Press release: The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has published its report on ‘Road Traffic Law Enforcement’
18 March 2016
The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has published its report on ‘Road Traffic Law Enforcement’
The full report is available here.
There is a whole chapter on cycling, and the Committee says: “The increase in injuries among pedal cyclists is of particular concern”
Other findings highlight the link between how seriously the police take cyclists’ reports of ‘near misses’ with how dangerous people think cycling is, and that the police are all too often unwilling to pursue cyclists’ reports of dangerous driving, even when they have camera footage to illustrate the incident.
The Transport Committee also mentions perceptions of cycling safety: “The level to which cyclists feel unsafe on the roads due to a perceived failure to enforce traffic law is at odds with the Government’s aim to promote cycling, and must be addressed.” The Committee would like to see research commissioned by the Home Office on how collisions or near misses are handled by the police.
Ruth Cadbury MP and Alex Chalk MP both welcome the report and hope that the Government will implement the recommendations.
Ruth Cadbury MP: “I am pleased to see that the Transport Committee has recognised that enforcing road safety laws will create better conditions for people riding bikes. It is essential that police forces are supported to boost the numbers of traffic police, which in recent years have fallen.”
Alex Chalk MP: “If we are going to achieve a true cycling revolution, cyclists need to feel safer on our roads. Robust enforcement is part of the solution. Bad driving which puts cyclists at risk of serious injury or worse needs to be taken seriously by traffic police. I’m pleased the Transport Committee agrees.”
The Transport Select Committee published this press release about their report: