Consultation outcome

Proposals for new cycling offences: government response to consultation

Updated 15 May 2024

Executive summary

In 2017, following the announcement of the Cycle and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) safety review by the Department for Transport (DfT), DfT commissioned independent legal experts to consider the case for new cycling offences. They concluded that there is a persuasive case for legislative change to the law. DfT published a new cycling offences consultation on 12 August 2018, which closed on 5 November 2018. 2,436 responses were received and are examined in the analysis of the consultation on new cycling offences (PDF, 298 KB).

The consultation considered the case for changes to legislation so that cyclists who cause serious harm because of their behaviour are subject to penalties broadly equivalent to those in place if the same level of harm is caused by drivers of other vehicles. It also sought views on the scope and penalties of existing offences, which for cycling currently apply only to the road (including the pavement) but not in other public places.

The government thinks there is a case for the law to be consistent in its handling of deaths on the road caused by any type of road user.

Accordingly, we will bring forward legislation to introduce new offences around dangerous cycling once Parliamentary time allows to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour. Any required legislation to introduce new offences of causing death by dangerous cycling, careless or inconsiderate cycling or causing serious injury by dangerous cycling or careless or inconsiderate cycling will be considered for treatment in a, broadly, equivalent way to legislation in place if the same level of harm is caused by drivers of other vehicles.

We will also consider extending the new offences, and the current offences of dangerous cycling and careless or inconsiderate cycling, to public places as well as roads, as is already the case for motor vehicles. This ensures consistency across all road traffic offences. Any legislation will need to be carefully worded to make sure there are no unintentional impacts on places where it is legitimate for people to be able to use their cycles to relax and play. We will work with stakeholders to make sure the right definitions are used.

Many responders commented on the health and environmental benefits to be gained from cycling and the need not to put people off. We agree and support the enabling of cycling. While laws and penalties need to be fair and proportionate, it is vital we do not discourage cycling and so jeopardise the public health benefits of increased active travel. However, it is important to balance this against the safety of all road users, including pedestrians who can be vulnerable to injury from cyclists. Further work with stakeholders would be carried out to ensure that any new offences could operate well in practice.

During the consultation, a number of issues were raised that went wider than the proposed cycling offences, which were the subject of the consultation. They are not within the scope of this consultation.

Introduction

The government is committed to:

• improving the safety of our roads
• increasing cycling and walking
• making our roads safer for vulnerable users including cyclists and pedestrians

Cycling has health and environmental benefits, but we must be clear that, like all road users, cyclists have a duty to behave safely and responsibly. The criminal law has an important role in ensuring that road users who do not behave in such a manner and cause serious harm to others as a result are punished appropriately. In this vein, concerns have been raised by campaigners that the range of penalties and sentences available when cyclists harm others is not sufficient.

Following the announcement in 2017 of the CWIS safety review, independent legal experts were appointed to consider the case for new cycling offences. Those reports concluded there is a persuasive case for legislative change to the law in England and Wales to tackle the issue of dangerous and careless cycling that causes serious injury or death, in order to bring cycling offences in line with driving offences.

The report on the law in Scotland (PDF, 262 KB) found that there is not the same gap in Scottish law, because there are existing laws to prosecute causing death or serious injury by dangerous cycling. However, these do not extend to causing death or serious injury caused by careless cycling.

DfT undertook this consultation on the case for possible changes to legislation so that if people using bicycles cause serious harm because of their cycling behaviour, they are subject to penalties that are broadly equivalent to those already in place if the same level of harm is caused by drivers of other vehicles. This document sets out the government response to that consultation. The full analysis of the responses received (PDF, 298 KB) was conducted by NatCen (an independent research organisation).

We want to ensure all road users display good and considerate behaviour on the road. The department is currently taking forward road safety measures in accordance with its publicly stated road safety priorities. We have completed the biggest overhaul of the Highway Code in decades, ensuring vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists now have priority in certain situations. We have changed the motoring offences to close a loophole that allowed drivers to use their mobile phones while driving in certain circumstances, now all these uses are banned. We have also increased the disqualification period for those who cause death by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

We have provided £100 million in funding for the top 50 most dangerous roads and all those schemes are complete or underway – we have also invested in a £350,000 innovation competition to develop a next generation breathalyser and provided £480,000 to trial an innovative approach to road collision investigations. As part of the recent cycling and walking package, we announced our intention for a new integrated Road Safety Strategic Framework.

The government will legislate to introduce new cycling offences once Parliamentary time allows and will do this in the context of the wider work of the department as part of our wider aim of promoting active and accessible travel that is available and safe for all road users.

During the consultation, a number of issues were raised that went wider than the proposed cycling offences, which were the subject of the consultation.

Consultation on proposed legislative change on cycling offences

The proposals for new cycling offences were published for consultation on 12 August 2018; the consultation closed on 5 November 2018.

See the full analysis of the responses received (PDF, 298 KB) .

2,365 consultation responses were received via the online survey: 2,285 from individuals and 32 from organisations, plus 48 emailed responses from organisations which could be put into the online survey format. Forty-seven individuals, and 24 organisations, emailed responses that could not be put into the online survey format. All these are examined in the analysis of responses.

Individuals responding to the consultation provided information about the modes of transport that they use. Most indicated that they were pedestrians (87%) and motorists (80%). Over three-quarters (77%) said that they cycled. Many respondents use more than one mode of travel so may appear in 2 or all 3 categories.

We found that whether a respondent said they cycled, or said they did not cycle, had more bearing on their response to the questions in the consultation than whether they said they were a motorist or a pedestrian, or than their stated country of residence.

The responses to the consultation should not be taken as representative of all road users, whether they are cyclists, motorists, or pedestrians. The responses are self-selecting in that they are confined to those who were aware of the consultation and who chose to respond.

Views on the need for a change in the law

The consultation asked about the introduction of various cycling offences, to which the majority of respondents who identified as cyclists responded ‘no’ to each question. The majority of respondents said they did not cycle and responded ‘yes’ to each question. The results of the consultation are summarised as follows:

Should there be an offence of causing death by dangerous cycling?

Overall, 53% responded ‘no’. 66% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 89% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Should there be an offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate cycling?

Overall, 55% responded ‘no’. 68% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 87% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Should there be an offence of causing serious injury by dangerous cycling?

Overall, 53% responded ‘no’. 66% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 89% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Should there be an offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate cycling?

Overall, 53% responded ‘no’. 66% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 88% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Should the sentences match those for causing death or serious injury by dangerous driving?

The results are similar to the answers to the previous questions: two thirds of those who said they cycle did not agree that the sentences for new cycling offences should match current sentences for driving offences (66% to 67%), while a majority of respondents who do not cycle agreed that they should (84% in each case).

Do the existing laws adequately cover the circumstances where a person’s cycling causes harm or injury to others?

Overall, 53% responded ‘yes’. 65% who said they cycled responded ‘yes’; 83% who said they did not cycle responded ‘no’.

Views on coverage of the law

The consultation asked whether the offences should be limited to the road or also cover public places. There was no overall majority in favour of or against the proposal that new offences should apply to public places as well as roads. A majority of respondents who said they cycle (59%) did not agree with the proposal, while a majority of those who do not cycle (89%) agreed with it.

Views on disqualification

The consultation asked whether the current penalty for drivers being banned for committing a current cycling offence should also apply to any of the new offences proposed for this consultation. Overall, there was not a majority against or in favour of the proposal. However, 60% of respondents who said they cycle considered that a minimum period of disqualification from driving should not apply to cyclists who cause death or serious injury by cycling. More than three-quarters (76%) of those who said they do not cycle considered that a minimum period of disqualification from driving should apply.

Views on current offences of dangerous and careless cycling

Asking about the current offences of dangerous and careless cycling, the consultation proposed that the penalties for these offences should remain unchanged. A large proportion overall responded yes to keeping the penalties unchanged (71%). The majority of both cyclists (76%) and non-cyclists (55%) agreed with the proposal.

Views on drink and drug driving and cycling

The consultation asked 3 questions about this.

Should there be a new offence of causing death by careless cycling when under the influence of drink or drugs?

52% of respondents agreed with the proposal. Respondents who said they do not cycle were slightly less likely to agree than those who do cycle and more likely to disagree.

Should the current fine of £1,000 for riding a bicycle while unfit through drink or drugs be raised?

Overall, 61% responded ‘no’. 74% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 74% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Should it be an offence to attempt to cycle (as well as actually cycling) when unfit to do so through drink or drugs?

Overall, 54% responded ‘no’. 65% who said they cycled responded ‘no’; 78% who said they did not cycle responded ‘yes’.

Consideration of the consultation results

The government recognises there is a gap in legislation on cycling offences and that there is a case for the law to be consistent in its handling of deaths on the road caused by any type of road user. Therefore, we will bring forward legislation to introduce new offences around dangerous cycling once Parliamentary time allows, to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour.

In that way, any required legislation to introduce new offences of causing death by dangerous cycling, causing death by careless or inconsiderate cycling, causing serious injury by dangerous cycling and causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate cycling will be considered for treatment in a broadly equivalent way to legislation in place if the same level of harm is caused by drivers or other vehicles.

There was some support for an alternative to the current offence of causing harm from wanton and furious cycling, which many groups recognised was out of date. The government recognises that increasing the maximum penalties for cycling offences would not alter the fact that, when deciding what sentence to impose, the courts consider individual cases on their own facts and circumstances. The courts would continue to impose sentences that take into account the culpability of the convicted person, the seriousness of the offence and the level of harm caused.

Many consultation responders commented that this is a complex area. For example, people who cycle are not required to undertake training, testing or licencing and many are children below the age of criminal responsibility. They cannot be assessed in the same ways as drivers. Nor is there an easy way to gauge careful and competent cycling. We will take all this into account in considering any potential legislation.

Many responders also commented on the health and environmental benefits to be gained from cycling, and the need not to put people off. The government agrees. We support and enable cycling.

While laws and penalties need to be fair and proportionate, it is vital that we should not discourage cycling and so jeopardise the public health benefits of increased active travel. However, it is important to balance this against the safety of all road users, including pedestrians who can be vulnerable to injury from cyclists.

Stakeholders agreed that cycling offences should also apply in public places other than a road so that they match the coverage of dangerous and careless driving offences as set out and defined in the Road Traffic Act 1988, to ensure consistency across all road traffic offences. However, we need to recognise that different types of space shared by people on foot and cycles are used in different ways. For example, it may be right to treat shared use routes, pedestrian precincts, and car parks differently from skate parks and other areas where people should be able to use their cycles to relax and play. We will work with stakeholders to make sure we use the right definitions.

Scotland

Scottish organisations generally saw the benefit of clarity in relation to the law and of consistency regarding the operation of road traffic law in England, Scotland and Wales. There was also support for the proposal to extend the existing and proposed offences to public places, which would make it easier to prosecute offences.

Next steps for government

The government recognises the case for change to tackle the issue of dangerous and careless cycling that causes serious injury or death, to bring cycling offences more closely in line with driving offences. The proposals have support not only from respondents to the consultation who say that they do not cycle but also (albeit qualified) from road safety, cycling and walking groups. Most cycling and road safety groups agreed that the existing offences are not appropriate for all circumstances: they considered that decisions on the right legislation in individual cases were being made piecemeal and out of context.

The government thinks that there is a case for the law to be consistent in its handling of deaths on the road caused by any type of road user and will bring forward legislation once Parliamentary time allows to introduce new offences around dangerous cycling to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour. In that way, any required legislation to introduce new offences of causing death by dangerous cycling, causing death by careless or inconsiderate cycling, causing serious injury by dangerous cycling and causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate cycling, will be considered for treatment in a broadly equivalent way to legislation in place if the same level of harm is caused by drivers or other vehicles.

We will also consider extending any new offences and the current offences of dangerous cycling and careless or inconsiderate cycling, to public places as well as roads, as is already the case for motor vehicles as set out and defined in the Road Traffic Act 1988, to ensure consistency across all road traffic offences.

At this stage, there are no specific proposals to change the penalties for the current offences of dangerous cycling or careless cycling nor to change the unfit to ride a cycle offence, but they will be reviewed in this context to ensure that cycling offences taken as a whole are coherent. There are no specific proposals to introduce an offence for cyclists that mirrors causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs. We will consider whether it could be appropriate for drink or drug use to be considered as an aggravating factor when sentencing for causing death or serious injury by cycling.

At this stage, there are no proposals to increase the severity of the sentence for cycling when unfit to ride through drink or drugs, nor to make it an offence to attempt to cycle (as well as actually to cycle) when unfit to do so.

The precise nature of the potential penalties for any new cycling offences has not yet been confirmed: it may include penalties similar to those for motoring offences, for example, fines and custodial sentences.  

This is subject to further work with stakeholders to ensure that any proposed offences and associated penalties could operate well in practice.

The offences that apply to these new forms of vehicles will be considered in due course ahead of any possible legislation. It makes sense to consider these new forms of transport at the same time as any new cycling offences.