KILLER cyclists could face harsher sentences after the Transport Secretary vowed to crackdown on road safety.
Grant Shapps hopes cyclists will face the same punishments that motorists. “death by dangerous cycling” law.
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His rule change suggestion aims to stop an “archaic”A legal loophole currently allows bike-riders to be imprisoned for no more than two years for the death of a pedestrian.
Writing in the Daily MailShapps stated that the grieving families of victims should be supported “have waited too long for this straightforward measure”To punish aggressive riders.
He claimed that the proposal would focus on a “selfish minority”of reckless cyclists but could also “impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care”.
Comparatively, “death by dangerous driving”A motorist can be sentenced to a maximum of 14 year imprisonment for offenses committed before June 28, or a life sentence if they are found guilty of those crimes after the law changed.
Since the tragic death Kim Briggs (a mother-of-two) was hit with a drunken teenage cyclist who crashed a banned bicycle without brakes, stricter sentences were imposed.
The 44-year-old passed away in 2016 after suffering head injuries from when Charlie Alliston, 20, crashed into her in Old Street, London, on her lunch break.
But Alliston was only sentenced to 18 months behind bars after a judge cleared him of manslaughter and found him guilty of “wanton and furious driving”.
Shapps called the second law “archaic”The, was originally designed in 1861 to facilitate horse-drawn carriage collisions and not for 18-year-olds riding. “thrills”Like a stuntman.
The Transport Secretary stressed that victims’ families seeking to prosecute a cyclist who killed their loved ones face a dilemma. “legal relic of the horse-drawn era or … manslaughter, a draconian option”.
This law would also provide justice for the families of pedestrians who were killed by cyclists in recent years.
Two years ago, a 72 year-old man was killed in Tower Hamlets after he was hit by a bicycle and fled the scene.
Shapps also raised concerns about cyclists who believe that they are above road laws. For example, those who ride through red lights.
“We need to crack down on this disregard for road safety,”He stated.
In light of rising fuel prices, the minister stressed the importance to develop safe cycling habits.
He wrote: “As we move into an era of sustained mass cycling, a thoroughly good thing, we must bring home to cyclists – too often themselves the victims of careless or reckless motoring – that the obligation to put safety first applies equally to every road user. There can be no exceptions.”
Transport Secretary suggested that the Transport Bill be amended to include the new law on dangerous cycling, which is due to be presented to Parliament in autumn.
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