New UK cycling laws being introduced this month introduce further penalties – but downgrade two existing offences.
Ten offences to tackle antisocial cycling have been proposed – including offences relating to cycling behaviour in London's Royal Parks.
However, these laws raise “serious concerns”, as two new offences are, in effect, being ‘downgraded’ – dangerous cycling and failing to stop at a school crossing patrol – which can now be dealt with by taking a 30-minute e-learning course through the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) for a fee of £100, instead of cyclists’ receiving points on their driving record or a fine.
The Home Office report says: “Such courses are offered as an alternative to an offer of a fixed penalty notice, and therefore a driver who successfully completes a course is not required to pay a fixed penalty amount in relation to the offence, or to have points endorsed on their driving record.”
Currently, the Highway Code states that cyclists are exempt from needing to follow the national speed limit but can be prosecuted for cycling dangerously.
The Home Office looks to amend Schedule 3 of the RTOA 1988 “in January 2025”, which also means penalties for 10 new offences for dangerous riding. These include:
- Cycling on a road dangerously
- Cycling without due care and attention
- Not using lights after dark
- Failure to stop at a school crossing patrol
- Holding on to a vehicle while in motion for a tow
- Using lamps that cause undue dazzle or discomfort to others
- Cycling in Royal Parks without following directions
- Cycling in a manner that endangers others in Royal Parks
The NDORS regulations will be enacted following this, it adds.
While the announcement assures "the Order will not produce an undue focus on cycling offences", almost all new offences outlined in initial proposals apply specifically to cyclists.
The Government had launched a consultation over proposed offences it would add, to which it received 14 responses that threw up a number of concerns.
The Metropolitan Police and Transport for London (TfL) both raised concerns about the inclusion of dangerous cycling. The report said: “Three respondents were concerned that the list of offences in the proposal included both dangerous and careless cycling offences, which they felt could set a bad precedent. They highlighted that there is already confusion and overlap between these offences and the careless and dangerous driving offences, and questioned whether any road user behaviour sanctioned as ‘dangerous’ should be dealt with out of court.”
The Government said in response: “It is therefore right that the police officer should decide on the appropriate penalty, taking into account the circumstances of each case.”
The consultation window has now closed. Offences under London’s Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations include:
The proposed measures comes after the fatal incident of a cyclist’s collision with an 81-year-old dog walker in 2022 in Regent’s Park.
It saw Brian Fitzgerald crash into Hilda Griffiths in June that year while doing laps of the park with his Muswell Hill Peloton cycling club.
Ms Griffiths died 59 days later and the coroner recorded a verdict of “accidental cycling collision death”.
Fitzgerald avoided conviction despite exceeding speed limits on his ride.
Last year in May, the Conservative government agreed to introduce new laws, though they didn’t get off the ground ahead of the general election.
It said “cyclists who kill or seriously injure because of dangerous cycling, or who kill through careless cycling, [would] face the same penalties as drivers and motorcyclists”.
