Drivers ‘should be liable for cyclist accidents’

Pyro Tim":2nk4inon said:

There was a time when I thought it an awful proposition, but these days, I'm coming around to the view that it's the only way to give a wake-up call to drivers, as to how vulnerable cyclists are in traffic, rather than the grudging "I'll give them barely an inch, but they'd better keep outta my way..." mindset that many drivers seem to display around cyclists - and that's if they even truly see / recognise them.
 
They are, are they not? At the end of the day though, if you're dead, not a lot you can do. Most cyclists that do stupid things, like jumping lights, riding without lights etc are generally going to come off worse. If they are on the pavement and knock a pedestrian, they should, and I believe are in law, responsible, and therefore liable to costs / compo
 
Yes the person at fault should be liable for the accident they cause be they cyclists or drivers, but I think there needs to be more awareness about driving near cyclists, I also agree that there should be something in the driving test.

Alison
 
What works in one country doesn't always work in another, i would like to agree, but have seen too many bad cyclists who might end up taking the piss if this became law...........ALL road users should wind it in and stop using bloody mobile phones when on the road etc etc :evil:
 
You want to see the negative side of cyclists being protected from cars by this insurance liability ruling then spend an hour in central Amsterdam at rush hour. Many dutch cyclists, especially the younger ones are grade A nutters and dangerous nutters to boot. The Highway Code applies to everyone equally, no one group deserves special lenient treatment.
 
TBH, considering the kamikaze no-bike-light antics of the typical UK bike rider I don't think that cyclists as a group are in any position I be popping at car drivers. Lets campaign to get our own house in order before worrying about what others are doing. There's too much of a culture in this country of sticking our noses into other people's business, while our own (or in this case out own groups) behaviour is less than impeccable.

An example... a friend of mine was doing some speed checking in a village following complaints from residents. At the of the days antics the clear majority of people he caught were residents, including the head of the residents campaign against speeding in the village. Cyclists as a group in the UK are in much the same position, sticking our noses into orher people's business while the majority of recordable road incidents involving motor vehicle v. cyclist remain attributable to the cyclist. We're complaining about our neighbours loud music while our own house is on fire here.
 
The thing is I don't think it's generally cyclists that are causing problems. It's people that don't class themselves as cyclists, that ride bikes. How can we get them in order?
 
Back
Top