Cyclists SHOULD share same ‘responsibilities and obligations as the rest of us’ says LTDA taxi rep

Cyclists need to have the same ‘responsibilities and obligations as the rest of us’ said the LTDA after ideas to introduce identification plates and speed limits were discussed by the Government’s Transport Secretary.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) are supporting the notion originally suggested by Grant Shapps. The LTDA say that a system that can ‘deal effectively’ with those who don’t use the road network in a safe way will benefit all road users and pedestrians.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps raised the idea of number plates and speed limits for UK cyclists earlier this month. The minister’s comments follow proposed changes to the Highway Code emerging as the Department for Transport (DfT) explores rules for cyclists, which controversially includes them following road speed.

Shapps told The Daily Mail there needed to be a way to “actually track cyclists who do break the laws”. He suggested the idea of registration plates as a way to recognize offenders. Shapps also floated the idea of mandatory insurance for victims to claim damages when collisions occur.

According to The Daily Mail, Shapps said: “Somewhere where cyclists are actually not breaking the law is when they speed, and that cannot be right, so I absolutely propose extending speed limit restrictions to cyclists as well.

“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 does then lead you into the question of, '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.”

It is however unlikely that the Transport Secretary will be in place to implement any of the ideas suggested given the impending change in Conservative leadership.

The latest Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show 304 pedestrians were injured and four killed after being struck by cyclists in Britain in 2020.

Steve McNamara, LTDA General Secretary, said in TAXI Newspaper: “If cyclists are going to keep being given more priority and prominence on our roads, they need to have the same responsibilities and obligations as the rest of us.

“Just as with motorists, not all cyclists are going to break the law. Many will already be using the roads safely, but we need a system that can deal effectively with those who don’t, and that will benefit all road users and pedestrians.”