Government's 'dangerous cycling' plans criticised

New legislation could mean lengthy prison sentences for cyclists who kill or seriously injure

- Adam Becket, Tom Davidson

‘Dangerous cyclists’ could face sentences of up to 14 years in prison under new laws set to be introduced by the UK government.

The plans were labelled as “knee-jerk” by Cycling UK, and Chris Boardman pointed out that “more people are killed by lightning and cows than cyclists”.

In an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, put forward last Wednesday, people who “kill or seriously injure because of dangerous cycling” could be charged with the same penalties faced by drivers and motorcyclists.

The amendment came after a high-profile court case in which a cyclist escaped prosecution following a fatal collision with a pedestrian by London’s Regent’s Park in 2022. As speed limits do not apply to cyclists, the death was recorded as an “accidental cycling collision death”.

The government’s proposal creates the offence of ‘causing death by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling, and causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate cycling’.

Speaking in the House of Commons last Wednesday, Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, who proposed the new law, said it was not “anti-cycling”.

“Just as drivers are held accountable for dangerous driving that results in death, cyclists, I think, should face similar consequences for reckless behaviours that leads to fatalities,” he said.