Cycling groups have hit back at comments from Grant Shapps in which he suggested that speed limits should apply to cyclists and ‘proposed’ a review into issues of insurance and how to track cyclists who break the law.
The transport secretary’s seemingly contradictory comments to two separate newspapers are the second time this week that he has ‘proposed’ measures through newspapers rather than official government channels - perhaps because he may not be able to implement them as he may not retain his position under a new prime minister.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I absolutely propose extending speed limit restrictions to cyclists. Particularly where you’ve got 20mph limits on increasing numbers of roads, cyclists can easily exceed those, so I want to make speed limits apply to cyclists.
‘That obviously does then lead you into the question of “well, how are you going to recognise the cyclist, do you need registration plates and insurance and that sort of thing?”.
‘So I’m proposing there should be a review of insurance and how you actually track cyclists who do break the laws.’
Mr Shapps made similar comments to the Times. He asked: ‘How can it be right that some people are able to break the speed limit and bomb through red lights? The time has come to have a look at a review and potentially update laws so they apply to cyclists as well.’
Although his comments about cyclists riding through red lights, which is already illegal, suggest that he saw a need for more effective enforcement, he told the Times that he did not like the idea of registration plates.
He said: ‘I’m a keen cyclist, I’m very proud of the big expansion in the number of miles being cycled,” he said. “I’m not attracted to the bureaucracy of registration plates. That would go too far.’
National charity Cycling UK criticised what it said were proposals for cyclists to ‘have number plates, be insured and subject to speed limits’.
Head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore said: ‘These latest proposals to regulate cycling are impractical and unworkable, and have been repeatedly dismissed by successive governments.
‘They’re also a complete U-turn on current government policy as laid out last November when Baroness Vere said ‘the costs of doing so would outweigh the benefits’.
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