Police should penalise cyclists in London who break the Highway Code, a council committee has said.
Westminster City Council’s scrutiny committee said some cyclists were known to ride on pavements, jump red lights and zebra crossings.
The committee said it wanted the police to treat Westminster’s 30,000 cyclists in the same way as other road users.
The Metropolitan Police said it was its policy not to comment on council proposals.
The committee has also proposed hiring civilian officers with powers to fine cyclists who are caught breaking the rules.
It has asked Transport for London (TfL) to launch a campaign aimed at making bad cycling socially unacceptable.
Councillor Angela Harvey, chair of the committee, said: "Pedestrians are being knocked down on pavements by a hardcore element of anti-social cyclists who often shout at the pedestrian before cycling away.
“They have little regard for their own safety and that of other road users,” she added.
In the better weather in enjoy cycling into work, and one of the best things i have bought this year is a clip on mirror, dont know how i coped without it and think they should become a legal requirement in any city!
It amazes me how often cyclists don’t shoulder check. I cross Vauxhall Bridge going north for work on my commute. So many times I have had a cyclist decide to overtake a slower one of their ilk in front and pull out to the right of the bus lane. Just stupid. So many motorbikes cane it over that bridge in the bus lane.
How can anyone be happy changing road position when you are that vulnerable and no idea what’s going on behind you!?
Considering that they are road users, we should start by:
1 Force them to pass at least the theory test of the driving licence so that they know the rules that govern the usage of the roads (and can get trace)
2 are required to be insured just as we do on powered 2 and 4 wheels (some of those bike are worth far more than most bangers I see on the road every day)
Most have a driving license of some sort in any case, and in any case not knowing the laws isn’t an excuse to breach them.
This strikes me as incredibly unfair so long as the road system is as heavily biased against cyclists as it is. Frankly, the government’s pretty lucky anyone cycles on it at present, I don’t think they’re in any position to charge for the privilege.
Cyclists are moaning about the increasing number of deaths amongst their type in London . . . so this is probably a response to that. If they keep killing themselves then somebody somewhere will feel obliged to make some money out of it.
I like the idea of compulsory cycling test. We used to have that at school . . . before you could cycle to school you had to pass the Cycling Proficiency Test . . . conducted on the school playground during school time. This was a theory and practical test followed by a quick ride on the road with teachers. Worked really well.
Have you seen a cycling proficiency test recently? They’re useless. They provide for a kid to feel safe while riding on a road that doesn’t have any traffic on it, and exists in an ideal world. If anything, I think I’d rather people go straight to riding on their own without taking the false confidence and assumptions that the cycling proficiency test gives.
That said, most councils and several local cycling clubs (especially the divisions of LCC) provide more real-world training (and not just for kids), where they accompany you on a commute and tell you what you’re doing wrong. Sort of a more regular BikeSafe (they do it for a couple of weeks at a time).
Compulsory bike training just wouldn’t work, though. No-one feels they need to learn to ride a bike better, and anyone that does seeks out the training on their own initiative. So you force these people into learning with what they see as daft amateur cyclists and they’ll ride within the law then, and mostly ignore it afterwards.
