So the new rules come into force on Saturday 29 January 2022, introducing a Hierarchy of road users - all very laudable but it appears to be guidance only with no penalties, so if you end up in Court the judge will take it into account, but for the other million occasions it was breached nothing will happen.
I was hoping we would get something along the European line of presumed liability, so that an injured cyclist does not need to establish fault on the part of the motorist. The UK is one of only five countries in Europe, alongside Cyprus, Malta, Romania and Ireland, which have not adopted the presumed liability system. Under both English and Scottish law, a claimant cyclist must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that a defendant driver was negligent. Many safety campaigners have called for a new system of "presumed liability" - whereby the defendant driver would be presumed to be at fault unless they can prove otherwise.
My question to anyone is there evidence that presumed liability actually works and changes drivers behaviour. I presume that at least some of those countries that introduced that law did surveys of before & after to establish it effectiveness and other countries were so impressed that they followed.
If such evidence can be located then I would wish to write to my MP & suggest such a change.
I was hoping we would get something along the European line of presumed liability, so that an injured cyclist does not need to establish fault on the part of the motorist. The UK is one of only five countries in Europe, alongside Cyprus, Malta, Romania and Ireland, which have not adopted the presumed liability system. Under both English and Scottish law, a claimant cyclist must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that a defendant driver was negligent. Many safety campaigners have called for a new system of "presumed liability" - whereby the defendant driver would be presumed to be at fault unless they can prove otherwise.
My question to anyone is there evidence that presumed liability actually works and changes drivers behaviour. I presume that at least some of those countries that introduced that law did surveys of before & after to establish it effectiveness and other countries were so impressed that they followed.
If such evidence can be located then I would wish to write to my MP & suggest such a change.
