An amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, put forward by British MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, that was set to introduce the offense of “causing death by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling,” will not become law. This is due to today’s surprise calling of a general election by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“There isn’t enough time for [the law to pass through the House of Lords],” a parliamentary insider commented.
Last week Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the proposed legislation would ensure the “tiny minority” of reckless cyclists would face the “full weight of the law,”while protecting “law-abiding cyclists.”
The cause was championed by Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader, following campaigning by Matthew Briggs, husband of Kim Briggs who was hit by a cyclist while she crossed a road in London in 2016. The cyclist—Charlie Alliston—was later incarcerated for 18 months but Briggs said a “gap in the law” meant it was impossible, in his case, to press for a charge of manslaughter.
Today, following the news that a general election will be called on July 4, Briggs wrote on X: “I understand that all legislation passing through Lords will fall after [an election is called].”
Briggs had promised to delete his seven-year-old social media accounts pressing for a law change but he will now continue campaigning. “The spotlight will return,” he predicted, meaning he will now lobby ministers in the next government, which is widely expected to be a Labour administration.
Meanwhile, one of the media reports that fanned the flames of cyclist hate in the last few days has been amended.
Last Friday, the Daily Telegraph led its print edition with the headline “52mph in a 20mph zone,” claiming that “Lycra lout cyclists are creating death traps all over Britain.”
The piece was based on Strava data that the newspaper was later told was likely to be bogus and, upon checking their facts, the story has been amended with The Telegraph admitting its story had used “erroneous” data.
The correction states: “This article and its headline have been amended to remove speeds recorded on Strava which Strava has now deleted and which appear to have been erroneous. Data is uploaded to Strava by users, either automatically or manually, and cannot be checked or independently verified; the data is accepted on trust. We are happy to clarify this point and correct the record.”
Fit cyclists on good roads can average a little more than 20mph so it was clearly ludicrous for The Telegraph to report it had found data proving a cyclist traveled in London at more than twice this speed. In the U.K., cyclists cannot be charged with speeding.
Prior to the newspaper’s correction, England’s Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman described the article as “hate speech” and said any demonization of cyclists as killers has “just got to stop.”
