Source: British Cycling's Personal Injury Solicitors, Leigh Day & Co
Date: 12 October 2011
British Cycling's Personal Injury Solicitors, Leigh Day & Co have released this article, which makes interesting reading.
Government propose new offence of ‘causing serious injury by dangerous driving’
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has announced that dangerous drivers who cause serious injuries on the road could be jailed for up to five years under new plans. Previously the maximum sentence that could be given to drivers whose driving caused serious injury but didn’t kill their victim was two years.
Penny Knight from law firm Leigh Day & Co who handles claims on behalf of British Cycling said: In too many cases we have dealt with, drivers have walked away with minimal sentences only because their victims have been lucky enough to survive. It should be the crime of dangerous driving and not the luck of the victims that determines a sentence."
Figures from Transport for London in 2011 show cyclist fatalities were down 23 percent between 2009 and 2010 in London. However, when those figures are combined with the number seriously injured, there was an 8% increase in cycling casualties, despite a decline among other road users.
Nationwide the latest figures from the Department of Transport show that 26% more cyclists were either injured or killed on UK roads in the first quarter of this year than in the same period in 2010.
Penny said: “With an estimated 13 million cyclists on the roads of Britain today, cycling is booming. The Olympics next year will only build on the popularity of the sport as we end one of the most successful seasons for Britain’s racing cyclists ever. If we are to ensure the next generation of champions we must make our roads the safest they can be for all.
“The implementation of stiffer punishment for drivers who maim and injure cyclists is to be welcomed but has to be part of a wider package to ensure safer cycling.”
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