Cyclists who commit road traffic offences face having penalty points endorsed on their driving licence under a proposal being considered by ministers.
Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe suggested the move during a debate on cycling in the House of Lords.
Transport minister Lord Hendy, himself a former Commissioner of Transport for London, said: “I was interested to hear some suggestions from the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe, about licensing and adding cycling to driving licences, and particularly about maybe making cycling offences endorsable on driving licences for motor vehicles.
“We will certainly look at that.”
He stressed that cyclists could commit a series of offences highlighted in the Highway Code.
“If they cycle irresponsibly, if they do not use lights or are not visible, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes a nuisance, they may be committing a number of offences that can make them liable for prosecution,” he explained.
He added that the new Government would also consider proposed new offences concerning dangerous and careless cycling.
Rishi Sunak’s administration was pushing ahead with the proposal but it fell at the General Election in July.
However, Lord Hendy dismissed the idea of a licensing registration scheme for more than 20 million cycles in Britain, stressing it would be “complex and expensive to design and administer”.
He added: “It would also be likely to lead to a reduction in the number of people cycling.
“This would have adverse impacts on health and congestion, particularly if those cycling chose instead to use their cars for short journeys.”
Lord Hogan-Howe, who headed the Metropolitan Police from 2011 to 2017, told Parliament one of his reasons for urging action against dangerous cyclists was after “a near-death experience” with a bike being ridden without lights.
Speaking during a debate he secured in Parliament, the independent crossbencher argued that cyclists running red lights and failing to stop at pedestrian crossings was “just not acceptable”.
However, a number of other peers warned against regulation amid concerns it would deter people from using the healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transport.
Referring to the “near-death experience on Victoria Street” in Westminster, Lord Hogan-Howe said: “I am not going to say that cyclists are the only threat, because that is quite wrong, that wouldn’t be the case at all.
“But I do think there is a case for making sure that pedestrians are protected from the behaviour of bad cyclists... cyclists who behave badly.
“I think it’s only fair to note that many good cyclists, cyclists who are behaving well, are harassed and intimidated by those who are behaving badly.
“I have heard many cases where cyclists have been doing the proper thing only to be abused and threatened by cyclists who are intending to get past them.”
He added: “I don’t think road traffic law has maintained the accountability of cyclists in a way that motor vehicles are regulated.”
Pointing out that riders were not subject to speed limits, the peer told the Chamber: “Cyclists do seem to ignore a lot red traffic lights, pedestrian crossings when people are on them... that’s just not acceptable.”
As well stressing the need to the Government for more comprehensive and accurate data, Lord Hogan-Howe said: “If they are minded to put more regulation in to make people more accountable, then the consideration of registration marks for cycles, E-scooters and E-bikes, the insurance of them... driving licences or riding licences which may allow courts to award points as opposed to fines, which on the whole don’t work with the same effectiveness, and to make sure we train our young people to make sure they take their responsibilities seriously too.
“I am not against cyclists, I am not a zealot to produce more regulation... but in this case, I am not sure what happens if we don’t do something, but then it gets worse. I don’t think it’s healthy for anyone.”
Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Young of Cookham, who earned the nickname the “Bicycling Baronet” for his enthusiasm for pedal power, condemned dangerous and anti-social behaviour by riders.
He added: “But justified criticism of a minority should not morph into an attitude that is hostile to cyclists as a whole.”
Independence crossbencher Lord Burns, who previously chaired the North Wales Transport Commission, said: “Rather than focusing on regulations that would reduce cycling the emphasis should be on providing better designed paths for both pedestrians and cyclists.”
Conservative peer Baroness Hodgson of Abinger told how she had been knocked down by a cyclist on a pedestrian crossing outside Parliament in 2019.
She said: “It is important that whoever uses the roads does so with care and consideration to other road users.”
Conservative peer Lord Shinkwin said dangerous cycling was a source of fear for the disabled, particularly those who are blind or partially sighted.
He said: “Breaking the law on cycling has been normalised. It is routine behaviour for too many.”
Independent crossbencher Lord Russell of Liverpool said the lack of police enforcement led to cyclists disregarding the law.
He said: “The majority of cyclists and e-scooter drivers know that there is an almost infinitesimal chance of any of them ever getting caught, and cumulatively, over time, when that becomes the norm, then you see everybody else flagrantly ignoring laws which they are probably aware of.”
