackle “dangerous cycling”, after former Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom asked what work was being done to “make sure that the sentencing for those convicted of dangerous cycling is equalised with the sentencing guidelines for those convicted of dangerous driving.”
“The safety of our roads is a key objective for the government. Protecting all road users is a priority," Argar replied in the House of Commons. “Like all road users, cyclists have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner. While laws are in place for cyclists, the current laws are old and it can be difficult to successfully prosecute offences.
“That’s why DfT colleagues are considering bringing forward legislation to introduce new offences concerning dangerous cycling to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour.”