Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
any hazards that arise when cyclists fail to make use of bicycle
bells.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport ()
(Con)
My Lords, cyclists, like all road users, have a responsibility to
behave in a safe and responsible manner. Rule 66 of the Highway
Code recommends that bells are fitted and used as necessary, and
all new bikes must be sold with a bell fitted.
(Con)
My Lords, what can be done about the huge number of cyclists
without bells, which does not lack aggressive and foul-mouthed
elements? Some of them seem to prefer pavements to their
designated cycle lanes, having presumably discarded the bells
which, as my noble friend has said, are required by law when
bicycles are first sold. Is this not completely irresponsible?
(Con)
My Lords, I am going to try very hard not to make this a pro- and
anti-cycling Question, because there are many people on our
roads—pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, motorcyclists and
drivers of motorised vehicles—and we must ensure that each
considers their impact on other road users. My noble friend is
right that we must do something. The core is education and
training. In the Government’s cycling strategy, Gear Change: A
Bold Vision for Cycling and Walking, we said that every adult and
child who wants it can be trained on how to ride a bicycle
safely.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, some time ago, I had a near-encounter with a cyclist.
He did not have a bell and I did not see him coming, but an
accident was avoided because he shouted “ding ding” as he
approached me. Like many colleagues, I have done much more
walking during the pandemic, and had many close encounters. While
it is argued that cyclists should not rely unduly on bells as a
means of avoiding hazards, in almost every case it is the only
warning that the pedestrian has. Surely all cyclists should be
required to have bells on their bicycles and should not be
allowed on the road without them.
(Con)
My Lords, the Government are not about to mandate bells on
bicycles. That would be disproportionate, and it is unlikely that
any enforcement would be a police priority. However, cyclists
must take responsibility for their actions. A little “ding ding”
on a bell on a bridleway is perfectly fine, but if you are
travelling in central London, it will get you nowhere, and in
those circumstances, a shout is probably preferable. I am afraid
that the Government will not be mandating bells at the present
time.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I welcome the huge increase in cycling, but millions of
people will never get on a bicycle, and millions of pedestrians
on pavements feel intimated and threatened by that small minority
of anti-social cyclists. Has the Minister given any thought to
how we can identify those anti-social cyclists who head off very
speedily? Could they all have something that shows who they are,
so that they can be identified?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government looked very closely at the issue of
safety. In the cycling and walking safety review of 2018 we
looked at licensing, but we concluded that the costs would
outweigh the benefits of getting more people on to a bike.
However, I am sure the noble Baroness is aware that it is an
offence to cycle on the pavements, under Section 72 of the
Highways Act 1835. Enforcement is an operational matter for local
police forces.
(Con) [V]
My Lords, I declare an interest as a runner clocking up 20 miles
a week. I can testify that cyclists can be a real danger to
stand-up sportsmen, and very few of the MAMILs have bells. They
claim that they interfere with the aerodynamics, which is really
just vanity. Outside England, bells are required under the Vienna
Convention on Road Traffic 1968, so why do we not have that
requirement in England as well? Also, will my noble friend the
Minister look at supporting a Bill to regulate pedicabs, which is
going to fail in this Session?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for his questions and congratulate him on
his running. The Government take an interest in how pedicabs will
be regulated, and we will look favourably on any Bills that might
come forward. I think I have answered the question about
mandating cycle bells, but we have just closed a consultation on
the Highway Code. We want to ensure that those who can cause the
greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce danger
or threat. In those circumstances, a cyclist would have the
responsibility to a pedestrian or a runner to ensure that they
were safe and did not feel intimidated.
(LD)
[V]
My Lords, arguably e-scooters pose an even greater threat than
cycles. The Government’s policy seems to be to normalise these by
stealth. About 300,000 have been sold for illegal private use,
and on sites such as Amazon or eBay you can find them with a top
speed of 50 mph, marketed as “great for commuting” despite it
being illegal to ride them on public roads, let alone pavements.
There is no enforcement whatever. They are almost silent, such
that pedestrians, especially those with vision impairment, are
hugely at risk. What are the Government doing to protect
pedestrians, especially vulnerable ones, from e-scooters?
(Con)
I refer the noble Baroness to the answers to the Question on
e-scooters that I answered last week for more context on that. It
is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter on a public road,
and where there are e-scooter trials, all the e-scooters within
those trials are fitted with a bell or a horn.
(CB) [V]
My Lords, I have been cycling a lot during the pandemic and have
become very aware of problems both caused by and faced by
cyclists, including not using their bells to alert others to
their approach or finding that those others are so immersed in
their headphones that they would fail to be alerted by the crack
of doom. Might the Minister consider a campaign, perhaps in
partnership with leading cycling bodies, to raise awareness of
good cycling—and, indeed, scootering—behaviour as part of her
welcome commitment to training and guidance?
(Con)
I reassure the noble Lord that we not only support a campaign but
are taking action on this. We will be investing £18 million in
the current financial year on Bikeability training for both
adults and children. The noble Lord might be interested to know
that role 4 of the government-backed national standard cycling
training curriculum, which replaced the cycling proficiency
test—which I am sure noble Lords are familiar with—has an entire
topic about riding
“safely and responsibly in the traffic system.”
It is not about the cyclists in isolation but about how they
interact with all elements within the traffic system, whether
that be pedestrians or those using motorised vehicles.
(Con)
My Lords, first, I reiterate my thanks to my noble friend
for his very
generous sponsorship of a charity bike ride that I did some five
years ago round the Somme. Of course, cyclists should behave
responsibly, legally and courteously but pedestrians very often
do not hear nor react to bicycle bells, as indeed the noble Lord,
, has just
said, and motorists invariably do not. In a collision with a car
or a pedestrian, a cyclist is likely to come off worse because he
has further to fall. The problem is not with vulnerable cyclists
but with motor vehicles and sometimes pedestrians who are not
paying attention or taking sufficient care. Will my noble friend,
as a start, encourage the police to take action against motorists
who, for instance, block and occupy advance stop lines provided
for cyclists at junctions?
(Con)
I agree with my noble friend that perhaps a little more could be
done around making sure that motorists do not stop in those boxes
because they are really key for cyclists. It is about educating
the drivers of motor vehicles as well. I reassure my noble friend
that this goes back to the hierarchy of road users, about which
we have consulted. We have got 21,000 responses on that. That has
the capacity to fundamentally change the way we think about
fellow road users, in whichever mode they choose to travel, and
how we keep ourselves—and them—safe.
(Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the biggest hazard for
cyclists is actually unsafe drivers? They may be anti-social and
some of the cyclists are anti-social, as other noble Lords have
said. Does she agree that the common problem is the silent
approach, be it by cyclists or electric cars? Surely the answer
there is to make people use bells. Personally, I use a horn when
I can because it is even better. It wakes up people who are
probably on a mobile phone in their car.
(Con)
I very much hope that they are not on their mobile phone in their
car; otherwise, I shall have words. The noble Lord makes some
incredibly important points. It is a question of making sure that
the balance is right between the actions of the motorist and the
actions of the cyclist. I think I have been able to set out what
the Government are doing. We are focused on ensuring that the
right balance is achieved and we need to make sure that motorists
as well as cyclists behave in the way that they should.
