This petition is not designed to offend anyone but to highlight that there might be other things we can do to make our roads safer.

Ok so I am rewording this petition seeing as cyclists on twitter seem to think I am anti-cycling when in truth I am not. I am concerned.

While like many cyclists I agree we need segregated paths for cyclists and pedestrians so they do not have as much contact with cars, I also believe there is room for some licencing for cyclists.

Road safety is paramount to encourage vulnerable users to use the roads more, and if we are hoping to encourage more cyclists onto our roads then we need all road users to be safer-cyclist and drivers.

Road safety experts say:

In collisions involving a bicycle and another vehicle, the most common key contributory factor recorded by the police is 'failed to look properly' by either the driver or rider, especially at junctions. 'Failed to look properly' was attributed to the car driver in 57% of serious collisions and to the cyclist in 43% of serious collisions at junctions.

So in many cases while the driver is at fault 57% of the time, a staggering 43% of the time the cyclist is the cause of the accident.

They state that:

Common Cycling Accidents

Motorist emerging into path of cyclist

Motorist turning across path of cyclist

Cyclist riding into the path of a motor vehicle, often riding off a pavement

Cyclist and motorist going straight ahead

Cyclist turning right from a major road and from a minor road

Child cyclist playing or riding too fast

When we look at other countries we see that they have successfully encouraged cycling, and in doing so drivers are more aware and happy to accommodate cyclists on the roads.

Cycle Use in Other Countries

Britain still lags behind countries with similar weather, population density and geography.

Holland – 27% of trips, 848 km per person per year

Denmark – 19%, 936 km pp/year

Germany – 10%, 291 km pp/year

UK – 2%, 75 km pp/year

So in order to make our roads safer and more appealing to cyclist there needs to be more cyclists but with the current figure of 19.000+ incidents on the road that include a cyclist our roads are not safe enough.

Many cyclists have argued we need to concentrate on the bad drivers on our roads, and we do, but does that mean we should ignore other bad practices on our roads?

I would never underestimate the amount of hit and run drivers in the UK, alongside unlicensed and untaxed vehicles’, but the fact is that the majority of 30 million drivers on the roads are safe drivers because they have done lessons and earned their licences.

Out of that 30m drivers only 1.4m are uninsured, less 5% of drivers.

2m are untaxed, less than 6.5% of drivers

800.000 are unlicensed, still less than 3%

Also law abiding drivers and even those who don’t abide are faced with the psychological deterrent of fines, points, being banned and even imprisonment if they are reckless and get caught.

We know cars are still responsible for the majority of collisions because there are 30m drivers compared to the approximate number of cyclists (1m), but cyclists must also take responsibility for their actions on our roads too.

Cycles accounted for about 2% of all urban, non-motorway vehicular traffic and were involved in 0.82% of pedestrian fatalities and 1.6% of serious injuries to pedestrians.

There are also minor damages to property although many of the incidents that happen are not reported to the police so an accurate figure is not available, but they are just as distressing to deal with especially as in most cases we always blame the driver even when it is not their fault.

 

I believe that cyclist should have to at least do a mandatory road safety course to show they are road worthy especially if we want more cyclists on our roads.

My proposal is this

1)      We should make all schools do a mandatory cycling safety course as part of their PE

2)      For older riders we should look into adding a section of cyclist road safety to the theory aspect of all licences.

3)      For those already driving or non-drivers to sit a short online test to add bikes to their licence or issue them an elicense , to say they have completed to test and know road safety.

4)      For young children under 7 to be accompanied by an adult who has done cycling safety, over 7 there should be junior cycling safety lessons at school.

5)      For visitors they could also sit an online test before coming to get a temporary elicence.

 After the licensing we should look at making sure all cyclists have insurance and possibly a recognisable number plate so that like cars and their drivers, we have a way to recognise the individual riding.

 Yes cars are dangerous but a bad cyclist can be just as dangerous even if it is only them that could be killed by their own bad cycling practice.

 While I fully accept that registration schemes have not worked before due to cost, I believe if we find a way to incorporate it into existing systems we can lower that cost.

 We already have licence plate recognition software, which lets the police know if a driver has insurance, is taxed or has points/disqualified from driving, we could extend that to cyclists.

Again this petition is not designed to offend anyone but to highlight that there might be other things we can do to make our roads safer for all its users.

All constructive and respectful comment welcome, all opinions are respected and views will be listened to.

Thank you for your time