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Green Party backs presumed liability and pledges £30 per head a year for cycling

Party outlines its policies in response to #ChooseCycling network

The Green Party says it wants to see a system of presumed liability introduced to protect vulnerable road users and also aims to reduce dependency on cars and get more people cycling and walking.

Those are two of the policies outlined in the party’s response to the #ChooseCycling network, co-ordinated by British Cycling, in which major businesses asked party leaders to make pledges related to cycling ahead of the general election.

Separately, the Green Party has said it would spend £30 per person annually on cycling, similar to the levels seen in countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark.

In its response to the #ChooseCycling network, whose members include GSK, Orange, Santander and Sky, the party said it “wholeheartedly supports cycling."

It went on: “We recognise it not only as a mode of transport that offers a more sustainable alternative for the increasingly car-dependent population, but also as a fun and healthy activity that can increase people’s quality of life.

“We recognise that we need to reduce the number of journeys made by car and switch as many journeys as possible to walking and cycling.

“We plan to ensure that cyclists get their fair share of road space by directing funding that prioritises cycling.

“Funding should be allocated flexibly to make safe convenient routes that address the needs of pedestrians and cyclists while reducing any risk of conflict between them.

“Additionally, we will provide cycle parking throughout towns and cities at locations where there is demand, and invest in on-street secure cycle storage in residential streets.

“We also support 20mph zones and cycle schemes, to make our streets safer and more enjoyable to cycle and walk in.”

The party also promised to introduce changes to the legal system designed to protect cyclists and others who are vulnerable on the roads.

That includes bringing in presumed liability, similar to that operating under civil law throughout most member states of the European Union.

It said a “greater duty of care should be expected of drivers in reducing injury and intimidation to vulnerable road users.

“We believe that motor vehicle drivers should be presumed liable for injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.

“Newly manufactured lorries must be equipped with best practice technology to make sure that drivers are fully aware of the presence of all pedestrians and cyclists.

“Lorries already in use must be retro-fitted with the same equipment and lorries not so equipped will not be allowed into our towns and cities.”

At the last general election in 2010, Caroline Lucas won the Green Party’s first ever parliamentary seat, Brighton Pavilion, and the party also controls Brighton & Hove City Council.

It says that there, it has “introduced the largest connected 20mph zone in the country, and casualties dropped by 19 per cent, built a new cycle hub at the station [and] introduced cycle priority at junctions, proper cycle lanes and cycle contraflow lanes.”

Those initiatives had led to “an 11 per cent increase in daily cycle journeys from 2009 to 2012, and a reduction in road casualties, with 200 fewer killed and injured in 2013 than in 2011,” the party added.

Chris Boardman, British Cycling’s policy advisor, said: “The Green Party clearly recognise the many benefits that investing in sustainable transport can bring to communities and it’s commendable to see them committing to giving cycling £30 per head per year from the off – the same funding levels enjoyed by great cycling cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

“If the Green Party do end up with some influence within the next government it would be fantastic to see them put their cycling commitments at the heart of their agenda as a way to transform Britain’s towns and cities, creating more pleasant places to live and work.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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17 comments

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kie7077 | 9 years ago
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Legal minimum passing distance too please with an public info campaign to go with it. This isn't expensive.

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AJ101 | 9 years ago
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Exactly that Matt
When you've got to prove that the motorist was in the wrong, because it's assumed he must have been in the right, then there is an implied sense of entitlement to the road.

In the UK it seems to be a sense of "GET OUT OF MY WAY SLOW PEOPLE" rather than "OK I have to share the space with these slow people as well so I'd better be careful and not rush them" that I tend to experience in smaller towns and cities on the continent.

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Matt_S | 9 years ago
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I went to Krakow last week. I was astonished how drivers *all* stopped for pedestrians and cyclists. It's a sad reflection on British society how there is a sense of entitlement without responsibility on the UK roads.

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crazy-legs | 9 years ago
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All this promise of money and the much quoted £10/head is all worthless if there isn't a properly thought out and costed national standard of infrastructure and a goal, a timeframe of implementation.

Saying you'll have £10/head at the moment will result in councils going out blowing it all on random bits of green paint and "cyclists dismount" signs - there are no nationwide standards, there's no clear goal of exactly what is wanted or needed.

And the Greens can pretty much promise anything, they won't be in power so it's all just words.

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Quince replied to crazy-legs | 9 years ago
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crazy-legs wrote:

All this promise of money and the much quoted £10/head is all worthless if there isn't a properly thought out and costed national standard of infrastructure and a goal, a timeframe of implementation.

I think people are far more likely to MAKE progressive plans if they know that there's actually money to make them a reality. It seems counterintuitive for anyone to spend a great deal of time designing things they know they won't be able to build.

I don't think it IS a chicken/egg situation. I think it's pretty clear the promise of money has to come first.

And rather than taking issue with the Greens for promising to commit to cycling (because they can get away with that sort of thing), I think energy is better spent on addressing the fact that the parties you DO believe stand a chance of getting in AREN'T making similar commitments.

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brooksby replied to Quince | 9 years ago
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Quince][quote=crazy-legs wrote:

And rather than taking issue with the Greens for promising to commit to cycling (because they can get away with that sort of thing), I think energy is better spent on addressing the fact that the parties you DO believe stand a chance of getting in AREN'T making similar commitments.

Wasn't there a previous prime minister who said something like if you were riding a bus or a bike as an adult then you were clearly a failure in life? I suspect a lot of our current politicians still think like that.

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brooksby replied to brooksby | 9 years ago
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Quince wrote:

...

Sorry peeps, messed up my quoting.

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Housecathst | 9 years ago
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It's not so much the fact that there is presumed liability, it's the attached publicity to such a change that would make the difference. They would be able to make a change like this with out it being on the front page of every right wing rag for months in advance of it coming, regardless of weather the coverage is positive or not.

I think that in itself would start to change drivers attitudes, even if it's a begrudging "I better get out of the way of that bloody cyclists way or they'll be claim on my insurance" it would be a step in the right direction and not long before it would be second nature to your average driver.

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Iamnot Wiggins | 9 years ago
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That is interesting reading - I'm just going by my 3 days cycling round Maastricht and partaking in the Amstel Gold sportive as opposed to somebody who may live there who will have a bit of an opposing view no doubt (sorry, should've said this). However, during these 3 days, I didn't meet one negative driver who beeped at me/us, overtook dangerously or generally drove with an over inflated sense of entitlement. Maybe it was more obvious to me as I see this type of driver quite regularly?

The cycle lanes were well maintained, there were traffic lights to separate cyclists from traffic and the bits where no cycle lanes existed gave way to fantastic roads also in great condition. First ride back in the UK? Drivers speeding down country lanes & a puncture! Haha!

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Iamnot Wiggins | 9 years ago
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Having a cycling infrastructure like the Netherland is one thing, getting drivers in the UK to adopt the same mentality towards us is a different matter.

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Quince replied to Iamnot Wiggins | 9 years ago
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Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

Having a cycling infrastructure like the Netherlands is one thing, getting drivers in the UK to adopt the same mentality towards us is a different matter.

Worth pondering: https://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/dutch-attitudes/

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userfriendly | 9 years ago
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I'd like to share this article on Facebook, but I'm not getting a thumbnail and preview when I paste the link. Any chance of adding a different URL to it?

EDIT: the short URL road.cc/149458 doesn't work better either.

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AJ101 | 9 years ago
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it would be great if the other parties that are more likely to get substantial representation in parliament would adopt this policy. Presumed liability is a complete game changer for riding on the continent.

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Adders69 replied to AJ101 | 9 years ago
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AJ101 wrote:

it would be great if the other parties that are more likely to get substantial representation in parliament would adopt this policy.

To be honest though - which other party would you really trust to deliver on such a promise?

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brooksby replied to Adders69 | 9 years ago
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Adders69 wrote:

To be honest though - which other party would you really trust to deliver on such a promise?

To be honest, though - which party would you really trust to deliver on ANY of their promises?

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pmanc replied to AJ101 | 9 years ago
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AJ101 wrote:

Presumed liability is a complete game changer for riding on the continent.

David Hembrow, who seems pretty knowledgeable on the subject, disagrees. Strict/presumed liability is not such a big deal, as it doesn't make cycling feel any safer, knowing that you won't be financially responsible as you lie broken by the roadside. And drivers don't generally intend to crash.

That said, it does have some merit, and we are very rare and rather backward in Europe that we don't already have it.

http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2012/01/campaign-for-sustainable-sa...

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benevans replied to pmanc | 9 years ago
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pmanc wrote:
AJ101 wrote:

Presumed liability is a complete game changer for riding on the continent.

David Hembrow, who seems pretty knowledgeable on the subject, disagrees. Strict/presumed liability is not such a big deal, as it doesn't make cycling feel any safer, knowing that you won't be financially responsible as you lie broken by the roadside. And drivers don't generally intend to crash.

That said, it does have some merit, and we are very rare and rather backward in Europe that we don't already have it.

http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2012/01/campaign-for-sustainable-sa...

The article seems to look at the behaviour of the cyclist wrt the law governing presumed liability. For sure there is an overwhelming incentive for the cycist not to be in an accident already (possible death). The motorist doesn't have this fear when colliding with a cyclist, presumed liability is a great step forward in getting drivers to think about other road users more than is currently the case in the UK.

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