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EIGHT.. Legislation and its enforcement
Enforcement and appropriate penalties
Could Local Authority transport budgets be made to finance police officers with specific traffic responsibilities?
Enforcement of the law against dangerous drivers on the roads is currently seen by many cyclists as under-resourced and the punishments for causing injury and death too lenient.
The laws of the road for drivers are often ineffectual because the penalties are too low. We hear all too often in the media of cases where pedestrians or cyclists are killed but the motorist responsible is handed a sentence of just a few months.
Enforcement of the rules is important for all road users. But we need to put things into perspective. The consequences of transgressions by motorists are likely to be far more serious than those by cyclists. Pedestrian deaths caused by cyclists are about one every two years nationally. By way of comparison, 823 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles in 2001.
Greater enforcement of traffic laws for both cyclists and drivers is needed, well before 2020
Motorists must drive safely, and if they do not do so they must be punished with penalties which reflect the seriousness of the crime.
Many traffic infringements go unpunished. Driving or parking on a mandatory cycle lane, which completely devalues such facilities, is a traffic offence and while this happens regularly in the city there are very few prosecutions. The same applies to cyclists who break the law by riding through red lights, for instance.
There needs to be a high-profile concerted effort to enforce these and other laws, for both cyclists and drivers. Police need to get the message across that motorists who speed, jump red lights, overtake cyclists too closely, harass cyclists and park on contraflow cycle lanes – such as in Downing Street - will receive warnings in the first instance followed by prosecutions if they persist.
Improving enforcement, in order to improve traffic flows and safety of all road users, could be much more cost-effective than many larger-scale infrastructure changes. And introduction of regulatory measures such as speed limits is futile if no-one will enforce them. There should be consideration of finding a way for Local Authority transport budgets to finance police officers with specific traffic responsibilities, to ensure a more joined-up approach.
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