The government, desperate to prove its green credentials is seriously considering a controversial plan to make motorists automatically liable in crashes involving bikes or pedestrians. The proposal is particularly insidious as there are many instances where cyclists are to blame for crashes, as in the case of red light jumping. However the government, having failed to persuade the requisite number of people to take to their bikes has fallen upon its default option of trying to change society by changing the law.
Clashes between cars and cyclists are common in London, which has actually seen a large rise in the number of people taking to the bike. The government's rather ropey logic has allowed it to conclude that it is therefore fine to blame the car driver. And so it has charged the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, with the task of formulating a policy that would blame the motorist, even when the cyclist was quite clearly to blame.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: "There is nothing wrong with this policy. By stating that the guilty can be considered innocent, the government is doing nothing new. It has itself been claiming total innocence in cases where it is plainly guilty for some years now. So we are very much at home with this policy." However a spokeman for a leading motoring organisation responded by saying: "Bad policy-making is almost the norm for this government, that thinks that you can change virtually anything in society by changing the law... It is clear that the wheels came off this Government some time ago."
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Poor poor Gordon, he lost touch with reality a long time ago
ReplyDeleteIf it makes motorists in their bubbles to become more aware of the vulnerability of cyclists, then it is surely a good thing?
ReplyDeleteSimilar policies exist in Germany and Holland, and they have reduced accident numbers
Changing the law to change society is surely the most insidious element.
ReplyDeleteThis government has written more new laws than any previous government (3500 at last count)
It really believes that the law is a magic wand that you can shake at any problem to solve it
It is difficult to believe that the government can push that much new legislation through in the time before the general election.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is just for show... to win over all those budding new cyclists out there... and the greens etc
... Maybe it is to win over more of the self -righteous scum out there
ReplyDeleteCycling is one of those issues that always makes the blood boil.
ReplyDeleteRoad rage is all about territory and the staking thereof.
We all want to call a piece of turf our own, and it all becomes very complicated when the turf is moving...
Waving (rather than shaking, as Mr Bean puts it) the law wand is lazy policy making but is not surprising for a government that is made up predominantly of lawyers and always has been.
ReplyDeleteJust count the number of senior lawyers and the clout that they have had in New Labour.
Everything about Brown is insidious
ReplyDeleteNot the old cycling debate again... zzzzz
ReplyDelete"A Victim" is wrong about the benefits. Cyclists are becoming increasingly aggressive - both towards motorists and pedestrians. This new law is hardly going to deal with that
ReplyDeleteMatthew Parris had the right idea. Shame that his newspaper forced him to retract
ReplyDelete