Concerns raised over plans to change car accident rules
Personal insurance
22nd September 2009
The regulations covering accidents involving vehicles and cyclists could be changed under new government plans, it has been reported.
A government advisor has called for drivers to be made automatically legally responsible for any crash with someone travelling by bicycle, but the suggestion has raised concerns among motoring groups.
Funded by the Department for Transport, Cycling England has proposed that the law is altered to make the most powerful vehicle involved in an incident liable for insurance claims and compensation.
The organisation has urged ministers to include its recommendation in the forthcoming National Cycling Plan and Active Transport Strategy and chief executive Phillip Darnton also called for speed limits to be lowered and provision in major planning applications to be made for cycling.
However, AA president Edmund King stated: "Simple changes in the law that assume one party is in the wrong because of what they drive will not help harmony on the roads."
The Cycling England proposal follows a pilot scheme launched recently in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to enable those on bikes to travel in both directions on some one-way streets in order to improve traffic flow.
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