Hackney North MP Diane Abbott has tabled an Early Day Motion before Parliament calling on London Mayor Boris Johnson to reinstate for the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit following the deaths of ten cyclists on London’s roads this year, eight of them killed in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles.
Ms Abbott’s initiative came just days after the Mayor had announced that he was disbanding the CVEU, which is staffed and run by the Metropolitan Police and is the only such unit on the country, as part of a cost-cutting drive, as reported on road.cc last week.
Early Day Motions are used by MPs as a means of raising awareness of a specific issue on subjects ranging from the trivial to the serious, but they are seldom actually debated in Parliament. Instead, MPs can add their signature to show their support, with the motion remaining open for signature for the remainder of the current parliamentary session.
The motion currently has the backing of 25 other MPs from across the political spectrum, but only seven of those – eight including Abott – represent voters in the capital, which has a total of 74 MPs. Even allowing for the influence of party politics, once the city’s 21 Tory MPs are excluded, that leaves 45 London MPs who are yet to show their support for it.
A list of the MPs who have thus far signed the motion, together with the full text, can be found here. If your MP isn’t on the list, irrespective of whether you live in London or not, you can urge them to do so through following this link and ask them if they could spare five minutes from filling out their expenses forms to sign “EDM 2144 (Cyclist’s safety in London).”
I have learned that two(?) users here think that going looking for crime makes you a vigilante. That is not a generally accepted definition.
I don't have radar but using a bar-end mirror can be helpful in getting a glimpse of what is behind you when turning to look might not be wise....
I love my storage bottle and overcame the 'fiddly bit' of getting things in and out by putting it all into a Alpkit Banicoot Pouch (other small...
Police: What were you doing 4 months ago?...
Checking the legislation, it was amended in 2003. ...
It's an Audi - "they all do that, sir", and so a warning letter will probably have little effect. Sorry, but I would have sought a NIP....
I think it might actually be the least popular behaviour in all of web design.
Here's some hope for us chunky blokes, even if most of won't consider spending £3.5k on wheels.
If running it poorly affected their salaries and bonuses (and other accountabilities) maybe they would run it properly......
Passing a cyclist in the opposite direction warrants at least a nod or a gentle lift of the hand from the bars. But what about overtaking a fellow...